Staying at home affects all of our daily lives differently. Each day seems longer than usual and there is no longer a difference between 12 am or 12 pm. Whether it be adjusting to working from home or falling into strange sleeping schedules, life just isn’t the same as it used to be. However, our wellbeing shouldn’t have to change because of this pandemic.
Journaling has been shown to have great benefits on relieving stress. In a study published in the journal “The Arts of Psychotherapy”, researchers found that journaling has shown to decrease levels of anxiety and stress in their subjects. As the restrictions in place may limit our daily activity, finding an outlet to rid our worries, stress and anxiety is a healthy exercise for us to practice.
Here are some of the different ways I journal throughout the quarantine that help me:
- 3 Things I Am Thankful For
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Writing about what you are grateful for helps to focus on the positive throughout your day-to-day life. This is a great exercise to start if you’re just starting to journal and, while it seems small, it is a very impactful exercise to keep up with. The purpose of this challenge is to see all the positive things you wrote down throughout the week. After, you can continue it for another week, and so on.
- Follow a Journal Prompt Challenge
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This is where you are given a question or scenario for you to write in correspondence to according to the day or, week. This gives you an outlet to take the reigns and direct your writing in context to the prompt. This journaling prompt challenge on Pinterest is specific to the pandemic and is a great way to write about some of the feelings and experiences you are going through during this unusual time.
- Mind Mapping
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The idea of the Mind Map journal is that you start with a main idea or concept in the middle and write things as you work your way outwards. For instance, “Feel Good Music” is in the center of the map and then as you work your way out, you can write all the songs by artists that makes you feel good. These kinds of journal entries are a fun and creative way to make a list visually. Even though you do not have to fill it in right away, it’s a good page to keep in your journal and go back to as you think of more things to add to it.
There you have it – 3 different ways of journaling to help cope with the stress and ambiguity during the quarantine! Whether you have already started journaling but have been wanting to get back into it or are trying something new and are looking for somewhere to begin, journal writing is a great outlet for everyone. With all the time that you may have on your hands now, journaling can be a fun and therapeutic exercise with good benefits for your mental health.
Good2Talk is a support service for post-secondary students in Ontario. If you need someone to talk to about any experiences you are having during the pandemic that are impacting your mental health, Good2Talk is here for you. Call at 1-866-925-5454 or text GOOD2TALKON to 686868.