Writing down one’s thoughts linked to better health, grades, and lifestyle
When you spend all day at school typing away at your computer screen, scribbling notes, and hurriedly signing this or that form, going home to write more doesn’t exactly sound enticing. As such, journalling easily falls to the wayside in the busy schedule of the modern student, the young professional, or the tired parent. This is such a shame, seeing as this easy-to-do self-care habit comes with a myriad of emotional and physical health benefits.
Since the 1980s, studies have shown that journal writing—in particular, writing about an emotional or traumatic life event—is related to superior immune function, reduced health problems, lower skin conductance levels, better adjustment to post-secondary education and more quickly finding employment after being laid off. It was even proved that survivors of the Holocaust who opened up about their trauma through journaling and dialogue were found to be healthier a year after their disclosure than those who did not.
Writing about traumatic events thus has the power to allow both your body and mind to process and move on from them, whilst hopefully holding on to whatever lessons they may have taught you. Journalling about other life events and goals can also have positive effects. Self-affirmations and goal-setting can have a real impact on your emotional levels, and seeing a goal written down pushes you to want to achieve it more than you would if you had no physical reminder.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Self-affirmations and goal-setting…[/pullquote]
It can be hard to always keep in mind why you’re busting your tush so hard at school every day, for what seems like months and years on end. It can be difficult to remember why you bought that gym membership when the pizza number is just a swipe away. Looking over to see your notes to yourself proclaiming dreams about vet school, or chiseled abs that you could hand-wash clothes on, may be just what you need to follow through, and persevere. Personally, if I wake up feeling gloomy (Mondays), I like to open my journal and, without giving it too much thought, write a list of three things I’m grateful for that day. Be they people, food, TV shows, or even something as basic as the sun or the moon, expressing gratitude in the form of the written word makes it feel real, like I really do have something to be grateful for. That one list alone can make the whole day, if not the whole week, feel better than it would’ve otherwise.
It’s also really enjoyable to keep journals, and then read back through them years later, to see how far you’ve come, and remind yourself of how much you can accomplish in such a short amount of time. So, instead of scrolling through Facebook or Instagram one last time before you go to bed tonight, or checking your messages first thing in the morning tomorrow, spend a little time relieving your mind and body of any stresses they may be holding on to, and set yourself up for a great day ahead. I promise, you’ll thank yourself later.