Pick up a pen and a notebook, and you’re holding one of the most effective ways to protect your mental wellbeing. Psychologists have long known that keeping a journal of stressful events helps us come to terms with them, and reduces their impact on our health. We also know that slimmers who keep a food diary double their weight loss. But more of us are discovering that journaling of the bullet-point lists of daily, weekly and enhances our lives in other ways, too.
We may live in the digital age, but journaling the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper, is having a moment. Instagram is full of pictures of beautiful ‘bullet journals’, so-called because monthly goals, livened up with symbols, colours and inspirational quotes. We’re wising up to the fact that something special happens when we record our thoughts ‘analogue’ style.
Writing down our inner feelings and dreams is a way of learning about ourselves, and realising where we need to make changes to reach our full potential. Recording key moments from our past, then describing what we’d like future events to look like, can help us achieve our goals, according to research from the University of Toronto.