A Guide To Journaling To Help With Stress Management
Journaling is a great tool to help lowering stress levels and anxiety. It’s mainly been used by therapists during patients’ treatment as its therapeutic benefits are many.
With a list of mental and physical health benefits, journaling can be an excellent resort for those suffering from anxiety and high levels of stress. Jotting down words on a paper helps the writer tune in with his emotions and clear the mind.
If you came across this article, maybe you’re curious about how to use journaling for your own benefit, so here are a few tips from where you should start.
Buy a Journal or Notebook
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First things first. Even though you can simply write down your thoughts on a piece of paper, it’s highly recommended for you to have a specific notebook or journal for that purpose. You can choose from line to blank pages — whatever is that allows your creativity to come to the surface.
Stay Committed
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Just like any healing process, it takes more than practicing once a month so you can see the benefits. Studies have already shown that 15 to 20 minutes of journaling three times a week over the course of four months was enough to reduce blood pressure and improve liver functionality.
That said, set aside some time to write. It can be in the early hours after you wake up or before going to bed.
Don’t Overthink, Just Do It.
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Remember: you’re not writing a book, a presentation, or an essay. This is the time you’ll have to have a conversation with yourself. If you don’t know what to write, write anyways. Whatever comes to mind, your worries, what you ate for breakfast, your plans for your next vacation. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, just do it!
Keep It Private
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Have you got an ‘a-ha’ moment when journaling and would like to share with other people? Well, this is your journal, and you do as you please. But if there are some things you wish to keep to yourself, you’d better keep your notebook in a private place.
Keep It Simple and Don’t Worry!
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As said above, you don’t need to overthink this, so don’t worry about misspelling, grammar, swear words, what you “should and shouldn’t” right. There’s no rule, so write whatever comes to mind!