The science of transforming what makes you miserable

How to alchemize

Today’s missive is about a brilliant move, made in a moment of extreme duress, that I don’t think I, or many of the men I know, would ever have had the emotional agility to make.

In fact, if you’ll excuse the quick digression, as I was sitting down to write this note, I was thinking about a joke from Bill Burr, that brilliant and hilarious observer of male emotional imbecility. Burr has a bit where he says dudes are only allowed to have two modes: “mad” or “fine.” He concedes that men do, of course, experience a full range of emotions—from sadness to joy to awe at the beauty of a sunset. But he says all of that stuff is wrapped up into a package and labeled as “gay.”

Contrast that with the inner jiu-jitsu move made by the writer Suleika Jaouad, who was diagnosed with leukemia at age 22. She spent an entire summer cooped up in the hospital. While her friends were out living their lives and starting their careers, she was stuck and depressed.

Instead of wallowing—which is what I would’ve done in a similar situation at that age—Jaouad picked up her pen and started to journal. She wrote and wrote. There was no pressure to make anything good. She just poured out her thoughts. And the results were incredibly positive. She reconsidered her situation and re-ordered her priorities.

Those journal entries led to a series in the New York Times. And then a book. And now another book, about the power of journaling, called The Book of Alchemy. An apt name because that’s what journaling can do for your overwhelming emotions (assuming you are “man enough” to admit you have them): transform them into a source of power and meaning.

There’s science here. Decades of research have shown that journaling can help with everything from anxiety to depression to insomnia. And it’s low cost. All you need is pen and paper.

Paid subscribers can access the interview ad-free here. It’s also available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

In addition to getting the 10% Happier podcast ad-free, paid subs get a cheatsheet for each episode (with key takeaways, time-coded highlights, and a transcript), can comment on posts, access subscriber chats, and join our twice-monthly live video sessions, in which I guide a meditation and take questions (our next one is tomorrow, May 6th at 3:30 PM ET).

Finally: Join me May 19th-23rd for The Buddhist Antidote to Anxiety: A Live Meditation Miniseries, designed to help you navigate the various dumpster fires of life with greater balance and sanity. Monday is open to everyone, and the following four days are for paid subscribers only. Hope you check it out.

Episode cheatsheet

The big takeaway

Suleika Jaouad shares how journaling has been her essential tool for navigating the relentless uncertainty and emotional upheaval of living with, and repeatedly facing, leukemia. By transforming her creative practice into a lifeline and community project, she illustrates that journaling can help us alchemize pain into meaning.