According to experts, one in every six people experiences a mental health problem at least once a week. It can be one of your friends, colleagues, or even you. For many people, discussing their mental health is taboo. However, it is frequently a debilitating daily struggle with a series of failures and battles with an unseen opponent. Find out about a practice that will help you improve your psycho-emotional state and reduce the frequency of your depression and anxiety.
There are numerous methods for reducing anxiety and stress, relieving pressure on the mind, and achieving internal harmony. Some people turn to breathing exercises and yoga, while others seek less typical ways to improve their mental health.
You might be surprised to learn that writing practice is one of the most effective ways to relieve emotional stress and improve mental health. We’re not talking college essays or business reports – it is more about freely expressing yourself on paper.
How Does Writing Improve Mental Health?
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys revealed that nearly 40% of adults in the United States experience loneliness on a regular or occasional basis. Loneliness and social isolation can exacerbate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
Writing, among other creative activities, has been shown to increase meaningful social connections with others, reduce stress, and assist people in understanding and controlling their emotions.
Why Is Writing Beneficial for Mental Health?
Several studies have found that writing practice can help people’s mental health. Furthermore, one of the skills that the labor market is looking for these days is the ability to clearly express and arrange thoughts. Honing your writing skills can help you improve your well-being and open up new career opportunities.
Here are the top five reasons why writing is good for your mental health:
It Makes You Happier
According to Southern Methodist University research, writing about future goals makes people happier and can help people who work in challenging environments to cope with stress.
Writing Helps You Clear Your Mind
It allows you to clear your mind by writing down your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and ideas. This can be accomplished by keeping a journal, a diary, or simply writing everything down.
It Aids in Being More Mindful
It is a powerful mindfulness technique that allows you to better recognize your emotions and stop restraining yourself from feeling better (even if you are writing about neutral topics).
Writing Practices Improve Your Emotional Well-Being
It improves your ability to manage depression and other mental health conditions by helping you recognize your emotions (directly related to the previous point). Writing is ideal for improving your emotional well-being.
It Makes You More Resilient
Various forms of creative writing (writing down thoughts, ideas, experiences, and feelings, as in a diary) have been shown in studies to help people cope with stressful situations at work. It is natural for our imagination to exaggerate many details, inflate problems, and turn a minor annoyance into a major issue.
Putting the problem down on paper will allow you to properly assess its scope and identify different actions required to resolve it. A quick response to the problem and the planning of solutions saves time and effort while helping you quickly return to work.
Writing Allows You to Hone Your Expressive and Communication Abilities
It is very disappointing when you cannot condense your thoughts and provide a clear answer to a question posed. Regular written exercises aid in emotional and intellectual gathering of information, allowing people to communicate and express complex ideas more effectively. Practice writing helps you overcome a limited vocabulary and enables you to turn what sounds good in your head into ideas that sound just as good when you put them down on paper.
It Improves Your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to recognize, comprehend, and evaluate one’s own and other people’s emotions. It enables better mental health, increased happiness, and more effective leadership. People with higher EQ make better writers, but you can also boost your EQ through writing.
Here are five ways to boost your emotional intelligence:
- Recognize and tune into your own emotions. You must first be aware of your emotions in order to control them. Monitoring and examining your emotions, as well as your triggers and activation points, will help you manage them more effectively in the future.
- Seek to comprehend the perspectives of others. Pay close attention to people’s emotions, put yourself in other people’s shoes, and try to imagine what they are thinking and feeling, as well as how they came to their conclusions. You will not only gain a broader perspective, but you will also stretch your own.
- Develop communication skills. Understanding people’s emotions and the intentions behind the information exchanged through verbal and nonverbal communication is essential for effective communication.
- Work on building connections with people. Learning to connect with others is an essential part of developing EQ. Start by listening, showing interest, and making others feel at ease if you are shy or uncomfortable.
- Practice emotional control. Once you are aware of your own emotions, you must learn to control them and respond appropriately to the feelings of others. Try to avoid triggers that make others and you nervous. Breathing exercises can help you relieve stress and prevent emotional outbursts. Learn from others how to respond calmly and constructively in specific situations.
Improving your emotional intelligence will help you in both your personal and professional relationships. Furthermore, it will allow you to understand yourself and others better and find the appropriate tools for effective interactions.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, writing down your feelings is one of the best ways to understand them better. If you suffer from stress or depression, expressive writing can help you gain control of your emotions, get to the root of the problem, and focus on resolving it.
The benefit of writing is that it allows you to focus on one thing while clearing your mind of everything else interfering with your ability to find a solution. Write every day to better understand yourself, your actions, and your behavior.
About the Author: Janice Gosney is a professional writer with years of experience who works for Writing Judge and Best Writers Online. She is primarily interested in such topics as personal growth, wellness, and motivation.
In her free time, Janice is a passionate traveler and bike rider.
Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash
The opinions and views expressed in any guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in the article or linked to therein. Guest Authors may have affiliations to products mentioned or linked to in their author bios.
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