Mental Health
Mental Health and Journaling
Journaling, also known as expressive writing, can benefit your mental health. It has been proven to help reduce anxiety and depression. It can help you focus and clear your mind. One thing about journaling is there is no right way to do it. You can journal as you see fit. You can write out your day, you write down your thoughts, you can draw, you can do whatever your heart desires. It is not something that you have to share with others. It is simply for you and your own benefit.
Why Journaling ?
It is a great tool to use when trying to regulate emotions. Studies have resulted in the following: "...expressive writing can facilitate adjustment to stressors through emotion regulation mechanisms. Research in psychiatry, as well as clinical, health, and social psychology, supports the proposition that emotion dysregulation -either excessive or inadequate control over emotional experience, physiology, and behavior-has inimical effects on mental and physical health." (Lepore & Greenberg 2002). Journaling can help you regulate your emotions and get a better grasp on your mental health.
Benefits
How to Start Expressive Writing
Harvard Health Publications recommends starting with these simple steps
1. Give yourself a set time to write. (what you see best fit)
2. Set a schedule. This can be 3 nights a week for a month.
3. Focus on a stressful event.
4. Write whatever comes to your mind.
5. Do not worry about factors such as grammar and punctuation.
6. Write without holding back. Really explore your thought process
7. Keep your writing confidential to really get yourself to open up.
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Lepore, Stephen & Smyth, Joshua. (2002). The Writing Cure: How Expressive
Writing Promotes Health and Emotional Well-Being. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention. 23. 10.1037/10451-000.
Miller, M. C. (2019). The mental health benefits of expressive writing. In Harvard
Health Publications (Ed.), Harvard Medical School commentaries on health. Harvard Health Publications. Credo Reference: http://ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/login? url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hhphoh/the_mental_health_benefits_of_expressive_writing/0? institutionId=778