Spring Forward by Journaling
By: Anne Marie Bedard, MA
Spring is upon us; the worst of winter weather is behind us, the days are longer, and we’re starting to feel the warmth of the sun again. Yet some of us may feel lingering winter blues. This could take the form of generalized gloominess, lack of energy, or procrastination in finally getting to those springtime projects we’ve been putting off since fall. We might be coping with problems for which we haven’t yet identified solutions, or just having trouble shaking off the lingering effects of slogging through the darkest and dreariest part of the year.
One way to address feelings of sadness or lack of direction is to write them down. The practice of journaling, or writing about one’s thoughts and feelings, can be a great way to express emotions and to prompt us to think about them. Studies have shown that journaling improves anxiety and depression, and improves overall quality of life. Writing for only 5-10 minutes a day, several days a week has shown measurable mental health benefits. Releasing negative thoughts and feelings through writing can even have positive effects on physical health. Psychosomatic Medicine reported a study of the effects of journaling on wound healing in older adults. Participants who regularly journaled about life events that caused them anger, frustration, or sadness experienced more complete healing of wounds than did members of a control group who did not express negative feelings in writing.
If you have trouble getting started with journaling, many online resources exist to stimulate and inspire. The website “Pandemic Project,” established during the COVID-19 crisis by psychologists from the University of Texas at Austin, offers writing prompts addressing various facets of life that might be affected by a crisis, along with instructions on expressive writing, and text boxes in which site visitors can create their own personal journal entries.
The most effective journaling involves a release of feelings. By keeping a record of your feelings and what led you to feel that way, you can review it and note helpful or unhelpful strategies as well as events that were surprising or unexpected. While it is not always pleasant to focus on painful events and circumstances, allowing ourselves to review our personal struggles in written form can help us release those struggles and give us a greater sense of control in our lives. In the analysis of the events and feelings in your life, focusing on gratitude is especially helpful; the more specific you are about what you are grateful for the better the result. Additionally, focusing on the people and relationships you are grateful for is more effective than writing about things.
As spring begins, why not set aside some time for journaling? In giving ourselves a few minutes each day to honor our emotions and thoughts by writing them down, we practice an important self-care strategy that can facilitate mental and physical health, personal empowerment, and growth. Journaling can represent an act of kindness to ourselves, and might even help us find the energy to tackle some of those cleaning, building, or organizing tasks we’ve been waiting until spring to accomplish.