Stress Journaling: How You Can Employ Narrative Medicine at Home
As human beings, we are prone to stress. It comes in various different forms– either as motivation to complete tasks on time, flee from a threatening situation, or combat a challenge head-on. For some individuals, stress can be a minor, occasional hassle that does not bring about chaos and disorder. With the right mindset and resources, stress can be minimized. On the other hand, for some, the recurrence of it interfering in one’s daily life can cause it to become a chronic issue. Not only does it impair our mental health by invoking anxiety or depression, but it also becomes physically taxing on the body and can increase risk for various illnesses by compromising the immune system.
Students, of course, are bound to encounter stress during exam periods, enrolling in a difficult course, juggling a work-school-life balance, and being bombarded with a huge amount of assignments. Suddenly, the possible becomes impossible.
Stress does its job at exaggerating events and suddenly all these tasks piling up on top of each other seem overwhelming and unbearable to manage, leading to feelings of despair and hopelessness.
So, how do we cope with stress?
How can we healthily manage it so that it does not damage our health?
Narrative medicine is undoubtedly an excellent method to employ! In fact, it is likely many people implement a form of narrative medicine into their lives and don’t even realize it. This occurs through journaling, “the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of your life” (Scott, 2023).
I, myself, have engaged in journaling practices years ago and continue to do so to this day. Especially in university where the pressure is on and the stakes are high, journaling has been a healthy habit I developed to work through my emotions and become more in tune with them.
I have found it has provided an outlet for me to reflect on each day’s events, describing any feelings I may have experienced, detailing challenges I faced, but also highlighting the positives. By doing this, I can see trends in my thoughts and feelings over the course of days, weeks, months, up to a year even. It gives comfort knowing I can be transparent about what I write on paper. Suddenly, all this mental baggage I carried throughout the day is released as I jot down as much as I possibly can.
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Scott describes journaling as a “cathartic and healing experience”, as it enables people to “gain valuable self-knowledge and insight” (2023). Individuals can turn inwards, critically think about what may be the source of their stress, and generate problem-solving ways to deal with it. In cases of negative thinking patterns, journaling offers opportunities to “recognize and stop[...] rumination[,] intentionally refram[ing] a distressing thought with a new perspective that helps reduce anxious feelings” (Scott, 2023). It’s incredible how self-awareness can be beneficial to our mental-wellbeing.
I will affirm that journaling is certainly not the only way to cope with stress, and it certainly will not work to equal extents for every person. As every individual is unique, so are the effects of any coping mechanism. However, we cannot discount its benefits and how it acts as a simple way to integrate narrative medicine practices in an individualized setting free of external influences.
There is no judgment, but instead, pure authenticity.
By: Saray Membreno (She/Her) | VP Marketing
