Have you received or bought a new journal, planner or notebook and haven’t cracked it open yet? Or perhaps you started out strong, writing every day but have already abandoned it. You’re not alone.

 

I used to love opening a new journal, notebook or planner. It always felt like a new beginning. It was full of possibilities and an opportunity to make this year the year I’m finally going to be organized, grateful, eat healthier, exercise, or whatever idea I had going into the new year. By the middle of January, I’d already be bored with journaling and would end up banishing it to a shelf in my room where journals, planners, and good intentions go to die.

 

If that sounds familiar, then I want you to grab that abandoned journal or notebook off the shelf, dust it off, and look at it again. This time don’t look at it as a journal but look at it as a natural stress reliever because research shows that writing is the quickest and easiest stress reliever (not chocolate or a glass of wine or both like we always thought!)

Writing Relieves Stress!

One of the biggest reasons we quit writing in journals is that we don’t know what to write. We think we need to write what we’re grateful for or we write down all our hopes, goals, and aspirations for the year. These are all inspiring to see down on paper, but have you sat down and just written whatever pours out?

“It’s not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.”  ~ C.S. Lewis

Releasing all the thoughts, worries and feelings you’ve kept bottled up inside will free your mind of all the stress you’ve been storing up throughout the day. When you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed or anxious, dust off that journal and just sit down and write.

 

What you write may not be pretty or make any sense, but it will be real. No one is going to see it so allow yourself to be vulnerable and pour your heart and mind onto that blank page. Your journal is there to listen to your thoughts and feelings; it doesn’t judge, blame or shame so let go of whatever you’re holding on to.

Your journal is your own delicious little secret.

 

When you can’t figure out an answer to a problem, write it down. Just seeing it down in black and white frees it from the confines of our messy minds and it’s often easier to see the solution to a problem. Problems often become much bigger when we keep them locked up in our minds.

 

The more you write down what’s in your heart and mind, the more you’ll see the benefits because writing has proven to be extremely therapeutic for strengthening emotional and mental health. So, when times get messy, and they always do, put your phone away and give yourself some love. Make yourself a cup of tea, find a quiet place to sit, and write my darling, write.

“Writing down what’s in your heart and mind is like listening and understanding yourself at the same time.” ~ unknown

Tags: anxiety, emotional wellness, emotions, Feelings, journal, overwhelm, Stress, Worry, writing