If there’s anything we all have in common it’s pain and/or stress. Stress can end up affecting people. See Stress.org for further information about the recorded percentage of stress in Americans. There are plenty of solutions, and one of these methods of stress relief is journaling. It’s always healthy to keep a journal of your feelings and emotions. But could it affect your physical health in a positive way? The best part is, you don’t even need to be a good writer! We all know keeping a journal is relieving because you can express whatever your feelings or thoughts are to a place that is for your eyes only. 

A study was taken in which 107 asthma and rheumatoid arthritis patients were told to write for 20 minutes a day for three consecutive days. 71 patients were told to write about any stressful situation they’ve encountered during the duration of their lives. The other 36 people were instructed to write about their plans for the day. The majority of the studied patients showed significant results. The people who wrote about their stress showed better results. The study was taken again with a different group of 37 HIV-infected people who were separated into two groups and asked to write about stressful situations and the other to write about what they were doing that day. As a result, the people who were asked to write about their negative situations had a better outcome than the other group. 

In conclusion, Journaling for any amount of time can have a positive impacts on your overall health. You don’t have to limit yourself and only write about stressful things, for example write about the person you can’t get your mind off of, or how you can’t wait to get home and take a nap. Write about anything you please, it’s bound to benefit you in one way or another.