Here’s Why Keeping a Journal Is the Best Cure For the Soul
Many of us kept a journal or a diary when we were teenagers. That helped us express our emotions while keeping them private, which is very important for teens. However, as adults, we often forget about the benefits of journaling and tend to keep our emotions to ourselves.
Adults prefer to remain silent about their feelings. However, it’s been proven that keeping emotions bottled up can cause many mental and physical health disorders, such as insomnia, emotional burnout, stress, and other health problems, such as eating disorders, high blood pressure, and even cancer.
To prevent these issues, you need a healthy way to express your emotions, and journaling is a very good tool to do that. To further prove this point, here are basic reasons why keeping a journal can help you overcome most common health issues caused by emotional distress.
How Does Journaling Help Sleep Deprivation?
Anxiety is one of the top reasons for sleep deprivation and insomnia. Anxiety often is caused by stress and emotional tension and, in the most severe cases, can lead to panic attacks during the night.
According to some psychologists, writing in a so-called “thought diary” is the best way to release that tension. They recommend doing it in the following way:
- First, describe the situation itself
- Then, express your thoughts and feelings about it
- After that, describe your anxiety level and what aspects caused it
How Does Journaling Help Emotional Burnout?
Emotional burnout is not a rare thing. It is a gradual process, with various symptoms that include eating disorders, changes in sleep habits, and fatigue that doesn’t go away, even after a good night’s sleep. The reasons for emotional burnout differ, but include problems at work or at home, losing a dear friend, and many more.
The question is, how can you write down your emotions if you feel nothing? Start writing, even if there’s nothing you feel at that particular moment. It’s also useful to reread what you’ve written; this will help you realize the reasons you experience emotional burnout.
How Does Journaling Help Reduce Stress?
Stress causes many physical and mental health issues, including insomnia and the emotional burnouts listed above. Journaling basically helps you release tension in a rather creative way. Journaling is extremely beneficial because it helps divert your attention from problems that caused your stress. Try the following hacks for using a journal to help yourself de-stress:
- Spend 20 minutes before bed writing about a stressful situation.
- Try talking to yourself from the perspective of a distant person. It will help you look at the situation from a different angle.
- At the end of the passage, write down what you’re thankful for. This will empower you and help you get rid of the negative thoughts.
How Can Journaling Help You Keep Your Soul And Body In Balance?
Use journaling to keep track of your emotions. If you have physical or mental health disorders, try analyzing the emotions you often experience, as they often cause numerous health issues. This will help you bring your body and soul into peace and balance. You will learn how to listen to your body and will understand yourself better.
Here are some additional tips to better use your journal for expressing feelings and emotions:
- Be as creative as possible. You can not only write about the situation as it is, but create the whole story, narrated by a third person. This will be a brand new perspective for looking at the whole situation. Besides, it will bring up a lot of positive emotions.
- Try writing about a negative situation in a positive way, even if it’s very hard to find some advantage or something positive in the situation. Remember, there are always two sides to the same coin.
- Let others read what you’ve written. Now, it’s optional, but if you have a problem expressing your emotions to people you love, let them read about it. It only will strengthen your relationships and help people understand you better.
Concluding Thoughts…
Many people compare journaling to paper writing and say it’s too overwhelming and time-consuming. But as long as you understand that no one forces you to do it, and it’s a quiet way to express your emotions and analyze them, you’ll realize there’s nothing stressful about it. Wellness is all about expressing emotions in a healthy way. So, find a journal that suits you and unburden your soul.
