Why You Should Start A Journal Right Now

Experiencing a global epidemic disrupts our mental and emotional health in countless ways.If you’re looking for ways to cope, consider starting a journal.

Mental health experts have long touted the benefits of journaling: it relieves stress and serves as a tool to help manage anxiety and depression.According to a survey by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard Medical School, this is important right now, as the vast majority (90 percent) of U.S. adults say they’re coping with emotional distress related to COVID-19.Experts say that people who had a mental health condition before the outbreak may have a harder time coping with the stress of this crisis.

Meera Lee Patel, author of Creating Your Own Peace: Journaling for Anxiety Relief, says journaling can help clear up chaotic thoughts.

Journaling is a great way to release stress and eliminate anxiety by getting the thoughts that are constantly swirling around in your head down on paper so that you can eliminate them.Many people find that after journaling, they have a clearer, calmer mind and are better equipped to evaluate solutions to the problem at hand.

Many of us tend to ignore or suppress negative emotions.According to psychotherapist Kathleen Dahlen deVos, journaling helps us “familiarize” ourselves with these emotions so we can deal with them and find ways to move forward.

We learned that while it may still be uncomfortable to endure and “face” our feelings, we actually have the ability to deal with them.

In addition, journaling is virtually free and more accessible than other forms of self-care.

Another benefit of keeping a journal on a regular basis is that it can help you identify patterns in thinking or behavior that are detrimental to you and connect your thoughts and behaviors to how you feel.Journaling can also help you track progress toward your goals and observe your personal growth.

There may also be merit in documenting the life of this important moment in history

Documenting what happens around us in difficult times is very useful to us on a personal and historical level.

Columbia University journalism professor Ari L. Goldman, in a Washington Post opinion piece, “Writing It Down.Keeping a Journal in Response to the Epidemic,” points out that documenting this time on social media is not the same as keeping a journal.

Facebook and Instagram are conversations.They are for others.Journals are for you.You deserve to document it.Write it down so you remember how you got used to it all – and how you got through it all.

As humans, we are naturally inclined to find meaning in our experiences.This gives our lives a sense of purpose and order.In difficult times such as the one we are currently experiencing, journaling can help us “find peace in a challenging experience, accept it and learn from it.

We all want to know if our lives matter, if our lives and shared experiences have meaning.Documenting this moment in history may help us to find and create meaning in the midst of the fear, sadness, and overwhelm we may be experiencing right now, and provide a bit of comfort by situating this moment in the larger arc of our lives and history.

Here’s how to start journaling and stick with it

Use pen and paper instead of keeping an electronic diary.

Darren DeVos says, “I’ve found that writing helps us slow down and allows us to be more purposeful and reflective compared to typing, while also activating the more creative areas of the brain.”

If you’re someone who is overly precious about things, Donaldson suggests an inexpensive journal.

Write a stream of consciousness for 5 minutes.Then gradually add more time.

With this type of journaling, “you try to write down whatever is in your head, even if it doesn’t make any sense,” Donaldson says.

Set a timer, pick up a pen, and let the words flow naturally without judgment.

Or use a prompt to get the juices flowing.

If blank pages intimidate you, there are plenty of journals with insightful tips and exercises to help you get started.

You can also find a lot of ideas online.

Write at the same time every day if you can.

It doesn’t matter if you do this when you wake up, during your lunch break or before you go to bed.Pick a time and stick to it.

Please remember that your journal is for your own use only.

You don’t need to impress anyone with your writing – not even yourself.

I suggest you keep your journal confidential and try to be as honest and truthful with yourself as possible.

If delving into certain topics is too painful for you, don’t force yourself to keep writing.If journaling doesn’t work for you, take a break or stop journaling altogether.

Symptoms of hypervigilance, stress, or distress are all signs to stop journaling.

Don’t worry if you skip a day.

Don’t blame yourself for not journaling for a day or two or even 12 days, it will only add to your inner disappointment and resistance, just start again!

It takes time for our brains to create new neural pathways, which means the desire to journal usually follows after you actively start journaling.