The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management

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The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management

Everyone manages stress in different ways.

Some manage it in healthy ways through things like running, meditation, and yoga, while others may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drinking or eating junk food. Some people may choose to just ignore stress altogether and continue pushing through life!

While you surely have your choice of HOW to manage stress, journaling is one of the best, positive ways to cope.

It’s a simple activity that you can practice almost anywhere at any time—all you need is a pen and journal.

Journaling can be very effective only after just a few minutes as well, so you don’t have to practice it for hours to feel its impact.  It can also help you to pinpoint harmful behaviors, such as alcoholism or drug addiction. If you suspect you have a problem, you should look into Hilton Head Drug Rehab.

Here are just some of the benefits of journaling for stress management.

How Journaling Helps with Stress

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1. It can clear your mind by getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper

The thousands of thoughts swirling around your mind at any given moment can cause stress, and that’s no surprise. Sometimes you just need to clear your mind in order to feel better!

Journaling can help with this by getting all your thoughts onto paper.

This act of transferring your thoughts from your mind will leave you feeling lighter and help you find some clarity.

2. You practice being in the present moment

Journaling naturally allows you to be in the present moment.

Why?

When you are writing, it’s pretty hard to focus on anything else. Typically, you’ll be jotting down your current thoughts, stressors, and emotions.

The more frequently that you journal, the more you’ll be able to stay in the present moment throughout your day.

3. You’re able to sit in your feelings instead of ignoring them or pushing through them

It’s human nature to want to push through strong or negative emotions.

For example, have you ever felt overwhelmed so you turn to cleaning the house or trying to knock out all your work, even if that’s the last thing you actually want to do?

You need to feel before you can heal.

Journaling does just that by inviting you to acknowledge and feel your emotions, and then move on from them. 

4. Journaling may prevent you from doing or saying something harmful

Our emotions can often run the show before our logical side kicks in.

Journaling provides a safe space for you to get your emotions out, and then take a look at any situation with a more logical lens.

It could prevent you from saying or doing something that could hurt someone else, and instead think about a situation before you act.

5. What you truly desire may come to the surface

Journaling involves a great amount of self-reflection, so you may be surprised at what comes up for you.

You may discover that you actually want to follow a different career path.

Or you may realize that you really need some more quiet, alone time.

You may find out a relationship or friendship is not working out for you any longer.

These discoveries typically are only found when you take the time to get quiet with yourself and reflect.

6. Certain decisions may be made clear to you

Stress can be caused by uncertainty and feeling stuck in situations.

When you journal during these moments, you may be surprised at how much easier it is to make decisions.

It’s almost like you are talking these things out—except you’re talking them out with yourself.

This will help you discover that the answers were always within you, all along.

7. It lifts some emotional weight or baggage off your shoulders

Have you ever felt weighed down by really strong emotions?

Perhaps you feel very anxious or overwhelmed, or you are nervous about how something is going to turn out.

As normal as these emotions are, it’s not healthy if you feel like they are controlling your life.

Journaling helps lessen the burden of these emotions.

It provides space for you to work through them, and maybe you’ll find out that things aren’t as heavy as you thought they were.

8. No one is going to read your journal, so there’s no pressure to be a certain way or say a certain thing

No filter is required in your journal.

This means that you can express yourself in whatever way you need to, and there’s no pressure.

This freedom of expression is something that’s hard to come by when you are trying to manage your stress in almost any other way.

Feel free to say exactly what’s on your mind, without worrying about what anyone else would think of it.

9. You’ll be able to get closure from a situation that maybe you wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise

In life, you may not always get the closure you desire and deserve.

Maybe a friendship or relationship ended abruptly, and your questions were never answered.

Or maybe you were fired from a job with no explanation. Maybe you had big plans that were canceled, and you weren’t sure what to do.

Although you may not always get closures externally, journaling provides an opportunity for you to get that closure internally.

You can learn how to accept situations as they are and work through your feelings in your journal.

10. You’ll feel more calm and mindful throughout your day

When you learn to turn to journaling for stress management instead of an unhealthy coping mechanism, you’ll really reap the benefits of mindfulness.

Throughout your day, you’ll feel calmer. You’ll have your eyes up and be able to feel present.

This comes with time of course, but by journaling even for just a few minutes each day, you’ll experience this benefit.

Final Thoughts

Journaling is such a wonderful way to manage and reduce stress, as well as just practice being present throughout your day.

Whether you choose to journal in the mornings, during your lunch break, or at night before bed, hopefully, these benefits will come to light for you.

The secret to journaling is not to overthink it, but just to pick up a journal and pen and see where it takes you.

Start slowly with your practice, and you can increase how much you journal over time.

Hopefully, you’ll start to see a decrease in stress and an increase in happiness in your life!