From Mind to Paper: Here’s how expressing your feelings through words can improve your mental health!

Friday: Mindfulness by Miles From the desk of Miles Everson: Happy Friday! Welcome to today’s edition of “Mindfulness by Miles!” Every Friday, I write about health, wellness, mindfulness, and the future of work with the hopes of helping you improve your personal and professional life. Today, I’ll share my insights about a particular activity that can instantly help you improve your mental well-being. Curious to know more? Keep reading below. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

From Mind to Paper: Here’s how expressing your feelings through words can improve your mental health! In today’s digital age, content from the Internet is much more accessible than at any other point in time. While this has been beneficial in keeping a great number of people informed, this has also led some to stay chronically online and glued to their device’s screen just to stay updated about the latest news and developments around the globe. The overwhelming need to stay updated has become harmful to mental health. Fortunately, there’s a way to stay away from your screen while significantly boosting your mental health! The solution? Journaling! Similar to a diary, WebMD describes journaling as the dedicated act of writing down your personal thoughts, feelings, insights, and more on a piece of paper or a notebook. While journaling can be done digitally, writing it down on paper is still the best way to express your thoughts and emotions. Unlike digital journaling, writing on paper offers a stronger emotional connection and an environment free of digital temptations. So, how does journaling positively impact your mental health? Journaling enables you to clear your mind, change your perspective, and better process your emotions. Aside from those benefits, here are other positive results of journaling to your mental health: Relieves stress and anxiety The act of writing down your feelings is actually linked to decreased distress and anxiety. According to a 2018 study published by JMIR Mental Health, journaling can help individuals manage their anxiety levels. Similarly, a study conducted in Pennsylvania found that people with anxiety who journaled at least 15 minutes a day reduced the amount of stress they felt. Process emotions Journaling gives you an opportunity to express your emotions and inner thoughts in a safe and private space without judgment, creating a positive impact on you and your mental health. Build self-awareness Journaling allows you to better understand yourself since it allows you to process and acknowledge what you feel. Provide mental clarity Writing down your negative thoughts and feelings can help clear your mind and enable you to manage your emotions more effectively, think more objectively, and become better at handling difficult and stressful situations. So, if you haven’t journaled before, now is the time to consider doing it! … and if you want to start journaling now, you don’t have to worry, as this activity is all about creating a safe space for you to express yourself freely. If you’re unsure how to start, here a couple of tips you can use to help you get started: Try out journaling methods and pick the one that works for you and your preferences Journaling method refers to the specific technique you use to achieve a particular goal. If you are just starting out, you can explore different journaling methods to find out which works best for you. You can try to reflect on your experiences and emotions with reflective journaling, or clear your head with freewriting, or maybe express gratitude with gratitude journaling. There’s no right or wrong way to journal. The key to journaling is choosing the method that resonates with you as different journaling methods work for different people. Create guide questions for journaling Journaling is an activity that doesn’t have to be time consuming. Sometimes, 10 minutes is all you need to write your worries and anxieties away, helping you clear your mind and organize your thoughts. However, when starting out, it can be difficult to find out what you want to write about, thus taking up your time. One of the best workarounds to this problem is creating guide questions such as: What am I grateful for today? What challenges am I dealing with in my life right now? Describe the best and worst days of my life. What are my goals for next week? How am I feeling right now? What can make me feel better? Remember: There’s no one-size-fits-all in journaling. So, utilize these tips based on your personality and preferences. — Overall, the impact of journaling on your mental health extends beyond yourself. When you are in a better mental state, you can create a better environment for yourself and the people around you. Through journaling, you can set yourself up for success in conquering your personal struggles and improving your mental health. So, if you haven’t yet, pick up that pen and start journaling! You never know, this just might be what you need to further improve your mental well-being and set yourself up for success in conquering your struggles! I hope you found today’s topic helpful!     EXCITING NEWS AHEAD The world of work has shifted, and there’s no going back. The barriers to entry have never been lower for talented professionals to work independently, and today’s massive external workforce is hardly a pandemic-produced fad. 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