There’s no denying we live in stressful times: deadlines, constant negotiations, financial concerns, the challenge to be relevant and stay that way in the face of the changeability of the modern audience’s, users’, or clients’ engagement, among others. Stress is how the human mind and body react to a challenge or demand. Short-term stress—such as when it helps you avoid danger, win a competition, or meet a deadline—can be positive. Certainly, many of us have turned into seasoned jugglers who thrive on short-term stress to consistently deliver—whether in our professional or personal lives. But this successful stress management occurs within normal circumstances (at least what we are embracing as normal). Cue COVID-19. The COVID crisis, which everyone hopes will die down soon enough, means our stress management strategy needs to be reconfigured somehow, perhaps radically for some, to accommodate the specific challenges posed by the disruption of our routines and our fears of the damage that this crisis can do to us and the things we value and rely on, and those we love. As we make daily adjustments in our activities to ensure we come out of this experience with as minimal scarring as possible, we at Journalz make a humble proposal to make journaling a part of your stress management strategy. The benefits of journaling we all could use to stay clearheaded and alert in a time when it’s easy to panic Studies have established the benefits of journaling for stress management. The simple act of writing down our thoughts and feelings actually goes a long way in giving our mental health a boost.
  • That boost comes in the form of a deeper understanding of an event and the emotions it generates, which helps the brain digest the information.
So says clinical psychologist James Pennebaker, who believes that the brain turns a traumatic or worrisome event into a narrative that’s more easily stored as soon as it has been analyzed. And because we can actually write in order to think, journaling through these uneasy times helps us analyze the COVID-19 threat in terms of how it affects our lives and those around us, how we can healthily adjust to the changes it is forcing us to live with (hopefully for no more than a few months), and what unplanned productive activities we can engage in with the time we have on our hands if we are staying home.
  • Journaling allows us to inventory the intelligent reactions and the preventive measures that have been implemented.
We can list down the effective things that are being done to combat the virus and contain its spread, to see for ourselves that things are not as bad as we think it is, or at the very least, that we are not completely helpless. This can be especially helpful if we are on the verge of panicking, or already there and are in danger making rash decisions.
  • Journaling clears things up, calms you down, and keeps stress-induced health issues at bay.
The clarity you get from journaling about your worries and fears regarding the present crisis, particularly if it threatens to wreak great havoc in certain areas of your life, quiets down panicked voices in your head. When your stress level is down, you stand a great chance of avoiding the negative effects of stress, such as insomnia and irritability, and such health symptoms as asthma, arthritis, heart problems, among others.
  • Journaling helps you avoid depression in this critical time.
Because the crisis can so easily crank our anxiety levels up, depression can’t be far behind. Which is why it’s even more important to avoid the deadly duo by keeping on to the positive side of things. In a time when we are facing a health crisis, the last we want to do is invite it by allowing our immune system and our mental health to be weakened. No doubt you will likely find other benefits of journaling that specifically applies to your situation. Which is all the better. Explore how Journalz can help you stay calm and collected—and for that, in a good position to help those around you—through the COVID-19 experience.  

Fear thrives in a place of inaction. Overcome your anxiety by taking one small step forward.

—Sarah Boyd