When you feel like your life is getting difficult to handle, you probably want to avoid adding any more activities to your “to do” list. And when you’re stressed and anxious, it might not be a natural reaction for you to want to write about it. But consider that taking up the activity of writing may actually help you to greatly reduce your stress and anxiety levels. And if it can help, it’s certainly worth at least giving it a shot. Here are some of the potential benefits to writing, and how you can use writing to reduce the stress and anxiety in your life.

Release of Emotions
Sometimes we are stressed or anxious because we don’t have any way to let go of what we’re feeling. If we keep our emotions bottled up inside, they will only grow and get worse. If we release our emotions in unhealthy ways like yelling or drinking, we will only bring more stress upon ourselves. Talking to a friend or doing fun physical activities are some positive ways of releasing emotions, and writing is another. Just transferring our thoughts to paper helps us get them out.

Problem-Solving
You can use writing to help yourself problem solve. Writing can be a way to brainstorm ideas that will improve your life. Sometimes a problem can seem very overwhelming, but if you start writing about it, a solution can begin to take shape. Try writing everything you’re thinking about a particular issue, and then reread what you’ve written to try and see it from a different perspective. You might find that your problem isn’t as bad as it seems once it’s on paper, or you may discover a new way to approach it. You can also create lists of pros and cons, which can actually be very helpful tools when making a decision.

Awareness
When you write about things that are bothering you and your stressful experiences, it is a great way to gain awareness. You can become aware about the way you react to things that occur in your life. Do you respond in a positive way? Or do you over-react or respond negatively? With awareness, you can make improvements. You can also gain insight into what things trigger your anxiety the most or cause the biggest spikes in your stress level. Overtime, you will notice patterns and common threads in your writing. Use your new awareness to determine new methods of reducing your stress and anxiety, or improve your coping abilities.

Escape
Everyone needs to get away from the stress of daily life once in a while. And when you’re stressed out it is definitely more than okay to take a break – it’s essential. If you really enjoy writing, you can use it as a means of escape. Use your writing to transport you somewhere else and forget about the things that are bothering you. You could use your imagination and write creative stories or poems, or write about anything that makes you happy. Record joyful memories or events that you can go back and read when you need a pick-me-up. Sometimes just giving yourself a breather and focusing on something other than what is making you anxious will help you calm down and feel better.

Encouragement
Words of self-affirmation can do a world of good. Clipping inspirational stories and writing quotes of beauty filled with kind words can help greatly in reinforcing positive thinking and enhancing your mental health. Also go beyond self, consider writing a little note to someone experiencing similar struggles. Externals acts of kindness always build us up.

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