Stress Relief: Journaling

Almost daily I take out a tiny notebook tucked away in my desk, unsheath a pen, and vent.

Despite how stable we may feel, there are always things going on in the back of our minds. There are stresses and anxieties that are unhealthily kept bottled within us. Journaling helps to release some of the built-up pressure.

Currently I am a 6 hour flight from my family at a college that works its students to their limit. If the workload and distance weren't enough, college itself provides enough drama to fill novels. But we all have our own troubles and my hardest moments are just as difficult to work through as anyone else's.

This is where my journal comes in handy. He (because I'm assuming my journal is male) hears all my thoughts, my worries, my insecurities, my vulgar outbursts, my joys, and my faults. He knows me better than anyone else. Scratching away at the surface of his pages is what keeps me sane.

Being able to get your thoughts out on paper will help you in two ways: you will be able to remember where you fell and where you succeeded. You also will be able to map out your thoughts, and see how they are sometimes not as clear as you had assumed.

Keeping a diary is something I suggest to everyone. Grab some paper and a pen, take a deep breath, and let everything pour onto the page. Be sad, be angry, be vulgar. Use all the words your mother taught you not to. Say all the things you never want to be heard. Getting them out will take a weight from your chest.

Be creative. Scribble a drawing in the margin, splatter some paint, write some poetry. The creativity will also help blow off some steam.

Word of caution, though. If you choose to write things that could jeopardize any sort of relationships, it'd be best that you wrote it and discarded of it in a way that would not be found. There is nothing worse than destroying something over thoughts you wrote out of blind emotion.

What are ways that you blow off steam? Do you journal? If so, what about? Share your stories below in the comments.