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Javon Floyd

Professor Malcolm Campbell

WRDS 1104

11 November, 2021

Writing to relieve stress

Have you ever written any style of writing such as narrative, creative, or expository and

felt really good and relaxed after? That most likely is your stress subsiding, only one of the many

benefits writing has on us. Stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with

mental or emotional pressure. This plays a big impact in our everyday lives whether it's getting

regular tasks done or emotional stability. “In fact, said by Salleh, Emotional stress is a major

contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the United States.” As time goes on these

numbers will only increase.

You may be asking if there is one specific journaling style that is the best or how do I get

started. Each style of writing gives different benefits, so it's going to be different for everybody

depending on your goals and how you're feeling at a given time. Here are some of the ways

journaling can deal with stress: provides clarity, can help improve physical health, helps with

problem solving, and more. The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) published a study

in 2018 that discovered “patients struggling with a chronic illness who kept a journal about their

thoughts experienced fewer physical symptoms than patients who did not journal.” Can you think

about a time where you wrote something down that was personal and only you knew? This is
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mostly likely a journal because you are keeping it to yourself and writing words down as your

way of expressing and others can have that same feeling too. Gratitude journaling is where you

write about things that you are grateful for: How someone held the door for you, passing that test

you really studied for, or even the food you are about to eat. Emotional journals are about events

that happened and how you emotionally responded. You can then take what you learned during

that time and use it to be better if the emotion pops up again or how to work your way around it.

There is also a bullet journal or personal planning journal, here is where you write what's needed

for the day, plans, goals, or even memories. This helps you keep your mind moving, uncluttered,

and ultimately what's important to you. People use journaling to clarify thoughts and or feelings.

You can also use journaling for a problem solving technique. During writing we use both

hemispheres of our brains, so we can get as much information as we need and thoughts are

rambling in our head. Once we Release one's emotions, this will help take weight off your back

because you're letting everything set free. Not only is writing good for the soul but also aids in

immune system response and counteract negative stresses.

One of the most known styles of journaling is expressive writing. Expressive writing is a

natural part of who we are. It's personal and emotive writing that ignores form and other writing

norms such as spelling, grammar, and verb agreement. Feelings are given more weight in

expressive writing than events, memories, objects, or characters in a narrative. Much of the study

on the health advantages of expressive writing has been undertaken by Dr. James W. Pennebaker,

the current chair of the psychology department at the University of Texas in Austin. Dr.

Pennebaker invited 46 healthy college students to write for 15 minutes on four consecutive days

on either personally distressing life events or frivolous issues in one early study. Students who

wrote about traumatic occurrences attended the campus health center less frequently and used
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pain relievers less frequently for six months after the trial than those who wrote about

unimportant topics. Here are some of the reasons for that: When people open up about a painful

occurrence in private, they are more inclined to talk about it with others, implying that writing

leads to seeking out for social support, which can help with healing. Writing helps people to

organize thoughts and give meaning to a traumatic experience, and or writing may enable them

to learn to better regulate their emotions.

Journaling is the gateway into yourself, this is where you can find out thoughts, feelings,

what's going on in your life, and more. With the journal you can write down anything that comes

to mind even if you have second thoughts about it. That's why journaling can help manage

anxiety, reduce stress, and cope with depression. Journaling helps prioritize your feelings,

problems, and concerns. Anything that comes to mind just write it down. Some people are not

good at expressing or telling their emotions and feelings to others and so journaling can help. If

you are concerned about a test coming up or a project due soon. Write it down. You can then

prepare for it and overall do a better job at it. Tracking your habits, moods, and triggers also can

help. Tracking your thoughts can show you some things that you need to fix or become better at.

If you are struggling with organization or time management, a bullet with most certainly help.

You can also write about the positive things, like a friend that you really enjoy hanging out with.

Ask yourself what makes it so fun. Overall, it's an opportunity to look at your thoughts. The

mindset you have is super important and if you are struggling with stress, that's only going to

produce negative thoughts. Writing about this you can praise yourself, reward yourself, and to

understand yourself.

Esther Cepeda was going through a tragic time in her life where there was no motivation

to do anything and her anxiety was through the roof. She wanted to change this mindset though
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and be at peace. She begins to do some things about it like, setting her phone up to send her

automated text throughout the day reminds her not to worry. A book by Janice Kaplan came out

and this started to motivate her even more. It was about a gratitude journal. Where one could

write about things that you were thankful for and it would overcome the negative thoughts.

Cepeda did just that, she kept her own little gratitude journal. As of now she feels like a totally

new person. Two years from writing her gratitude journal, she looked back on it and felt the

relief and gratitude “wash over me”. She states that she is ten times happier. Stanford University

then gave a positive writing exercise to Latino and African American middle schoolers. The

students were told to write down two to three core values and write why they are important to

them. The National Academy of Sciences has found that Latino students are more likely to enter

a college readiness track than a remedial one. They also take more challenging courses, such as

an elective, and are less likely to be placed in remediation for grades nine through twelve.

African-American students were more likely to enroll in college seven to nine years later,

including relatively more selective colleges. This test is similar to the Harvard University

experiment.
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Works Cited

“HOW TO JOURNAL FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION | MENTAL HEALTH

JOURNALING.” YouTube, uploaded by Rashawnda James, 11 Aug. 2019,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqNlmaP5X5s.

Harvard Health. “Writing about Emotions May Ease Stress and Trauma.” Harvard

Health, 11 Oct. 2011,

www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/writing-about-emotions-may-ease-stress-and-trauma.

“Is Journaling an Effective Stress Management Tool?” Verywell Mind, 27 Mar. 2020,

www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits-of-journaling-for-stress-management-3144611.

Cepeda, Esther. “Voices: Struggling With Stress? Try the Power of ‘Positive Writing.’”

NBC News, 9 July 2017,

www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/voices-struggling-stress-try-power-positive-writing-n780251.
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Lisa Tams, Michigan State University Extension. “Journaling to Reduce COVID-19

Stress.” MSU Extension, 11 Nov. 2020,

www.canr.msu.edu/news/journaling_to_reduce_stress.

Salleh, Mohd Razali. “Life event, stress and illness.” The Malaysian journal of medical

sciences : MJMS vol. 15,4 (2008): 9-18.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/