What Is A Stress Journal?

Written and verified by Holly Hazen

What is a stress journal?

It's a well-known fact in the counselling arena, that labelling a strong emotion helps calm down the amygdala. Some good studies have been done in this arena. Even in Twitter! This study also found that negative emotions dissipate faster than positive ones. Does that happen for you?

So, what is a stress journal? The idea behind using a stress reduction journal is that you regularly record events and situations that cause you stress so that you can analyze them later and manage them better next time. A journal is meant to help you understand the causes of your stress in more detail, the levels of pressure that you experience and perhaps identify where you could operate more effectively. 

It's all about learning how you can find ways to improve the current ways you manage stress.

If stress is left unchecked, it can lead to more intense anxiety which can lead to worrying thoughts and rumination. Some believe that the root cause of your anxiety can be minimized through using a bit of focused examination. And it can, but that's not we are going to do here.

There are many different types of journals and methods you can use. There is free writing which involves you setting a timer and writing down everything that comes to mind. You write and write until your time is up and then read it all after you're finished. You might highlight what sounds important and use that to move forward. And you might spot some patterns that show up again and again.

There are a lot of journals that ask you to write down all your worries, to reread it, and to rethink it and to ask yourself a lot of questions. They ask you to think differently, recall your strengths, and consider a plan. They ask you to decide how to prepare to come up with one thing that you can do right now that would prepare you better to deal with that fear; that worry; that stressor.

You might consider building your resources and developing skills that are useful, and create an effective stress management plan to help you be more emotionally resilient should you face a big challenge or need to endure some extra stress in the future. This is what we are going to do. Build resources, develop new skills and create a plan to make you more emotionally resilient in the future... while having fun at the same time!

Are you in?

What is a stress journal and why I recommend this instead...

You already get migraines and that's stressful enough.

I no longer find it useful to strengthen the pathways of old stories. Some of those stories you tell yourself are not beneficial to moving forward. If you know anything about our brains negativity bias and neuroplasticity... you might agree with me on this.

So… this is not a journal where you will be writing down your worries. It is guided each week with the intention of looking for positive and new things to bring into your life.

Bringing in more fun will help reduce your stress levels.

Migraine attacks all on their own are stressful... and then there's life

Migraine attacks are stressful. If you are here, you know that. Here is a great little journal for you to learn how to stress less in just 8 weeks. Be prepared to make some changes. Migraine attacks use adrenaline, so you are a few weeks away from calming everything right down. Being calmer means your body can rest, digest, and heal.

This book size is US letter paper size - 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm or 8.5 x 11 inches.

You will get your body moving by dancing in your kitchen! You’ll explore some relaxation techniques using your breath and each week you will focus on the one thing to see what makes a difference in your life.

I give extra hints and guide you through each week, what to add and what to test.

Here are some sample journal pages, so you can see how simple and easy it is. 

---

Sample Pages

---

That's it! Simple and easy to use and you can print out the pages to use again each time you want to. These are just the lead summary sheets for each week, so you can use a notebook for the rest of the week if you want to write daily. Which is what I recommend. (I wanted to save some trees here!!!)

There aren’t any fancy methods or difficult procedures. Just follow the steps, one week at a time, and you too will be walking towards a more relaxing lifestyle.

Why Wait? Start experimenting now for a calmer you tomorrow!