Journaling For Mental Health
Many of us can struggle with our mental health and finding self-care tools that really help can be as individual a journey as our struggles themselves. Coming through the pandemic, facing multiple changes to our home life and careers too, our mental wellbeing has truly been put to the test. Whilst a bad day can feel tough enough in the middle of it, long term stress or anxiety can develop into chronic physical and mental health complaints that can be even more overwhelming to tackle. Anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, lowered immune response, poor cognitive function, and suicidal ideation can all be worrying realities for mental health worries left unchecked.
Fortunately, there are plenty of self-help tools available that can help manage mental wellness in a way that keeps you in control of your health and boosts your resilience and coping skills for future life disruptions. Meditation, exercise, painting and gardening have all been found to help manage mental health. A 2013 report from the Mental Health Journal cites gardening as directly related to reducing stress and improved mood, with a reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety, whilst 80% of participants in a table-top gardening study run by Thrive reported better mental health as a result.
Whilst these creative activities help us focus on our senses and something other than ourselves, activities such as meditation and exercise can help you better your mind by focusing on the body and releasing tension and stressors. By focusing on your breathing in a meditation state, you can lower your heart rate, reduce anxiety, and focus on the presence of your body as opposed to a mind full of racing thoughts. As little as 90 minutes or brisk physical exercise a week can help to mitigate depression thanks to increased blood circulation influencing an area of the brain called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, a key area in the physiological reactivity to physical and emotional stress.
Another truly trusted self-care tool – and one we’re going to focus on today - is journaling. Writing our thoughts down gently combines the benefits of physicality from writing, with the calm introversion of self-reflection to release emotion, to help you work through stressful situations, and ultimately leave you feeling more relaxed, calmer, and in control of your wellbeing.
Exploring Journaling
Whether work stress, home changes, or emotional traumas, keeping a record of your thoughts, feelings, and reflections is a simple, low-cost, and highly effective means of looking after yourself and managing through difficult times. Whilst starting out with a journal can feel daunting, taking the first step into writing can quickly help your beginner’s fears dissapate, and help you find the way to make journaling work for you, free from any other expectation.
What Do The Studies Say?
Research has found many mental health benefits specfiically related to journaling, mostly in its help in letting us process and explore emotions and have an outlet for feelings that may otherwise become overwhelming. One of its greatest benefits is in helping to manage anxiety, as it allows you to not only express your fears and anxieties but to explore them, allowing you to consider other possibilities that may be a more positive outcome than the one you’re fearing. A 2018 study of 70 adults with elevated anxiety found for 12 weeks of online journaling greatly reduced their mental distress, and long term journaling was also closely associated with greater resilience.
Journaling is also strongly effective in managing depression. Studies into individuals living with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) found that individuals who wrote about emotional events as a means of release found their symptoms of depression greatly decreased, versus those who wrote through more mundane, daily matters.
How Do I Start?
Firstly, keep things simple. Try to write for just a few minutes at first – all new habits take time to build up, and there’s no need to run before you can walk. You don’t have to have a fancy book, pen, or place to write in – just practice getting your thoughts down on paper for a few minutes first, whatever they may be.
Secondly, there are no rules about how or what you write about. You don’t have to start from day one of all your stresses; you can write about what you had for breakfast if it helps you share your thoughts! Write from where you are right now, and the rest can follow. Grammar, handwriting, and sentence structure can fall by the wayside, too, if you like – what's important is exploring how you feel, not how it looks.
Get creative in your journaling. Maybe try adding in some drawings or doodles, or writing in a different colour – maybe even using paints or crayons! If physical writing doesn’t feel quite right for you, why not try an audio recording, or typing on your laptop or computer? Maybe a change of scenery can give a different mood to your journaling – head out to a café, woodlands, or the beach to write with a different perspective.
