If you know me very well, or if you've stalked my Twitter bio, you'll know that ink on paper is my idea of the perfect romance. Why, though? Plain and simple, writing is good for you. Don't believe me? Keep reading.
I have talked about writing for others in the past, but this post is more about writing for yourself. Writing makes people feel better. Right??! There is loads of research to show that individuals who practice expressive writing show lower levels of stress, lower blood pressure, sleep better at night, etc. etc. etc.
Personally, I try to make a habit of journaling, but I don't tend to make it a priority unless I really feel like I need to. Usually it's when I have a lot of things to vent that I turn to paper. Paper is never going to be too busy for you, compare itself to you, raise judgmental eyebrows at you, or laugh at you. Paper is a pretty good listener that way.
When looking back through old journals, I can tell which seasons of life were tough because I journaled, like, every day.
Sure, it makes sense that expressive writing can help you cope with emotional pain, but physical pain? That seems like a bit much. (Or so I thought.) Turns out, there is a lot of research that supports this. In this one super-cool study, adults who spent time writing about trauma experienced physical healing nearly twice as fast as others who didn't write.
There is also scientific proof that writing things down helps you to learn them better. Now, you guys know I'm all about learning, so I write things down, a lot. I feel like I brainstorm better on paper than on a computer - I like how a blank 8.5x10 allows me to write important things smaller or larger, or sideways, or circle them about 8 million times if I want. There is research that shows how writing letters and vocab benefits those learning a language; many psychologists believe that the extra component of muscle memory and taking the additional time to put pen to paper helps solidify things in your brain.
Clearly, there are many benefits to ink on paper, so write on.
I just did a five minute journal last night (for the first time in a while) about my Bible reading, and it felt amazing! Sometimes I forget how much writing helps me until I journal about whatever drama is happening, then I feel a million times better about life after I do it!
ReplyDeleteWord. I totally agree. :)
DeleteThat's so interesting about the physical pain study, thanks for my 'you learn something new every day' bit.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a big fan of writing on paper, but I don't do it nearly enough. Haha, paper is a really good listener you're right.
I love these journals photographed!
Thank youuuuu! I always look for pretty journals with paper that I like. I'm pretty picky about how big the lines are, the texture of the paper, etc. I found this set at Anthro!
DeleteJournaling is amazing! I've always been a bit bad at writing continuously, and as you noted a lot of the time when I write consistently it's during a rough patch. But hey if that's when I need to write - that's when I need to write!
ReplyDeleteThe patterns on those journals are sooooooo niiice. I have a bad habit of snatching up notebooks everywhere I go when there are such beautiful ones to be bought... :P
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete