Are you feeling stressed although not sure how to relieve it some of the stress from your life? One idea would be for you to keep a journal.
What is Journaling?
According to About.com:Stress Management Journaling is a term coined for the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of one’s life. Journaling is very similar to keeping a project list or a log where a person writes about the stress or stressful event he/she is currently experiencing or have experienced in the past.
In an article written by Reader’s Digest: The Healing Power of Writing, Joshua M. Smyth (a psychologist a Syracuse University) found that “Writing may produce changes in immune or hormonal responses to stress, and improve relationships and our capacity to cope with stress.”
In addition to reducing stress it was found by researchers that there are several other benefits of journaling such as:
- Improves Cognitive Functioning
- Strengthens the Immune System
- Decreases symptoms of asthma, arthritis and other health conditions
- Lose Weight
- Improves Sleep
Therefore if you are stressed or want to start to gain some of the other benefits listed above why not try writing down some of your emotions / thoughts to see if journaling can help. It’s also a very cost effective, good problem solving tool that you can use anytime / anywhere (computer, pen/paper…etc).
If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts on this subject of journaling leave your comments below.
Additional information on reducing stress: