Depression Learning

How Does Journaling Improve Depression Symptoms?

Depression is believed to be caused, in part, by a biochemical imbalance. Antidepressants are often prescribed to people with major depression and chronic depression to help the brain chemicals come back into balance. Journaling is a very effective way to improve depression symptoms. You can journal on an as needed basis. You can also set a time everyday to sit down and write. Just start writing. Over time, you will be amazed at the entries you made weeks or months ago as compared to the present. Many people with clinical depression look back over the months of journal entries and realize the dramatic change that has taken place. Many people don’t even remember how sick they were from depression until they go back and read through their journal.

There are different ways to journal. One popular way to journal is to keep a notebook or diary to write in every day. Another way is to open a document on your computer and save it as a personal journal or diary. Still, another way to express your inner self is to find a great online journaling forum. Another popular way people journal nowadays is with video journals. Video journals are just as effective at alleviating depression symptoms, as writing. Some people find putting their thoughts and feelings into poetic form is very therapeutic also. There is something very therapeutic about expressing your inner self on in a way that you can freeze your moments to evaluate later. Any way you do it, journaling is a helpful tool to improve depression symptoms.

If you have ever been diagnosed with major depression or chronic depression you know how emotionally draining it can be. You may have had feelings of guilt for no apparent reason. You may have had long periods of feeling hopeless and helpless. It is at these times, when you are feeling your worst, that journaling is the most effective. Journaling is like a catharsis; you are able to get everything that is hidden deep within your being out of you.

Many clinically depressed people think about journaling, but never do it, because they don’t know where to start writing, or they turn on the video camera and can’t think of anything to say. The way to journal is to just start talking. Most people are surprised at how much they are able say once they get started. Journaling is said to be one of the best ways to cope with the negative thoughts and feelings that are associated with depression.

It is believed that journaling has a positive effect on one’s thoughts and feelings. As you journal, you are getting “stuff” off your chest. The more you clean out the closet of your mind the better you feel. Thus, when you feel better biochemistry in your brain comes back into healthy balance. Going back to read or watch your video journal from months before will allow you to see how much you have improved over time. By looking back at those days, you can appreciate the good days you are having in the present; you can also see just how much your thinking has changed from a pessimistic to a more optimistic attitude.

In some ways, journaling is much better than talking to a therapist or a friend. No, journaling should never take the place of a therapist, if your doctor wants you to see one. However, writing is very therapeutic, and by taking the time to write or type your journal, it really does make you feel better right away. If you don’t write a journal, but you keep a video journal, going back and watching what you recorded in months past will surely show you how far you have come emotionally. Depression is something that festers like a cancer until you do something to get rid of it. In conjunction with depression treatment, journaling is a very helpful tool to reduce depression symptoms.

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