There’s a good reason we turned to our diaries to help us to cope with teenage angst – research has found that expressing emotions through journaling helps many to relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety and more.
In our current era of constant distraction, endless to-do lists, and limitless options, the ability to remain focused and calm is something that has to be actively worked on. Fortunately, there’s an excellent tool for mental health that most of us already grew up using and still have access to; journaling.
Although we tend to stop journaling once we’ve moved past our teenage angst, this form of writing therapy is just as necessary for mental health as we navigate through the ups and downs of adulthood.
Our thoughts run at a mile a minute – when we write, however, our thought process is slowed down. Journaling forces us to take the time and identify our fears, isolate our problems, and pinpoint negative patterns as well as triggers. In a nutshell, writing thoughts out helps bring a wandering mind to attention, and allows us to organize them and put things in perspective.
