If you’ve never done journaling before, it’s better to start now. You can find lots of benefits of journaling that can be really helpful for your mental health. From helping to express your feelings to dealing with stress. Find out more about journaling below, thus you can try to get the best benefit out of it.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is the activity of expressing ideas, thoughts, feelings, or emotions related to various events in life in the form of writing in a book, typing on a computer, or voice recording. While on it, you can also write down lists of activities, dreams, goals, and even positive affirmations that can encourage you.
How can Journaling Improve Mental Health?
First, you should understand that journaling is not just a fun activity or something that is done just because it’s a trend. Several benefits to mental health can be obtained through journaling, such as the things that we will list down below.
- Express your feelings
Have you ever felt confused about expressing the feelings you felt, or even don’t know what feelings you are feeling right now? If so, you should try journaling, because this activity can hel you to express your feelings healthily and safely. All you have to do is write, type, or draw the type of feeling you’re experiencing.
By journaling, you will be trained to see and observe the types of feelings that arise at certain times in your life. When journaling, you also don’t need to pretend or cover up what you’re feeling. Write down the various things you are feeling, especially negative ones, such as feeling disappointment, sadness, or anger. You are also free to add colors, emojis, stickers, or even pictures when journaling.
- Control emotions
If you are used to naming the various feelings or emotions that you experience, this means that you are aware of the presence of these emotions in your life. By writing down the feelings and emotions in your journal, you can also identify the times or circumstances that trigger these changes in emotions and feelings.
So, in this way, it will be easier for you to find a way to manage and control the changes in emotions and feelings that you feel.
- Know yourself better
Have you ever felt unenthusiastic in carrying out your daily activities? If so, this could be a sign that you are bored with your daily routine, confused about the direction and purpose of your life, or that you don’t know yourself yet. Journaling can be a way to help you get to know yourself better. Through journaling, you can learn about yourself and find out your likes, hobbies, dreams, goals, or even things that you don’t like at all.
- Relieves stress and anxiety
When you are experiencing a lot of problems that make you stressed and anxious, you can do journaling. For some people, this activity can make their minds more relaxed and help to relieve the anxiety that is being felt. Because by expressing all the things that you are experiencing through writing according to your creativity, it is believed that it can help relieve emotional turmoil or negative feelings that trigger anxiety and stress.
How to Maximize the Benefits of Journaling?
For you to get the maximum benefits of journaling for your mental health, you need to do it right. Here are some tips you can do to maximize the benefits of journaling.
- Choose the preferred journaling method, either by writing, typing, drawing, or recording voice. Afterward, make time to purchase your journaling tools. For example, if you prefer to write down your feelings, you should purchase stationery and a journal with great design. Temu’s, a new shopping platform that houses thousands of products on its platform will have whatever you need. Under the Temu office & school supplies section you can find any type or size of journal you want to purchase, and everything starts from as low as $1!
- Make your journaling part of your daily activity, for example right away after you wake up in the morning or just before going to bed at night. Express feelings and emotions without thinking about other things, such as spelling, sentence structure, or writing neatness.
- Start your journaling activity by adding 3 things you are most grateful for. This is a great way to start, because it can remind you that through ups and downs of what you feel, you still have some positive things to cling to and be grateful for. Keep in mind when you start journaling, you should also avoid thinking of this as a way to solve your problem. Instead, think of this activity as a way to get to know yourself better.
Given the many benefits of journaling for mental health, let’s start now by adding this to your daily activities. If after journaling regularly you don’t feel there are any changes in your life, the burden on your mind still feels heavy or the stress feels worse, you should consult a psychologist to get further help.
