What does Science say about Journaling and Stress Management
(+ my struggles before Writing Meditation)
The scientific discoveries about the impact of stress on health shouldn’t leave you worrying.
Scientists can now communicate about effective strategies for reducing stress responses, that include Meditation, Mindfulness and Writing.
That’s good news !
Today, we’ll be discussing 6 mental health benefits of Journaling, and how you can integrate those in your daily routine.
But first, I’d like to share a few words about my troublesome journey before journaling and Writing Meditation…..
Maybe like you, I grew up in the western (and busy) world. My country, France, offered me what I call a “Golden Cage” with a huge conditioning to become “good at school”, “good with family”, “good with people”, “good at sport”….
I succeeded in all of these things. I even found a “good job”, “a good boyfriend”…. I was about to get married and to produce “a good child”.
But this did not fulfill me at all.
Against all odds, I gave up my golden cage and social conditioning, to follow my persistent intuition : returning to Asia, single and free.
It was in Thailand, in January 2018, that life gave me back my power, and helped me own my real desires and standards.
It was in Koh Lanta Island that I bought my first notebook, and have started to write my intuition every single morning.
It has felt so good since day 1….
In a few weeks, my life shifted from “messy” to “easy”.
The very first benefit of daily journaling for me is this sensation to “reconnect” and “remember” who I am behind my (thick) social mask.
If you journal already, you know this sensation of “removing the filters” that society puts on you. It’s like you “unveil” the real you, the one you were as a kid, before being conditioned by school and social expectations.
I have rediscovered what we call in French “the joie de vivre”, this pure joy you have in your heart, without faking to fit in with the world.
I quickly realized that I had the power to make myself happier or healthier, just by dedicating a few minutes everyday to connect with my subconscious mind (Meditation), and by writing about my stress, anxieties, goals and vision (Journaling).
I then decided to create and teach my own mindful writing tool (Writing Meditation), to help anyone ready to live with more joy, fun and freedom.
Well, now let’s see what science says about the Mental Health Benefits of Journaling.
According to the WebMD Medical Team (over 100 American Doctors and Health Experts), Journaling is the act of keeping a record of your personal thoughts, feelings, insights, and more. It can be written or drawn.
It’s a simple, low-cost way of improving your mental health, and it provides the 6 following benefits.
- Journaling reduces your Anxiety
Journaling about your feelings is linked to decreased mental distress. In a study, researchers found that those with various medical conditions and anxiety who wrote for 15 minutes 3 days a week over a 12-week period had increased feelings of well-being and fewer depressive symptoms after 1 month. Their mental well-being continued to improve during the 12 weeks of journaling.
2. Journaling helps with Brooding
Writing about an emotional event can help you break away from the nonstop cycle of obsessively thinking and brooding over what happened.
3. Journaling creates Awareness
Writing down your feelings about a difficult situation can help you understand it better. The act of putting an experience into words and structure allows you to form new perceptions about events.
4. Journaling regulates Emotions
Brain scans of people who wrote about their feelings showed that they were able to control their emotions better than those who wrote about a neutral experience. This study also found that writing about feelings in an abstract way was more calming than writing vividly.
5. Journaling encourages Opening Up
Writing privately about a stressful event encourages you to reach out for social support.
6. Journaling can speed up Physical Healing
A study on 49 adults in New Zealand found that those who wrote for 20 minutes about their feelings on upsetting events healed faster after a biopsy than those who wrote about daily activities. Similarly, college students who wrote about stressful events were less likely to get sick compared to those who wrote about neutral topics like their room.
Women with breast cancer who wrote positively or expressively about their experience with the disease had fewer physical symptoms and fewer cancer-related medical appointments.
Sources :
> I invite you to book your free consultation with me if you are ready to see how emotional coaching can help you find your best solutions, which are already there, inside you.
Amandine Mas — Emotions and Writing Coach on https://www.instagram.com/amandine_emotional_freedom
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