Pete Alexander explains how journaling reduces stress by clarifying thoughts and processing emotions. A study found anxious students who wrote about their worries for 10 minutes before an exam averaged a B+ compared to a B- for those who didn't.
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If you're feeling overwhelmed, you may need to just get it all out of your head. And journaling allows you to clarify your thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It's also a good problem solver because oftentimes you can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily as you're writing them down on paper. As a stress management and self-exploration tool, journaling works best when done consistently, but even occasional sporadic journaling can be stress relieving, especially if it incorporates gratitude or emotional processing. Journaling can also help you immediately before a stressful event like taking a test. In one study, Students highly anxious about taking tests who wrote down their thoughts beforehand received an average grade of a B+. They were compared with the highly anxious students who didn't write and received an average grade of a B-. Writing about their worries for 10 minutes before an upcoming exam leveled the playing field so such that those students who usually got more anxious during exams were able to overcome their fears and perform up to their potential. Give journaling a try and see if it provides you with stress relief.
