Write your worries away!
By Hannah Brewington Being a student can be a tough job. For many of us, the pressures of being a student can be so overwhelming that we get lost in the stress of wondering how we can handle it all. Thankfully, there are many things we can do to help ourselves get out of this stress. Using reflective learning and journaling as part of your stress management plan can greatly reduce the tension and anxiety you may struggle with on a daily basis. What is journaling? As Elizabeth Scott stated in the article The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management, “journaling generally involves the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of your life” (paragraph 1, 2018). Many of us write all the time for classes, but how often are we writing for our own self understanding and improvement? The answer for most people is usually never. By journaling, you give yourself the opportunity to let everything out. Doing this is “one of the best ways to clear your mind and get in touch with your thoughts and feelings” (Tams, Journaling to Reduce Stress, 2013) so that you have a deeper understanding of your thoughts, your stress triggers, and your behaviors. In order for journaling to be an effective stress management technique, it should be done consistently. Journaling for effective stress management should also be reflective in order for progress to occur. What do you mean by reflective? Reflection is defined as “a serious thought or consideration, or an idea about something, especially one that is written down and expressed” (vccbaking, What is Reflective Learning?, 2013). This means that reflective writing is more than just summarizing or describing your days events. It is the process of asking and answering questions about your thoughts and feelings during, after, and since situations occurred. Reflective questions are the “why?, how?, and so what?” -- not the “who?, when?, where?” (Hull University Skills Team, Reflective Writing, 2014). So how can journaling help me? Journaling as a tool for stress management can make a huge difference in your life. Reflective writing can help us dig deeper into our thoughts and feelings so that we can continually learn more about ourselves, our stress triggers, and how outside factors affect us so that we can devise new ways to overcome our struggles based on our past experiences. We can use the knowledge and lessons we’ve built through reflection to help us in future stressful situations so that those experiences don’t lend as much stress to our lives as they might’ve without journaling (LoveYourPencil, Writing a Reflection, 2012). Not only that, but journaling has been proven to help not only with mental/emotional pain, but with physical pain as well! A study conducted in 2006 by the American Medical Association found that after 4 months of consecutive journaling, patients showed a 50% improvement in their respective diseases (Tams, Journaling to Reduce Stress, 2013). Having less physical pain can certainly reduce overall stress, so reflective journaling is great stress management tool for all types of people. Tips for effective reflective journaling One thing you can do to make reflective journaling a bit easier is write a list of reflection questions to ask yourself when you sit down to journal. Having these questions on hand can help you when you are trying to write but are at a loss for words. Some questions that you could include in your list could be (taken from Dr. Marvin Marshall, Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress, 2017):
Try to remember that this type of journaling will be hard at first. Take it slow and stay consistent, and soon your stress will begin to melt away. Reference List LoveYourPencil (Video creator). (2012, September 22). Writing a Reflection. Video retrieved fromWriting a reflection (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Marshall, M (Speaker). (2017, December 26). Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress. Video retrieved from Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Scott, E. (2018, April 1). The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management. Very Well Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. -of-journaling-for-stress-man (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.agement-3144611 Skills Team at Hull University (Video creators). (2014, March 3). Reflective Writing. Video retrieved fromReflective Writing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Tams, L. (2013, May 1). Journaling to reduce stress. Retrieved from http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/journaling_to_reduce_stress (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Vccbaking (Video creator). (2013, February 6). What is Reflective Learning? Video retrieved fromWhat is Reflective Learning? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
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November 2018
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