What are the benefits of writing in a journal or diary?

I’ve been writing a journal since I was 7 years old, I’m 25 now. There are several benefits. I would pick out a few and list them below:

You get to read what your past self went through - that’s quite interesting. You get to explore and dive deep into your past events, desires, battles, or ideologies. People grow over time, more or less, due to experience, so it’s nice to see how you have evolved over time.

It’s a great tool for venting - when you feel like ‘it’s too much’, it’s almost always helpful to write out your thoughts. Usually, what could happen, is that you start writing about what bothers you and soon, you could find yourself giving your own self advice on how to cope with it. And even if you don’t, if you just vent, it’s nice to let it out somewhere. And writing in a journal won’t hurt anyone

It helps your memory get better - it’s astonishing how many details we forget over time. Everybody has moments they want to remember for a lifetime, so journaling certainly helps with this as you write what happened most recently. Also, it helps with remembering people’s names and also, dates or at least, periods when certain events in your life took place.

Those are just some of my ideas of how journaling could benefit you. I’m sure there are more benefits. But as a I’ve been writing in a journal for almost 20 years, I feel I am eligible to share my piece of the pie.