Bite-size blog: Journalling

Journalling can be a great tool for supporting mental health. It can help relieve anxiety, improve symptoms of low mood, and, done routinely, help us to feel stability and control in our lives. By writing down your thoughts, whether this is a ramble that you don’t plan or a systematic discussion, you move your brain from being focused in the emotional centre and being reactive, to focused in the rational part, by processing and accepting our experiences.

If our brains feel busy or our thoughts feel too chaotic or challenging, writing them down gives our minds a sense of order, which reduces cortisol - the stress hormone - in our body. When cortisol is reduced, we are able to produce serotonin, allowing us to feel happier and more stable. It also allows us to produce melatonin, which helps our sleep cycles. Having felt the accomplishment of writing things down, we may also produce dopamine, which will boost us and motivate us to do it again.

There are lots of journals that offer templates, prompts or guides but simply putting pen to paper if you feel overwhelmed can have such a host of benefits and be an important tool for mental maintenance.