Journal Writing Can Help Relieve Stress

Reviewed May 3, 2019

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Summary

  • Releases anxiety and tension
  • Recording thoughts helps escape pressures
  • It can handwritten, typed, etc.

After a taxing day, a great way to let go of worry and stress is to write in a journal. It doesn’t matter if you are a good writer or not—you are the only one who will see your journal (unless you choose to share it with others).

Whether you put pen to paper or type on a computer, a journal is a healing place to collect your thoughts and ideas. Recording your thoughts—especially during a stressful period—lets you get away from everyday stresses and worries.

Setting aside a short amount of time to write in your journal about the strains of the day, how they made you feel, and how you reacted to them, can help you relax.

Organizing your journal writing

After a hectic and harried day, you don’t want to come home anxious to pour out your thoughts, only to search a messy desk for a written journal or look through files on your computer hoping to find the one that holds your journal entries. Here are ideas for organizing your writing:

Handwriting

  • Have a home for your journal. If possible, make this space close to where you like to write. If you carry your journal during the day, have a place to store it when you come home.
  • Have plenty of your favorite pens on hand. Store pens with your journal and remember to put them back each time you stop writing.

Keyboarding

  • On a computer, decide how to store your entries. Will you keep your entries on the computer's hard drive? Will you make a separate file for each entry, for each day (if you write more than one time a day) or for each month? The more files you make, the more organizing you will have to do.
  • Make a back-up copy of your journal entries in case your computer crashes and files are lost. 

No rules

The main thing: Don’t let your journal become a stress in itself. There are no rules for keeping a journal—if you don’t feel like writing each day, that’s OK. Also, you are not being graded for proper spelling or good grammar. Writing in full sentences is not a requirement—sometimes jotting down a fragment or quick thought is all you need.

Keeping a journal can be a fun way to learn about yourself—what stresses you and how to deal with that stress. Your journal-writing experience can be exactly what you make of it.

By Shauna Gellerman

Summary

  • Releases anxiety and tension
  • Recording thoughts helps escape pressures
  • It can handwritten, typed, etc.

After a taxing day, a great way to let go of worry and stress is to write in a journal. It doesn’t matter if you are a good writer or not—you are the only one who will see your journal (unless you choose to share it with others).

Whether you put pen to paper or type on a computer, a journal is a healing place to collect your thoughts and ideas. Recording your thoughts—especially during a stressful period—lets you get away from everyday stresses and worries.

Setting aside a short amount of time to write in your journal about the strains of the day, how they made you feel, and how you reacted to them, can help you relax.

Organizing your journal writing

After a hectic and harried day, you don’t want to come home anxious to pour out your thoughts, only to search a messy desk for a written journal or look through files on your computer hoping to find the one that holds your journal entries. Here are ideas for organizing your writing:

Handwriting

  • Have a home for your journal. If possible, make this space close to where you like to write. If you carry your journal during the day, have a place to store it when you come home.
  • Have plenty of your favorite pens on hand. Store pens with your journal and remember to put them back each time you stop writing.

Keyboarding

  • On a computer, decide how to store your entries. Will you keep your entries on the computer's hard drive? Will you make a separate file for each entry, for each day (if you write more than one time a day) or for each month? The more files you make, the more organizing you will have to do.
  • Make a back-up copy of your journal entries in case your computer crashes and files are lost. 

No rules

The main thing: Don’t let your journal become a stress in itself. There are no rules for keeping a journal—if you don’t feel like writing each day, that’s OK. Also, you are not being graded for proper spelling or good grammar. Writing in full sentences is not a requirement—sometimes jotting down a fragment or quick thought is all you need.

Keeping a journal can be a fun way to learn about yourself—what stresses you and how to deal with that stress. Your journal-writing experience can be exactly what you make of it.

By Shauna Gellerman

Summary

  • Releases anxiety and tension
  • Recording thoughts helps escape pressures
  • It can handwritten, typed, etc.

After a taxing day, a great way to let go of worry and stress is to write in a journal. It doesn’t matter if you are a good writer or not—you are the only one who will see your journal (unless you choose to share it with others).

Whether you put pen to paper or type on a computer, a journal is a healing place to collect your thoughts and ideas. Recording your thoughts—especially during a stressful period—lets you get away from everyday stresses and worries.

Setting aside a short amount of time to write in your journal about the strains of the day, how they made you feel, and how you reacted to them, can help you relax.

Organizing your journal writing

After a hectic and harried day, you don’t want to come home anxious to pour out your thoughts, only to search a messy desk for a written journal or look through files on your computer hoping to find the one that holds your journal entries. Here are ideas for organizing your writing:

Handwriting

  • Have a home for your journal. If possible, make this space close to where you like to write. If you carry your journal during the day, have a place to store it when you come home.
  • Have plenty of your favorite pens on hand. Store pens with your journal and remember to put them back each time you stop writing.

Keyboarding

  • On a computer, decide how to store your entries. Will you keep your entries on the computer's hard drive? Will you make a separate file for each entry, for each day (if you write more than one time a day) or for each month? The more files you make, the more organizing you will have to do.
  • Make a back-up copy of your journal entries in case your computer crashes and files are lost. 

No rules

The main thing: Don’t let your journal become a stress in itself. There are no rules for keeping a journal—if you don’t feel like writing each day, that’s OK. Also, you are not being graded for proper spelling or good grammar. Writing in full sentences is not a requirement—sometimes jotting down a fragment or quick thought is all you need.

Keeping a journal can be a fun way to learn about yourself—what stresses you and how to deal with that stress. Your journal-writing experience can be exactly what you make of it.

By Shauna Gellerman

The information provided on the Achieve Solutions site, including, but not limited to, articles, assessments, and other general information, is for informational purposes only and should not be treated as behavioral health care or management advice. Please direct questions regarding the operation of the Achieve Solutions site to Web Feedback. If you have questions related to workplace issues, please contact your human resources department. ©Carelon Behavioral Health

 

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