Journaling: A Stress-Management Tool

I've recently done some reading about journaling, the practice of writing down thoughts and feelings about your life to help with stress management. I haven't been journaling lately, although I have done a little now and then through the years.

When I was a young child, I kept a diary, another name for a journal. It was mostly just a log of the days events, not a tool for self exploration. A frequent entry was, “Today I played with the dog.” The next day I wrote the same thing and also the day after. I made no mention if this helped reduce my childhood angst or if it even brought joy into my life.

As I understand it, to journal for stress management focuses on exploring how one feels or thinks about stressful events or problems. Benefits include valuable self knowledge, problem solving and processing traumatic events. It also has a number of health benefits.

According to About.com's Elizabeth Scott, a master's prepared counselor and life coach, there is scientific evidence that journaling can reduce symptoms of asthma, arthritis and other conditions. Scott says that research also proves it improves cognitive functioning, strengthens the immune system and counteracts many negative effects of stress.

I think I should have explored my feelings about the trauma I endured as a child when my parents got rid of my beloved dog because one day he bit me in the face. The trauma was not the minor injury Teddy left on my face but the hurt and anguish I felt at losing my special buddy.

Today I have life events that are sometimes traumatic and sometimes just run-of-the-mill life problems. I'm going to give journaling a try again. Maybe I'll use my computer and keyboard instead of pen and paper.

Today I played with the dog. She brings great joy to my life and gets me outdoors. Nobody better dare get rid of her.