Journaling is the act of writing down your thoughts, feelings, ideas, experiences, and reflections regularly on a piece of paper, notebook, or digital application/tracker. It’s a very beneficial hobby and pastime yet seems so scarce in the world, with people not being able to sustain it for long enough. Still, here are 5 primary reasons you should try out journaling.
It’s Free and Improves Overall Mental-Wellbeing
Writing is extremely flexible and can be done anytime and anywhere, whether in your new flat or in a garden or at a nearby park from your Wynwood Grand condo. You can do it on various media, from notebooks and paper to digital applications and trackers on your phone. You only need to give in a little of your time, effort, and mind to gain and improve several different mental and emotional benefits, such as problem-solving, self-awareness, critical thinking, and building overall emotional intelligence (EQ).
Aids in Emotional Coping
Your journal serves as an honest judgement-free space that allows you to express your emotions and feelings any way you want. By finally channeling your emotions worry free you disrupt the cycle of replaying negative thoughts over and over in your head (rumination). Writing down your struggles/problems supports the process of finding the root causes and calculating possible solutions much easier.
Constantly Refines Memory
Instead of just going about your day as new experiences and scenes happen in your life, write them down in a journal as a mental rehearsal to refine your memory. As you do this every day, overall clarity and memory sharpens. Additionally, once your notes and thoughts get older, you can always go over them anytime to review past events.
Boosts Immunity and Physical Recovery
As a therapeutic form of writing, journaling reduces cortisol levels, regulates stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, and physically loosens muscles, increasing your overall immunity to certain illnesses greatly. All these effects allow the immune system to work efficiently and undisturbed when you have physical injury.
Tracks Personal Goals
Staying disciplined and accountable to your goals is key to success. Journaling helps you optimize your progression to reaching milestones and achievements by identifying patterns, excuses, and seeing your actual progress on things (all oppose self-deception).
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.