BY: RYLEE MCDANIELS
Staff Writer
When you even feel sad it’s always good to have a place to go to and express your feelings. And if you struggle with stress, depression, or anxiety, keeping a journal can be a great idea. One of the ways to deal with overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy way to express yourself. Journaling can help you:
- Manage anxiety
- Reduce stress
- Cope with depression
Journaling helps control your symptoms and improve your mood by:
- Helping you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
- Tracking any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers and learn ways to better control them.
- Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors.
When you have a problem and you’re stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety. Once you identify your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress. Keep in mind that journaling is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle for better managing stress, anxiety, and mental health condition. To get the most benefits, be sure you also:
- Relax and meditate each day.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
- Exercise regularly-get in some activity every day.
- Treat yourself to plenty of sleep each night.
- Stay away from alcohol and drugs.
Use your journal to make sure you follow these guidelines daily.
How to Journal:
Try these tips to help you get started with journaling:
- Try to write every day. Set aside a few minutes each day to write. This will help you to write in your journal regularly.
- Make it easy. Keep a pen and paper handy at all times. Then when you want to write down your thoughts, you can. You can also keep a journal on your smartphone.
- Write or draw whatever feels right. Your journal doesn’t need to follow any certain structure. It’s your own private place to discuss and create whatever you want to express your feelings. Let the words and ideas flow freely. Don’t worry about spelling mistakes or what other people might think.
- Use your journal as you see fit. You don’t have to share your journal with anyone. If you don’t want to share some of your thoughts with trusted friends and loved ones, you could show them parts of your journal.