For many people, keeping a diary is a hallmark of their adolescence complete with embarrassing entries from their childhood and TMI stories about everything from crushes and heartbreaks to a day by day recount of 2005. While many people seem to outgrow the need to pour their feelings, aspirations and dreams to a diary, the benefits of journaling actually extend far into adulthood. In fact, journaling daily can yield mental, emotional and even physical benefits. Continue reading to learn why journaling could be right for you.
Practice mindfulness
One of the biggest advantages to journaling is the ability it gives you to practice mindfulness. Whether you want to be more mindful of your emotions, cognizant of your stress levels, present in relationships or more aware of personal growth, writing in a journal is a great first step towards keeping yourself on track emotionally. According to Intermountain Care, “research shows that expressive writing can help you develop more structured, adaptive and integrated schemes about yourself, others and the world.” By allowing yourself to engage in right-brain creativity, more brain capacity can also be accessed.
Sharpen memory
By writing down the details of your day, you can help to improve your memory capacity and comprehension. Having a log of daily occurrences can also help to hold you accountable and set clear goals for the future.
Reduce Stress
After a stressful day, journaling can be a great way to wind down and evaluate the causes of stress in your life. A recent study showed that expressive writing for 15 to 20 minutes a day, three to five times over the course of four months, can effectively decrease blood pressure. In addition to lowering blood pressure, writing about the cases of stress can help you to manage your stressors in a healthy and beneficial way.
Manage mental health
While this may seem obvious, finding a healthy way to express yourself — like journaling — can be a great way to manage overwhelming emotions. Journaling can help with managing anxiety, coping with depression and improving your mood by tracking your symptoms, triggers and devising healthy ways to better identify and control them. Journaling also provides an opportunity to practice positive self-talk, which can also help improve your mood.
Getting Started
If you’ve never journaled before, the thought of starting can be intimidating, but just remember that there is no right or wrong way to do it. The journaling experience is as unique as each individual who journals, and its flexibility is one of its main draws. Journaling is most effective if you develop it as a habit and write for a set amount of time every day. As for apprehensions about what to write about, when to write and more, the best way to figure out what works best for you is to sit down and write. So grab a pen or a pencil, a notebook, journal or piece of paper and start your journey towards mental, emotional and physical well being.
Photo: N. Macavei
