Writing has plenty of benefits. And we aren’t surprised to learn that journaling does too! After all, we are long advocating for the pluses of writing and literature in general. As we completely understand, different forms of exercising one’s brain lead to boosted productivity, emotional intelligence, cognitive abilities, etc. After all, this is a manner of expressing oneself and delving into one’s deeper parts, both in respect to mind, and in relation to the soul.
So, since you are here, you probably want to know more about journaling. And that is exactly what we are going to give you. We will be talking about the benefits of keeping a journal and what can journaling give us.
Mental Health Benefits
Writing is immensely beneficial for one’s mental health. It will boost your creativity, yeah, it will give your imagination a place to roam. But regular journal keeping can also allow you to have a safe way to release the daily stresses that we all accumulate all the time. Keeping a journal can boost your self-esteem since you will see how many amazing things you are achieving. You can relieve the happy moments and safely open the valve of the sad ones. By doing so, you are giving yourself a space where you can vent out and feel relaxed afterwards. And even better, here you won’t be afraid of other people’s judgement. Now you can process negative emotions, feelings, and occasions in a safe, fear-less manner.
If you keep a journal, you will be able to more effectively solve problems and reduce your stress. This will also give you a better clarity of feelings and thoughts. And what’s more – you shall manage to understand yourself better and will find out how to better resolve problems arising with other peoples.
There is plenty of data about the benefits of journaling when it comes to mental health and emotions. Many therapists encourage their patients to keep a regular journal. According to one study, 15-20 minutes on three-five occasions helped the participants deal with emotional events, even such that were traumatic.
Of course, if you are experiencing problems with your mental health, we encourage you to turn to a professional for help. That way you will be getting the proper guidance through those hard times. Once you have done that, you can also try and keep a journal to help yourself process what is happening.
Boosting Creativity
You probably know that one of the advices on how to write better is… to simply start writing and then write some more. And more. And more.
Well, you don’t need to simply write fiction. You can also keep a journal where you can safely experience your emotions, thoughts, and feelings, while at the same time tuning your creativity.
When you write about your experiences, you will process them, yes. But what you will also do it see them at different angles and find opportunities that you’ve missed. You will see how to divide complex things into coherent pieces of information that are relevant to your current goal.
Keeping a journal helps people brainstorm. Even if you think that what you plan on writing is boring, this seemingly boring thing may lead to deeper connections to thoughts, patterns, ideas, etc.
A Friend to Count on
Your diary will serve the purpose of a friend. And, unlike other people who have life on their own, the diary will be always there for you to vent out, to share, to experience, and to overcome difficulties. Even things you dare not say to others, you can say to your diary. This will help you process toxic emotions and feelings and you will be able to gain more clarity.
Tracking Your Behavior
When you start keeping a journal, you will see yourself looking more consciously into the behavior you are exerting. You shall be able to see what are the patterns in it. By doing so, you will find out what is helping you and what is not. You will see which patterns help you achieve growth, health, and personal achievements. You will start becoming more mindful, so you will exercise more proper behavior.
Memory Strengthening
Research published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology stated that writing your thoughts can improve the working memory. When you write something on the paper, you are basically telling your brain to remember it. That is a reason why taking notes can help you with your memory. So, that is one more benefit to journal keeping – you are giving your memory a boost.
Inspiration
By keeping a journal you will be able to give yourself inspiration for you are giving your imagination a place to go wild. The ideas, thoughts, and connections that will come can leave you in awe.
Improves Communication Skills
Writing, as we already said, gets better by writing. When you do it daily, you will get better in it. The same goes with communication. When you practice it, it will advance. And by keeping a journal you are exercising the ability to communicate. Sure, you are basically speaking to yourself but that is a good starter. So, try to express yourself in a coherent manner and you will see that happening in your everyday life.
Conclusion
Sure, we know that sometimes one simply seems like they cannot put anything on the paper. But when you start, the flow of thoughts will carry you on. This will allow you to get more creative, to put all you think on paper, and carefully examine it. By doing so you are gaining the ability to better understand yourself and see what patterns are working and which aren’t.
Indeed, there are numerous benefits of keeping a journal and they are all worth going for. So, what is better than starting now? Get a notebook out and try to scribble down what you think about that idea!
Author bio:
Laura Fields is a professional writer who puts a lot of effort in the educational field, in particular, some sites as BestEssayServicesRadar, EssayExaminer, and different blogs and services for tips, tricks, and advice on being a student, achieving better results, and boosting your intelligence, creativity, and productivity.
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