Do you keep a journal? Maybe when you were a kid, you used to journal everything you ever had. It was your safe space, where you talked about everything and anything. It felt good to let it all out without the fear of being judged. But as an adult, do you follow this? If not, you should! Well, it is because journaling is beneficial for depression. If you are suffering from anxiety or depression, writing down your thoughts can help you determine a pattern or triggers. Moreover, even if you do not feel anxious or depressed, journaling is still good for your mental and physical health. This short blog talks about journaling and how it is a good step for managing your depression levels.
Why should you journal for depression?
Journaling is a tool for counseling and treating mental illness. It includes writing down your thoughts and has nothing to do with the intake of any medicine. In psychotherapy, two journaling forms are prevalent:
- Expressive writing is when the therapist asks you to write down your innermost thoughts and feelings, focusing on your emotional experience and not on people, objects, or events.
- Gratitude journaling is focusing on positive aspects of your life and finding any event or interaction in a day for which you are grateful.
Writing down your thoughts and feelings does benefit you. Some of these benefits include:
- Reduction in anxiety
- It breaks away your cycle of non-stop thinking, overwhelming emotions, and brooding.
- Improving the way you perceive an emotion
- Regulate your emotions.
- Boosting your physical health
- It can lower your blood pressure, which can increase due to excessive stress or depressing thoughts.
- It improves liver and lung function.
- It improves your mood.
4 unique benefits of journaling
It helps lower anxiety.
Every therapy center and therapist recommends journaling to anyone who goes through anxiety. When you find the best therapy center in your region, you will understand how much emphasis every counselor places. It is helpful because writing down your thoughts means you are accepting your negative emotions, which can help you find ways to deal with them.
It helps with depression.
Depression is the next stage of anxiety and can be high-functioning, or you can feel suicidal one day and happy another. It helps to find the best treatment center if you have been struggling with depression a lot. For instance, depression treatment centers in California are considered the best due to their approaches, doctors, and success rate. They, too, use journaling, both gratitude journaling and expressive writing, as it reduces depressive symptoms. However, you have to be consistent with journal writing for at least 30 days in a row.
It helps you manage stress.
If you are feeling stressed about any event or situation, writing down the same can help you find a way to calm yourself down. Stress can consume you with negative thoughts, and if you do not take measures, it can cause burnout and even chronic stress.
It is great for reflection and recovery.
When you are chronically stressed or anxious, finding a silver lining is challenging. The thoughts consume you, and you do not see how you can get out of this situation. When you write everything down, you reflect on the situation, the why’s, and can come up with a plan to get better.
How do I journal?
- Journaling can come easy to some people, but others may struggle with it. If you are the same, here are a few simple steps to start journaling.
- Start writing every day. Keep 5 to 15 minutes aside in the beginning, and write anything that comes to mind. Once you become comfortable with this, you will find how easy it is to write down your thoughts.
- Always have a pen and paper; it will ensure you can write down your thoughts whenever you want.
- Draw or create a visual. It does not have to be words; if you want to express yourself with a drawing, go ahead.
Conclusion
When you use journaling as an intervention for your intrusive thoughts and depression, it does work. You feel lighter sharing your thoughts because you know no one is going to read or judge them. Even a therapist treats depression and anxiety by using journaling as one such approach. It helps a person suffering to see that the negative patterns or self-talk they indulge in are just what they are experiencing. It is not who they are as a person. Thus, start journaling today for your mental health.
