Journaling is a fun activity where you can express your ideas, stories and feelings through typing or writing in a diary. Not only does it make you more relaxed, but writing a journal also has a variety of mental health benefits. What are they? Check out the following review.

Mental Health Benefits of Journal Writing

Easy to implement and get started, below are the benefits of journal writing:

Relieve stress

Journal writing can help relieve stress when you're overwhelmed. According to Healthline, a study revealed that patients, their families and medical personnel from a pediatric hospital experienced reduced stress levels after journaling.

In writing a journal, you can write down things that make you more grateful, tell about your daily life or life and write down wishes that you hope come true. Another study revealed that journal writing, which was practiced regularly by 59% of study participants, can help relieve stress.

Also read: Kebiasaan Ini Baik untuk Meningkatkan Kesehatan Mental

Overcoming negative thoughts

Thoughts and behaviors are interconnected, negative thoughts can cause stress and make you more prone to anxiety or anger. Journaling can help you decipher these negative thoughts, as well as help you recognize and stop recurring patterns of negative thoughts in your mind.

In addition, journal writing can also help you to accept the negative emotions that come with your writing. As you write, allow yourself to feel the full range of emotions without judgment or trying to change them. This can reduce the influence of those negative thoughts and feelings on you.

Helps process emotions

Many people go through the day confused about how to express their emotions. There are also people who ignore or suppress their emotions to avoid conflict. But poorly regulated emotions can sometimes overflow and influence your actions either consciously or subconsciously.

By writing a journal, you have the opportunity to process the emotions you are feeling in a safe space. Recognizing your emotions can help you accept them, not be overwhelmed by the magnitude of your feelings, and regulate them better.

Also read: Manfaat Memiliki Hobi Positif bagi Kesehatan Mental

Relieves post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition in which a person experiences severe stress after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. As reported by Verywell Mind, many studies have shown that therapy protocols combined with writing about the traumatic event in private can effectively reduce PTSD symptoms. Journal writing can help process the trauma and release the emotions involved. This still requires further research.

Relieves anxiety/anxiety disorder

For people with anxiety disorders, journal writing can also help relieve anxiety symptoms. When writing a journal, you can write down your anxieties or things that worry you, write down all the things you want to say but may not be able to elaborate on. Keep writing until you feel relieved and enough. You can also focus on writing positive things during journaling.

After writing down the things that worry you and the positive things to focus on, you can go back and think about whether the intrusive thoughts are realistic, whether the problem has a better solution, and so on. Challenging your thoughts can help you see that your anxiety may be less likely to happen, or not as bad as you think. Such thoughts can help you relieve your anxiety disorder and help you calm down.

How to Start Writing a Journal

Journal writing can be different for everyone. There are many different styles and models of journaling such as whether you will use a notebook to write your journal or type it on your phone and other devices.

There is no set right way to write a journal, the most important thing is that you find a method of writing a journal that makes you feel comfortable. You can do journaling using a book or using an app on your phone. In writing, you can write about your feelings including the joy, worry and sadness you feel.

To help decipher the emotions you are feeling, do some regular journaling. Journal writing can be a relaxing method that helps relieve any mental health issues you are feeling. However, if you have mental health problems that need special treatment, you should consult a doctor or psychologist. You can also use the consultation feature available on the Ai Care application.

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