8 Benefits of Journaling for Anxiety for Burned Out Moms

Did you know that one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that it can save your life? Because of its effects on the mind and body, journaling has some surprising benefits. For example, according to Psych Central, research shows that journaling strengthens the immune system and acts as a stress management tool. Another example includes a visual journaling study with medical students. If anyone has a lot of stress and anxiety, it’s them. The study showed the promising benefits of journaling for the high stress environment in which they work. So, it quite literally can save your life and help you live longer and happier. But, let’s get into it in more detail and talk a bit about effective ways to do it.

8 Major Benefits of Journaling for Anxiety

In this article about Why Homeschooling Moms Need to Journal, I outline several benefits of journaling, including using the page as a trusted friend, writing your prayers, and using journaling as a creative outlet. Let’s dig into those a bit.

Dear Diary

One of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that it allows you to “talk” about what’s troubling you without judgment. Think of it as your secret therapist who listens, almost like talking to your cat or dog. It gets all those feelings of anxiety, anger, frustration, and discouragement out of your head, effectively externalizing them. But, when it’s on paper, it allows you to go back later and look for patterns of thought or behavior. It allows you to objectively analyze your thoughts and beliefs so you can counter them with more positive alternatives. You can them say these positive alternatives, or truths, over yourself the next time those feelings surface.

You can externalize your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs as a brain dump, or you can use a guided journal with prompts. Using something with prompts is almost like a therapist helping you get to the bottom of things.

Speaking truth as one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety

And sometimes we really do need a secret therapist because we have deep wounds or we have committed private sins that we are too ashamed to share with another person. These private sins plague us, making us anxious and fearful, tormenting us. Have you ever felt resentful that God kept growing your family when you felt that it was large enough? These resentments can make us feel anxious about our parenting and how others perceive us.

Have you ever held on to bitterness toward a relative who aggressively opposed your homeschooling? This bitterness can make us anxious about others’ approval or whether we are doing enough as homeschooling moms. Do you regret the abusive discipline that you used with your rebellious son? These regrets can make us anxious about whether he will forgive you and make you doubt your parenting in general.

In our heart of hearts, we mourn over such sins, but dare not voice them to another woman because we are afraid she will judge. We know that if we bring them before God and are committed to change, he forgives us and changes us. However, the emotion and grief are still alive inside us. The benefits of journaling for anxiety include allowing us to get it all out and speak truth to ourselves.

Then we can create a diary entry in the form of a free writing exercise or as a letter to the person whom we offended or who offended us. Then, one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that it IS paper, so you can then shred it as a symbol of forgiveness and freedom.

Writing prayers as one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety

Much like using the page as a trusted friend to which you can pour out your heart, why not pour out your heart to God? When we write down our prayers, we can be much more intentional about praying for others’ salvation, for hurts to heal, for forgiveness, and so much more. It also allows us to track when God answered a particular prayer. In addition, writing our prayers changes our focus from complaining and focusing on our hurts to focusing on change and healing instead. Writing our prayers can help us better understand our own role in difficult situations and see things from a different perspective.

Using this as one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that we can pray Bible verses that specifically address anxiety and worry. It helps us remember God’s care for us and instead of focusing on our circumstances, we turn our focus to God and his promises. One of the roots of anxiety can be a lack of trust in God. Maybe we’ve been through a lot of trauma or had a lot of difficult and heartbreaking things happen to us. Maybe we see all the bad things happening in the world and that makes us fearful. One of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that it reminds us of where our hope lies. It certainly isn’t in political leaders, church leaders, or in our spouses.

Eureka! Moments on Paper

Using a journal can also help you organize your thoughts and ideas. Maybe as you’re ranting on the page, you think of possible solutions to situations or people who stir up anxiety. Journaling allows you to keep track of those solutions. Very often, as I let go of all the negativity and pour out my heart on the page, new ideas surface. I see things I didn’t see before, new perspectives and new possibilities. Journaling allows me to let go of the analytical way of problem-solving and see alternatives that my more intuitive side offers up. This unexpected benefit of journaling for anxiety nurtures creativity and creativity has long been associated with feeling more joyful and hopeful.

Benefits of journaling for anxiety: Learning about yourself

Sometimes we don’t really know ourselves until we write about our own lives. Most of the time, we are in react mode and don’t really think much about why we do what we do or why we feel what we feel. Why do two different people when confronted with the same situation handle it differently? Have you ever heard the statement that we choose to feel a certain way? If we are angry or hurt by someone’s words or actions, we can ask ourselves why we react that way. Through journaling, we can discover the roots of our behaviors and reactions and choose differently. Through choosing differently, we can improve ourselves and “renew our minds,” “taking every thought captive.”

Another benefit is reducing stress

Remember that I said one of the benefits of journaling for anxiety is that it can save your life? Releasing your feelings on paper has measurable effects on your heart rate and breathing. After journaling about upsetting events and feelings, people report feeling calmer, more in control, and less anxious. Since stress is related to many chronic health issues, reducing it is essential to living a longer, healthier life. Whenever you are stressed out–whether it be the holiday season, back to school time, on vacation, or just feeling overwhelmed–get out the paper and pencil and pour it out on the page! You’ll feel a lot better.

Try Morning Pages to Enjoy the Benefits of Journaling

If you are trying to enjoy the benefits of journaling for anxiety, make it a daily habit not just a “sometimes” thing. One way to do that is with morning pages. Morning pages are sort of like a notebook, but it involves a routine of writing, you guessed it, every morning. This practice allows you to get your thoughts onto paper each day as a way to start the day with a clear head and intentional focus. It’s awesome for working through personal issues and for sparking new ideas. It can be part of your morning basket for adults.

Morning also tends to be when God speaks to me most clearly, how about you? I often find myself waking up with some profound insight that the Lord gave me. If I don’t write down it right away, the barely formed thought slips away. That’s why I keep a notebook on my nightstand.

Keep a Notebook in Your Purse

Another habit I have is keeping a notebook in my purse. That way, whenever ideas hit me, I’m ready. And, whenever I’m troubled by something someone said or did, I have my outlet ready. It’s easy, inexpensive, and portable. The best thing is that I can pull it out and no one knows what I’m writing. So, when Uncle Joe says something hurtful, I can pull it out and say, “I just got a great idea and I don’t want to forget it!” He doesn’t need to know that I’m actually jotting down a note that I need to pray for him. And, when I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed when I’m out and about, I can sit in my car with my notebook until I feel better.

Notebooks in other places

While it doesn’t have to be on the nightstand, keeping a notebook with you or within close proximity is a great idea for lots of reasons. I keep one in my purse and a separate one on my nightstand, but I also have one on my desk, which happens to be close to many other rooms in my house. Maybe you might have one stashed in your bathroom. I know that’s often a favorite place to linger when you just need a few moments to yourself. It might sound a bit excessive to have all these notebooks, but if you really like this self-care tip, it’s important to be prepared. It’s so easy to forget to do use the benefits of journaling for anxiety!

This process of writing things down to get them out of my head does wonders for freeing up space so that my mind can process things more efficiently. It doesn’t have to be a major brain dump every time, though. You can simply jot things down as you think of them, just like I do.

Nature journaling for anxiety

If you love the outdoors, you can get two benefits in one. Nature offers many benefits for improving mood and calming the nervous system, too. There’s nothing much better than taking a nature walk when you want to feel calm and centered. A change in environment can really help when you’re feeling uptight. There’s something about the fresh, cool breezes, the complex smells of flowers and leaves, the stillness. We enter the creation and somehow hear His whispers more clearly. At least, that’s often true for me.

If I take a blank notebook with me, I can stop and sketch. The calm focus and different sort of thinking that drawing requires helps me let go of everything else. All my problems seem more trivial under the vast canopy of ageless trees. Sometimes, I feel particularly inspired to write and songs and poetry fill the pages of my notebook. Try it!

In addition, the exercise required by walking through nature triggers our bodies to release feel good chemicals that lift our moods. The longer you walk (and hey, the kids benefit, too, of course!) the better. You can do just a light stroll or amp up the intensity for a longer hike if you wish. The results will be beneficial, no matter which you choose.

Concluding thoughts

The benefits of journaling for anxiety are many and it is an easy way to release those feelings, thoughts, and beliefs and replace them with Biblical truth, a better perspective and alternative solutions, and find peace in your soul.

Disclaimer: The tips and ideas in this post are not meant to replace medical advice. If you have persistent and intense feelings of anxiety that are not helped by natural helps, lifestyle changes, and/or Biblical counseling, please see a licensed therapist.

This post also appears in the series below: