How Journaling Can Help You Cope With Life Changes

It’s no secret that many of us are stresse. Add in a Major Life Change, Such as divorce, to Dire Health Diagnosis, or The Death of Sumone Close To You, and Your Emotional Health May May Take A Hit. Many of these stressors are out of your control, but it’s with your control (and Worth Your While) to Build Practices Into Your Daily Routine That Help You Decompress, Journaling Among Them.

Writing Down Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Experiences May Not Fix Every concern, But It Can Be an Effective Tool for Managing Anxiety, Gaining Control of Your Emots, and Discovering A Path Forward. In Fact, Adults with Anxiety and Other Medical Conditions Who Were Randomly Assigned to Keep a Journal Saw Greater Improvements in Well-Being ThanS their Nonjournaling Counterparts, According to One Study.

5 Scenarios When Journaling Can Help

WHETHER YOU’VE NEVER JOURNALED BEFORE OR YOU’RE A LIFELONE REFlective Writer, Putting Your Thoughts On Paper in Strategic Ways May Help You Cope With Sub of Life’s Challenging Changes and Milestones.

Here, experts have outlined Five Common Life Changes When Journaling is particularly beneficial and offer exercises on how to get started.

1. it can he help strengthen marriage tues, whether you’re struggling or not

Journaling Can Help New Couple Navigate Building to Partnership or Longtime Couple resolve conflict.

You May Choose To Keep Only Marriage Journal. Like Other Types of Journals, only Marriage Journal is a private space for your eyes only it is can offer a big-pickle view of your marriage.

“Ophtan, we tend to overlook the highs and lows of Our interactions with ur spause in favor of how we are currently feeling, but This can make it it had to see the overal LCSW, A Therapist With the Virtual Health Platform Plushcare Based in Riverside, California. “Having only Journal Helps Serve As a Record of Sorts That We Can Refer Back To, and the Information in Those Journals Can Help Identify Any Repeating Patterns in The Relationship and Communication Styles That Court Use Improvement.”

The other option is a Couple’s Marriage Journal, Where You and Your Spouse Share Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Concerns With One Another. This Type of Journal Can Be a Helpful, Positive Tool for Couple Who Need A Push to Show Appreciation Toward One Earthher, Buckhead Says.

She Recommends Writing in A Shared Journal at Least Once A Week, and You Can Use To Voice The Small Things Your Partner You have done That Meant A Lot To You But Possibly Went Unvoiced, and The Give Them a Chance to read it. “Ophtan, We Think Our Spouse Knows We Are Grateful Or Happy With Them, But When It Is Not Outht Voiced, It Can Be Easy For Your Spouse To Not real Their Own Heads, ”She Says. “This is your chance to make your appreciation knows.”

Marriage Journal prompt to get You Started For only Marriage Journal, Buckhead recommends Asking Yourself: What Aspects of the Relationship Match Your Ideal Vision of What A RELATIONSHIP SHOULD BE? Have you communicated your needs for the parts that don’t?

And for a Shared Journal, do you think: What is submissive your partner Did this week that made you smile? “Imagine How Positive You Wouled Feel Reading Your Partner’s Writings About The New Nickname You Gavem Had Them Smiling The Entire Day Or How Picking Up Their Favorite Food Ken They To Told You they had a har day mole The Made The Sel .

2. It can he help you Process Grief from The Loss of A Loved One

Losing a Loved One is Life’s Most Stressful Event, According to Mental Health America. You May experience Wide Range of Emots, Believer Denial, Confusion, Sadness, Anger, Guilt, Humiliation, and Shock.

RUGARDless Of How Grief Shows Up for You, Journaling is a Helpful Way to Relay The Emotions So You Can Begin Processing Them. “Journaling or Letter Writing Can Be Cathart, Specially During Moments When You Feel Overcoma With Emotion,” Buckhead Says.

INSTERAD OF TRYING TO JOURNAL ON TO REGULAR SCHEDULE, BUCKHHHEAD RECOMMENDS STRIKING WHILE THE IRON IS HOT. “Grief Offen Hits Hard and Suddenly, Like A Wave,” Buckhead Says.

Use APP on your smartphone or a Small Notebook to Jot Down How You’re Feeling When an Emotion Becomes Overwhelming Or You Want To Share Sumthing With The Person You Lost. “Let The Words Wash Over You and Bring You Comfort,” Buckhead Says. “Whether you had months, Years, Or decades to get to know your loved one, You Know What They Would Tell You Or What They Would Think. That is a Powerful Represent in Your Life. “

Grief Journal prompt to get You Started If you need help getting Started with Grief Journaling, Try Writing Directly to Your Loved One As If they are right right by Your Side, Buckhead Suggests.

What do you wish you could Tell Them Right Now? What Positive Memories have you been Thinking about latley? What Random Things have hadnedned Latly That Made You Think of Them? Or Tell Them Why You’re Angry They Left You, Or Why You Know You’ll Be Ok, Even If It Doesn’t Always Feel That Way.

3. It can heart you Through The Pain of A Divorce Or Breakup

Divorces and Breakups Bring Many Complicated, Subtim Conflicting Emootions Bubbling To the Surface, From Grief and Rage to relief and confusion.

“Journaling is a Healthy Way to Unengle these feelings and figure WHERE they’re coming from,” Says Kara Nassour, Licensed Professional Counselor Practicing AT Shaded Bough Counseling in Austin, Texas. This way, you Don’t Act Impirely or Say Sub Subject You Later Regret.

The Most Important Thing is to be honest when you’re journaling. ACKNOWLEDGE EVEN THE UGLY FEELINGS YOU’D NEVER TELL ANYONE ELSE, NASSOUR SAYS. Your Journal is a Private Space WHERE YOU

“Remembero That Just Writing the Words Down Won’t Hurt Anyone,” Nassour Says.

It May Also Help to Read What You Write Once you in a calm state of mind. “It Can Give You A More Objective Perspective and Ideas For How To Act On these Feelings Constructively,” Nassour Says. Here are Two of Her Favorite Prompts to Support Your Healing Process.

Divorce or Breakup prompt to get You Started If you wted the breakup, what are the reasons you Stayed in the Relationship As Long As You Did? What are the reasons you wted to leave? If you were to Begin Another Relationship, How Would You Want It To Be Different?

If you Didn’t Want the Breakup, will have you Ever Experienced Loss Like This Before? Who and What Helped You Get Through It? What Did You do To Cope? Can Any of the People, Resources, Or Strategies From that time mep you now?

4. It can prepare you for having a baby

Becoming A Parent is a Time Filled with So many New Experiences and Worries That Sub Sub forg to Slow Down and Reflect on Their Feelings and Needs.

“MANY PARENTS I KNOW WANT TO BE AABLE TO BE presented with their Kids, and That’s Really Hard To Achieve If We Struggle with Being Present With Our Own Emotions,” Says Jordan Olsen, Lcsw, to Mental Perinatal Health Therapist With Ad astra Therapy in Milwaukee.

Journaling Gives New and Expecting Parents an Outlet to Express The Many Emotions They’re Feeling. Simply Setting Assaits 10 Minutes Per Day – or Even A Few Days to Week, If You Can’t Manage to Daily Practice – To Focus on Your Thoughts and Articulate Them on Paper May Help.

“I OFTEN Give My Clients Prompts for A Self Check-In That Promotion Reflection on Their Emotional State and Where Those Emots Are Showing Up in The Body,” Olsen Says. She Recommends Setting A Timer On Your Phone for 10 Minutes and Responding to these Prompts Below.

Pregnancy journal prompt to get You Started What Learn You Learn about what mes to be a “Good pare” from Watching Your Parents? Are There Any Lessons You Want To Keep for Your Parenting Journey? Are there Any Lessons you want to let go of?

Here’s Another Prompt: Pick a Time When You Felt Scared, Worried, Overwhelmed, Angry, Or Sad in the Past Week. Think About That Moment and Reflect on the Question: “Does This Point to amet Need of Mine?”

5. IT can help you work through a health or diagnosis crisis

Managing to Health Condition Or Coping with A New Diagnosis Can Be Stressful. You May Feel Angry, Powerless, World, Regretful, SAD, or Scaled.

Journaling Allows Structured Time and an Opportunity to ProcessSs Feelings, Says Julia Kogan, Psych, Health Psychologist and Stress Expert in Chicago.

Sub People May Not Have Friends or Family Who Can Help Them Make Sense of Their Feelings. Or they may not feel comforible Sharing What’s Going On With ESIR Health. “Journaling Allows for a Neutral Way to Express Yourself Any Time You’d Like,” Dr. Kogan Says.

Plus, Research Suggests that the mental processing from Journaling May Help reduces Felt Symptoms of Chronic Illness and Improve Overall Health. A PAST STUDY FOUND THAT Writing About Stressful Experiences Boosted Lung Function in People With Mild to Moderately Severe Asthma After Four Months. The Same Study Found That Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Saw A Reduction in Disease Severity Over The Same Journal.

“Therefore, Journaling Can Be a Helpful Strategy to Manage Overall Health and Chronic Health Conditions,” Kogan Says. Use Her Exercise Below To Get Started.

Health crisis or diagnosis prompt to get You Started Find to Quiet and Calm Environment. Set A TIMER FOR 15 TO 30 MINUTES AND WRCE ABOUT WHAT’S UPsetting You. This may include your current health status, Any Information You Received from Your Doctor, How You’re Feeling About the Information, and Any Worries or Fears. If you need a mood boost, use your journaling time to identify 5 to 10 Things you ‘re Grateful for, describes Goal for Managing Your Health, or Write a list of your coping mechanisms and tools, as well as the people in your life WHO CAN SUPPORT You.

The Takeaway

When you’re Feeling Stressed Or Navigating Difficul Life Changes, Journaling Can Help You Work Through your Emotions and Determine Path Forward.
Journaling Has Been Shown To Help You Process Emots That Come with Significant Life Changes and May Offer Physical Health Benefits As Well.
Experts Say That Journaling Can Help Strengthen Marriage Ties, Process The Loss of a Love One, Work Through A Breakup, prepare for a Baby, and deal with a Health Crisis.

With Additionional Reporting By Moira Lawler.