Stress is a harmful companion, and finding a way to deal with stress is necessary for your well-being. A simple habit that can serve as a powerful stress-relieving tool is writing.
The therapeutic nature of writing isn’t just a myth. There are numerous studies and scientific research that proved this theory. Therefore, don’t let the simplicity of writing fool you.
Regular journaling can help you cope with negative emotions that build up stress. Writing regularly can prevent devastating consequences of chronic stress such as depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, etc.
4 Ways Writing About Emotions Can Reduce Your Stress
But let’s not leave the benefits of writing under the veil of mystery. Without further ado, here are some ways in which writing about emotions can help you ease stress.
1. Get Negative Thoughts and Emotions off Your Chest
The burden of troubling emotions and restless thoughts can build up stress to unbearable proportions. Holding the stress in can only speed up its negative effects on your mind and body. However, that won’t happen if you embrace writing.
Research has found that getting things “off your chest” through writing can improve your mental health. Journaling about stressful events can help you explore and release the involved emotions by activating both hemispheres of the brain and allowing the experience to integrate with your mind.
Why would you let negativity poison your mind and ruin your health when you can express it on paper and move on? Let out all the raw thoughts and feelings that you’ve been holding in. There is no one to judge you. Everything you write down stays between you and your journal.
2. Face Your Problems
You can’t run away from your problems because they will catch up. The sooner you face them, the faster they will leave you alone. Writing can help you do this.
Dr. James W. Pennebaker, a social psychologist who conducted research on the health benefits of expressive writing, shared one of his theories on why writing can help people overcome emotional inhibition. This theory explains that once people express and face their emotions about a traumatic memory they’ve suppressed, they can learn to move beyond it.
Write about situations that bother you. Clarify how that makes you feel and why. Sometimes the reasons for stressing are buried down in your subconscious, and writing can help you figure them out.
3. Have a Different View on Your Stress-Triggers
Your mind just throws at you one thought after another. There is no time for you to observe and process thought because the next one will replace it in a second. Therefore, the thoughts and emotions can stack like dominoes until the structure collapses and leaves you in a mess.
Journaling can help you preserve your thoughts and give you time to reflect on them. The reflection is important because once the initial anger and frustration are expressed, you can look at the stress-triggering situation more objectively.
The thing bothering you can turn from an elephant into a mouse once you read about it. Writing and then reading about what troubles you can put you in the shoes of the observer and strip you of the role of a victim. Being the observer will help you come up with a solution more easily.
You can even opt for academic writing as a problem-solving tool. Write in an essay-form about your problem. Express your problem from a third-person perspective. This is just one of the ways you can try out to resolve your problems.
What’s more, once you rethink your problems, you can find the best way to deal with them. Think about how you can reframe your statements better to avoid conflict and invite a healthy discussion.
4. Shift Your Focus on the Positive
Many people feel that their thoughts and emotions have power over them. However, the reality is quite different. You can be the one who controls what you think about.
If you think positively and write about positive things in life, you will be happier. A study by the British Journal of Health Psychology showed that writing about positive emotions can reduce stress and anxiety.
Another research has shown how writing about positive experiences 20 minutes for three days in a row improved people’s mood. Even writing for only two minutes a day about something positive has been shown to lower the number of health complaints.
Journaling about positive aspects of your life will drive you away from stress and put your focus on positivity. With time, you’ll learn how to find good in every situation.
Stress-Relieving Journal Prompts
If you want to notice a positive change resulting from journaling, you need to write regularly. You can start with a few entries a week (3-4) and make your way to daily writing.
Remember that journaling for stress-relieving purposes shouldn’t just take place when something throws you off. Write regularly if you want to allow this healthy habit to change your life for the better.
To help you get started and embrace the practice of journaling, here are some stress-relieving journaling prompts.
- The past challenges that served me as a valuable lesson were_________. My current situation can teach me__________.
- I am grateful for_____. (List 5 things/people/situations)
- What can I do right now to feel more at peace?
- How can the fears and negative emotions that I’ve been holding in help me?
- My accomplishments today were_______.
- Write yourself advice and supportive words as if you were your best friend.
- Describe in detail a relaxing place where you would like to be right now.
Fight off the Stress One Page at a Time
Don’t dwell on things that stress you, nor let the stress ruin your life. Take control of your thoughts and feelings through writing.
Journaling can help you face your stress triggers, stop overthinking, find a solution, and welcome more positivity in your life. The amazing benefits of writing should encourage everyone to give it a try.
Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at FreeEssayWriter.com, an aggregator for useful college resources and websites. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.
