JOURNALING FOR MENTAL HEALTH : RESEARCH

 

Clear Your Mind : When you feel stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what's causing it. Once you've identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve them.

ARE you feeling anxious about something in your present or a near future event? Writing your feelings down has been proven to help you cope with your feelings better, reported Hindustan Times.

If the anxiety of performing an upcoming task is giving you stress, simply writing about your feelings may help you perform it more efficiently, suggests a research published online in the journal  Psychophysiology.

Writing out your thoughts might prove to be cathartic exercise as, like reading, it makes you channel your emotions in a positive manner, which in turn has a positive impact on one's mental health and keeps stress at bay.

''Excessive worrying can hurt your well-being and lead to state of chronic anxiety or stress. It can also stress your relationships, harm your self-confidence and hurt your career,'' says an article on Psychology today.

Expressive writing, or putting down your thoughts on paper or with digital-savvy, keyboard, has been found to improve mood, overall well-being, and keep stress levels low for those who do it regularly.

According to a study titled Journaling For Mental Health  by the University of Rochester, ''when you have a problem and you're stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what's causing that stress or anxiety.

Once you've identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress.''

However, writing or journaling may only be a part of an overall endeavour towards leading a healthy lifestyle.

Some of the other steps to follow for mental peace include meditation, eating health, regular exercise and ample sleep.

The World Students Society thanks News Desk : The Express Tribune.