I came across an article, 100 Ways to De-Stress, by Karen Carnabucci. I posted on her first suggestion, using chocolate to destress, Chocolate Meditation. You can’t go wrong with chocolate:-)
Karen’s second suggestion is to Journal. I do journal but not consistently. I found it especially helpful when my ex first left. Through writing, I was able to find pieces of myself that were shattered. I am still finding the pieces today, nearly nine years later. I went online to find a few benefits of journaling, and believe me, there are many. If you click on any of the links below, you will find more info…
Positive Effects of Journaling.
- Reduce stress–Writing about anger, sadness, and other painful emotions help release the intensity of these feelings. By doing so, you will feel calmer and better able to stay in the present. Psych Central
- Healing-Expressive writing is a route to healing — emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Dr. James Pennebaker, the author of Writing to Heal, has improved immune function in writing exercise participants. Stress often comes from emotional blockages and overthinking hypotheticals. He explains, “When we translate an experience into language, we make the experience graspable.” And in doing so, you free yourself from mentally being tangled in traumas. Huff Post*
- Lower Blood Pressure -Because journaling lowers stress and anxiety, it can help manage high blood pressure. Dr. James Pennebaker claims that journaling strengthens T-lymphocytes, immune cells that fluctuate with stress and anxiety. Strengthening them boosts your immune system and helps keep your blood pressure low. Health and Fitness Revolution*
- Journals help you connect with your values, emotions, and goals. By journaling about what you believe in, why you believe it, how you feel, and your goals, you better understand your relationships to those things. This is because you must sort through the mental clutter and explain why you do what you do and feel what you feel. Life Hack*
- Keeping a journal requires us to write out our goals. The importance of committing our desires to paper cannot be overstated. It is a simple process, but it pays great dividends. Writing out our goals provides the opportunity to articulate them clearly and makes their achievement appear closer. Becoming Minimalist
(One of the suggestions I found was to find a quiet place to journal with no distractions. As you will see in the above photo, I had a distraction. That’s ok; it’s only Brodie:-)
How do you journal?
Check out this site for details on how to journal…Journaling Saves Lives
So how do I sum up journaling? For me, it is a release of my thoughts and emotions. It does confirm my faith and helps me set up goals. I find it to be not only the act of writing, but I direct most of my writing to God, so for me, it is an act of worship.
In my opinion, you should give it a try. If you have trouble coming up with how to begin, I suggest you get a journal that prompts you. Right now, I am using a devotional journal…
My suggestion for today. Get out a pen and paper and grab a bar of chocolate. Hopefully, it will help decrease some of your stress. I know that if you are going through the pain of separation and divorce, the stress is unbearable at times.
Don’t give up. Remember God’s promise.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.”
God Bless
KathieyV
