Not only is it simple and effective, but it can also be fun.
There are manyways to journal, so you could choose thejournaling methodthat works best for you.
It can minimize some of the roots of your anxiety through this focused examination.
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Research suggests that it may help lower stress, reduce anxiety, and improve your overall well-being.
Here’s how to start.
Keep going until you feel you have written what needs to be said but haven’t delved into rumination.
Describe the events that are currently causing difficulties for you.
Tip
Write about what is happening right now.
You may notice that what is really stressful for you is the possibility of what could happen next.
This realization might bring stress relief in itself!
Could things be different?
Ask yourself questions like:
Challenging your thoughtscan help you relieve anxiety.
Generate a new story for yourself, even a new set of possibilities.
Write these next to the fears that are in your head right now.
It can also be helpful to examine yourcognitive distortionsto see how changing habitual stress-inducing thought patterns might benefit you.
Recall Your Strengths
Think about the biggest challenges you’ve faced and overcome.
What do you think you could learn from it?
In what ways do you think you would gain strength as you face these new obstacles?
You may find new strengths you didn’t know you had!
Consider a Plan
Assuming what you feardidhappen, what would you do?
Thinking through your plan takes away the fear of the unknown.
Freewriting
Freewritinginvolves writing down your thoughts, whatever they may be, without censoring or editing them.
The purpose is to explore your thoughts and feelings and to uncover the wisdom and understanding you already possess.
Both of these outcomes can offer important insight into what (and how) you’re thinking.
Research suggests that even writing for short amounts of time can have lasting anxiety-relieving benefits.
You may even want to pick up a journal with prompts to help.
However, some issues require more than a self-help tool can provide.
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“It’s all in your head”: Managing catastrophizing before it becomes a catastrophe.Can Urol Assoc J. Springer Publishing Company; 2018.
