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Journalling helps you calm down and feel good. Here’s how to write your anxiety away

Hindustan Times, Delhi | By
Sep 09, 2020 04:00 PM IST

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

Are you feeling anxious about something in your present or a near future event? Writing your feeling down have been proven to help you cope with your feelings better.

Putting down your thoughts has been found to improve your mood, overall well-being, and keep stress levels low for those who write regularly.(Unsplash)
Putting down your thoughts has been found to improve your mood, overall well-being, and keep stress levels low for those who write regularly.(Unsplash)

According to new research, if the anxiety of performing an upcoming task is giving you stress, simply writing about your feelings may help you perform the task more efficiently.

If you're getting cold feet due to anything and that’s also a reason for stress in your life, writing about these feelings may help you overcome the jitters so you can perform the task more efficiently, suggests a research published online in the journal Psychophysiology.

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

“Excessive worrying can hurt your well-being and lead to a 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 dated September 7, 2020.

Expressive writing, or putting down your thoughts to a paper or for the digital-savvy, keyboard, has been found to improve your mood, overall well-being, and keep stress levels low for those who write 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.”

As per an article in the New York Times, What’s All This About Journaling, “... students were randomly assigned to write about either traumatic experiences or superficial topics for four days in a row. Six weeks after the writing sessions, those that had delved into traumatic experiences reported more positive moods and fewer illnesses than those writing about everyday experiences.”

However, writing or journalling may only be a part of an overall endeavour towards leading a healthy lifestyle. Some of the other steps to follow in order to reduce stress and keep your mind at peace are:

- Meditate every day at the start of your day, or if you prefer, then as a night-time ritual

- Eat a healthy diet without overloading on sugar-rich foods

- Exercise regularly. Fitness levels release the happy hormones in the body, helping you stay upbeat through good emotional, mental and physical health

- Don’t cheat on your snoozes because lesser sleep is a cause of several deep-rooted lifestyle disorders and prolonged lack of sleep might also be fatal if preventive measures aren’t applied.

- Avoid alcohol consumption

- Read before bedtime

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