BREATHE IN. WRITE IT OUT!
Around this time of year, we are planning family meals for Thanksgiving and trying to find all the deals and steals to complete our Christmas shopping list. Let’s face it. ‘Tis the season to be stressed out! So, congratulations for recognizing it and wanting to do something about it. Here are some good ways to journal to help alleviate your stress during “the most wonderful time of the year.”
Write Daily for 5 to 15 Minutes
The thing about journaling is you need to do it daily long term for it to really work. It takes a lot of writing and insight to figure out why you’re dealing with stress and how to overcome it.
Write About Your Worries
Go straight to the problem and write about your worries. Describe them from every single angle you can come up with. The more descriptive, the better. Go back to the first time you felt this feeling regarding this topic to get to the root of the issue.
Describe What’s Happening Now
Forget about what you did, what someone else did, or what could’ve been done. Right now, I want you to focus on writing about the one issue that is causing your stress. If it’s generalized, try to make a list of things that might be contributing to your overwhelm.
Document the Worst That Can Happen
One thing that often causes stress is the unknown, or the “worst thing” that you think can happen. Describe this worst thing but make it realistic. For example, don’t make up something like an airplane falling on your house during your Thanksgiving feast. That isn’t realistic. However, bad weather, rude in-laws, and other issues may be.
Document the Best That Can Happen
Let’s get serious by thinking about and writing about the very best (realistic) outcome of the situation you’re stressing about. Include potential steps and tactics to achieve this best-case scenario so you can see it through to fruition.
Document What Is Really Happening
As you are writing, be honest. Other than when you are imagining the best and worst outcomes, ensure that you also document the reality of what is happening to you in the present tense. That way, you can narrow down identifying the stress-inducing situation.
Write a Counterargument to Yourself
Arguing with yourself is a good way to overcome some stress about a situation. Don’t laugh! Hear me out. First, tell your story as a letter to yourself about what is happening. Then write a letter back to yourself in answer, arguing all the negativity and turning it into positivity. If your best friend wrote that, what would you say back?
Surprising to many, writing can help us accomplish so much. If you go into journaling to help with stress, with the right attitude and a goal in mind, you can achieve a lot. The important thing is that you need to be honest with yourself so that you can find out the true causes of your stress.
If you are looking for a journal to gift yourself or others during this holiday season, please check out The Writer’s Haven at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWritersHaven.
Adrienne Michelle Horn is the owner of I A.M. Editing, Ink. Although she has a full-time professional career in healthcare, she is also a South Florida-based editor, poet, author, entrepreneur, and mother of her beautiful daughter, Paris.
For more information about Adrienne and her company, follow I A.M. Editing, Ink on social media or visit https://linktr.ee/iamediting