Journaling Can Be A Healthy Release

When we write our problems down, we can visualize them better and start writing a structured plan to solve them. The results showed that the students who followed through with the experiment didn’t show body image thoughts later in life. That said, journaling can be a healthy release if you need to get those pesky negative thoughts out of your head and then throw the entry away or burn it. When you read what you have written at a later date, you will see if what you wrote in the current moment is similar to your previous entries. In doing so, you can recognize patterns, which will help you solve the current problems you’re experiencing. By understanding our habits brought on by anxiety, our tolerance of stress and the ability to manage our heightened emotions will dramatically increase. If we can take a step back and realize that we felt one hundred times better by the end of our journal entry, that overall will make us feel more accomplished. It will also set us up to reduce stress during stressful events because when we notice our patterns, we will notice it’s like any other time and won’t fear it anymore. The American Medical Association journal conducted a study about participants with chronic illnesses who journaled their thoughts and stressful life events. The result of the experiment was that out of the 112 patients, those who wrote in a journal experienced fewer physical symptoms than the ones who didn’t journal at all. After four months, the group showed a fifty percent improvement rate with their physical ailments. So, if journaling is so positive, how do we do it? A gratitude journal is a journal where we write down every day what we are grateful for at the time.

A Mind With A Heart Of Its Own

Whether this is a whole list of things, or just a few things, or the same things, it’s the process of writing down what we’re thankful for that helps our brains release stress. By keeping a gratitude journal, we can look back on the things we enjoy and appreciate when we feel depressed or angry. Essentially, writing and reading these back will create a positive environment, which will help us keep a positive perspective on the world. Gratitude journals are helpful because as we write down what we are thankful for, we realize that there is more positivity in our lives than we thought. It helps us to take a step back from cynicism and anger while also uplifting our overall attitudes, and to envision bigger and brighter future. These journals help us process our thoughts and emotions and release the anxiety and anger rather than bottling it up and releasing it on someone else. A Diary is also used for writing positive experiences so that we can look back and remember, ‘that was a good day’. Ultimately, this will keep us happier and increase our levels of serotonin and dopamine hormones. This journal helps us stay organized and productive. If we are more productive, we’re more focused and confident. Confidence boosts our moods and keeps our minds uncluttered, which relieves stress and anxiety symptoms. Make your planner special by adding stickers, highlights, sticky notes, photos, and memories.

Got To Give It Up

Think of it as your blog that shows you your accomplishments and helps you stay motivated to complete the other things on your bullet list. We learn how to do this through our state of mind. If we are negative, we are always going to see negativity around us. Positive affirmations are one thing we can use to reduce anxious symptoms and become more resilient when a stressful event happens in the present moment. However, much like anything else, it takes practice and commitment to make these healthy changes in our lives to become resilient and strong against our fears, which is why habits are set in place. Decreases stress hormones. Increases feel good hormones. As we discussed previously, when we are anxious, cortisol and adrenaline work together to induce the unpleasant anxiety symptoms. Ruminating about our feelings and sensations causes significant stress, which builds tension, causing even more physical symptoms. The vicious cycle then repeats, causing us to become a victim to our thinking traps. Physical activity distracts us from negative thoughts and emotions. Physical activity can distract the brain from overly focusing on negative thoughts and redirect its focus.

Taking The Sun From My Eyes

Our human instinct for survival is to be around other people and use them for support and advice. Our social connections and learning from one another have thrust our evolution forward at such speed. Without regular social interaction with people with shared beliefs and goals, we can isolate, which is a huge contributor to depression and anxiety. When we feel depressed or anxious, it is incredibly hard to put ourselves into social situations. By exercising with someone or in a group, we benefit from social support and connection without the pressure of being sociable. Physical activity may be linked to lower physiological reactivity toward stress. No matter what the weather, get outside for at least twenty minutes daily. When I am particularly anxious, I find running spurts and then walking are incredibly helpful. You don’t need a gym kit or even trainers. Just run for ten seconds, then walk for three minutes, then run for ten more seconds and walk for another three minutes, and so on. It not only gives your brain something to concentrate on, but it also gets rid of some of the excess norepinephrine we don’t need. If you really can’t get outside because of childcare or other commitments, then you can do things at home. Start by running on the spot for twenty seconds and then walk on the spot for three minutes and repeat three more times. This will give your brain something to focus on and calm the amygdala. Try some yoga poses if you can. I know this is hard when we are anxious because everything feels too heightened to stay in one pose for long periods.