Writing is a task most people do every day. Because it is a common task in everyday life, people can forget about the benefits intentional writing can have on their mental well-being. Whether you write professionally or not, there are numerous benefits to reap from sparing a few minutes every day and dedicating the time to writing.  

Writing and stress management

Journaling or writing is a healthy coping mechanism when combating a wide range of issues related to mental health such as stress. Taking the time to engage the brain while writing allows you to process thoughts and emotions, make emotional connections, and eventually discover the events or emotions that caused the feeling of stress.

How writing helps

For most people, a writer is someone who has the relevant writing tools to aid in their writing. In reality, unless you plan to take up academic essay writing, you do not need these tools to become a writer. If you want to take up journaling, you can write from your phone or in a notebook. Whichever method you find most appealing, writing is sure to make you more resilient and happier in your personal and professional life.

Some of the benefits you get from writing include:

Mood boost

People who practice effective journaling and writing note that there is an improvement in their positivity and moods. They experience reduced negativity and are happier. This is because writing offers you an outlet for all the negative energy build up in the body and mind. Expressive writing allows you to write down your emotions and feelings. This improves your well-being and helps to reduce stress level. In turn, this leads to a healthier mind and body.

Thoughts organization

Writing allows you to organize and understand your feelings and thoughts. This can help in forming a connection to help you better understand particular chaotic moments, a series of emotions, or bad days. Writing helps to organize or determine solutions, thus enhancing an individual’s problem-solving skills.

Overcoming a tough memory

Most people struggle with their mental health because of a traumatic event that happened in their life. These events continue to cause them emotional pain which leads to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. By writing about these traumatic memories, it becomes possible to work through the memory. Writing helps to release the memories as it engages both hemispheres of the brain. Writing about negative feelings makes it possible for you to determine the cause of these feelings. Identifying the reason is the first step through a healing process.

Writing as a preventative measure

Writing is a good way of enhancing self-awareness. This helps you to understand better why and how you react to different situations. When you are highly self-aware, you are able to recognize a change in your feelings or moods and understand why it is happening. This way, you can prevent your mind from reacting negatively to unwelcome situations.

Types of writing for mental health

Journaling for gratitude

This is a type of writing that involves writing down emotions, goals, and anything you are grateful about. This type of journaling is a therapeutic way of increasing happiness and elevating moods. Acknowledging the good in your life makes these things more noticeable and relevant to you.

Emotional writing

Writing down your emotions is an effective way of processing feelings. Emotional journaling helps to take into account the good and bad situations in life. This helps you to reframe these experienced positively as an effective way of managing stress. Emotional writing requires one to write down their emotions each day. Analyzing these emotions makes it easier to understand why they happened and how best to deal with them.

Creative writing

This is the expression of creative thoughts, ideas, processes, or stories. Through creative writing, one can develop a wide range of skills such as problem-solving skills, ability to handle constructive criticism and self-expression among many others. If you are looking to builds your ability to write professionally, creative writing is a great way to do so.  It also helps you to work on personal thoughts, concepts, and emotions through storytelling and character development.

Writing is a healthy and productive way of boosting your mental health. It enhances your ability to be resilient to the changes in life and helps you to lead a more meaningful and complete life.