Monday, April 10, 2017

Journaling: H = Healing

Journaling on a regular basis is beneficial to physical health, mental well-being, and social relationships.

Giving voice to our thoughts and emotions, rather than repressing them, reduces stress and anxiety. 

By writing down our feelings, we legitimize them, accept them as real, and begin to  deal with them in a positive, healthy way. 

Reading our words provides a necessary distance, which allows us to brainstorm a variety of strategies to help improve the situation. 

Once we realize we have options, we begin to see hope where before we saw only hardship. In this way, journaling helps with depression.

In addition, this objective distance allows us to "walk in another man's shoes" and perhaps see the situation from their point of view. We gain empathy, which allows us to extend compassion rather than remain so defensive.

An article in Advances in Psychiatric Treatment reported that journaling helps to reduce blood pressure and improve the immune system, which in turn, decreases illness.  

Because journaling allows us to eliminate discursive thought and provides us with some positive direction, we begin to think more clearly and worry less. This in turn leads to better, more restful sleep, which benefits our physical health.

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If you have yet to try journaling, perhaps improved health is reason enough to give it shot?

The next post in this Journaling series: I is for Intuition


10 comments:

  1. True my writing is nirvana to me
    Journaling does help in healing
    Coming from A to Z
    Nice to bump in to ur blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Writing is nirvana... I love that :)
      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. That journaling helps a person to think more clearly and worry less is an excellent reason to take up journaling. ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) anything to reduce stress and worry is worth looking into.

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  3. Great theme. Popping by from the blog comments page. Healing is very important particularly as so many of us can be quite hard on ourselves with our internal dialogue. Having a safe space to articulate everything can be very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I address internal dialogue later this week - and you are absolutely right: we can be our own worst enemies!
      Thanks so much for stopping by :)

      Delete
  4. Journaling can be very healing. The first time I was introduced to the idea was decades ago in high school. Still one of the reasons I journal today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How wonderful that you learned this valuable lesson so early in life. I didn't understand the healing benefits of journaling until my 50s... but better late than never, right?

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  5. I've used it many times for its healing effects. Such a relief to get the stuff out!
    Janet
    L is for Loverboy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely - and so much better than keeping it all repressed!

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