Health benefits of journaling

Journaling has been shown to be an effective habit because it can help people manage their feelings and thoughts. It can help a person become more self-aware and create a plan for coping with recent and anticipated life events. Journaling is a form of mindfulness that helps people focus on the present and reflect on what's going well in their lives. Journaling also creates an outlet for the expression of emotions, which may not be available through other means, such as talking with friends or family. Journals also serve a social function.

Sharing your journal with others can help you see your values and beliefs in another's eyes and help it become a vehicle for social interaction. Sharing one's thoughts and feelings about one's life through a journal may help others learn more about you. Journaling helps people feel good about their lives by documenting the things that are important to them. The following are some of the health benefits associated with the practice.

Credit: Picjumbo.com | Source: Pexels

ADVERTISEMENT

Reduces Stress

One of the many benefits of journaling is that it can reduce stress. It reduces stress because you feel as if you are doing something positive that's healthy for your mind, body, and soul. You'll also start to experience better moods since you are writing about personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts, which increases your self-understanding, thus decreasing overall anxiety.

One study demonstrates the benefits of journaling on the mind, body, and spirit by focusing on the effects journaling has on mood. Researchers at Arizona State University conceived a study to examine the effects of writing revisions in an online journal on individuals' moods. The results demonstrated that individuals who wrote about traumatic events had lower levels of depression than those who did not write about them.

Finds Meaning and Increases Optimism

Another benefit of journaling is that it can help one find meaning within themselves or with someone else you're sharing a journal with. Writing things down on paper at times may feel good and give you a way to get in touch with parts within yourself, whether good or bad. It also helps people process their feelings about the past for them to understand what's happened and move forward better than before. When one is committed to something that will strengthen their mind, soul, and spirit, it helps them live a more self-fulfilled life. This can help keep you accountable and on the right track to reach your goals in life.

Credit: Pixabay | Source: Pexels

ADVERTISEMENT

Calms Anxiety

Journaling can also reduce anxiety by putting pen to paper or typing up a draft to work out feelings and thoughts. This is especially useful if you are going through something traumatic; it gives you a place to get your thoughts down in words and process how and why things happened the way they did. It can have a soothing effect on the mind by giving it something to do to relieve stress. Essentially, it helps your brain feel content because you are expressing something that means something to you.

Relieves Depression

Another benefit of journaling is that it can relieve depression and help you gain control over your life. It can help relieve symptoms of depression like restlessness, irritability, and feeling down, but also it can give you a sense of accomplishment because you've attempted personal growth.

Journaling, exercise, and meditation are the three most commonly reported self-care activities among women with cancer. One study shows that breast cancer survivors who journaled after chemotherapy saw significant improvements in their moods. Another study found that individuals who experienced a life-changing event felt better about themselves and had a lower incidence of depression if they kept a daily journal for six months following the event.

ADVERTISEMENT

Encourages Focus

Keeping a journal is another form of self-improvement that improves brain function since it gives the mind something to think about other than the daily grind and frustrations that the mind may have from time to time. Journaling is an effective method for improving memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills. It's a great way to improve visual thinking and recall knowledge with increased accuracy. Journaling is also an effective way to increase self-awareness, creativity, and productivity. As a result of writing goals and projects with detailed notes and goals, people become more aware of what they do every day.

A study that monitored children's progress in journaling found that students' writing improved over time and that students felt more positive about their writing as they entered adulthood. The researchers also found that the benefits of journaling didn't last long after the research ended. The findings suggested that school-based programs should include writing workshops so children can continue to feel supported through adulthood.

Credit: Cottonbro | Source: Pexels

ADVERTISEMENT

Strengthens the Immune System and Promotes Wellness

A strong immune system is another of the byproducts of journaling. The auto-immune system protects the body from disease and infection and has been proven to be extremely important in dealing with illness. Engaging in journaling positively affects the body's ability to fight diseases. Some researchers believe that journaling can be a relaxing exercise that decreases the production of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, whose overproduction suppresses the immune system. The above explains why a study in 2004 found an increase in the lymphocyte counts of HIV patients who took an emotional writing intervention.

How to Make Journaling and Effective Habit

A primary pitfall or drawback of this practice is that one might get stuck in an unproductive and destructive thought cycle if they purely focus on negative situations. The following are some of the details to ensure that journaling has positive health outcomes for individuals.

Prioritize convenience - ensure that you can easily access your journal to facilitate adherence to the practice.

Set aside a specific time - this helps you to form a habit of journaling

Don't self-edit - take journaling as a stream-of-conscious writing exercise by resisting reviewing the grammatical aspect of the journal.

Experiment with different forms of expression - you do not have to stick to a specific form of journaling and you can choose to sketch images, write poetically, or even use colored pencils to highlight important bits.