Does using journaling make it easier to mentally relax?

Whenever you are stressed, or thinking about items throughout the day, does it help you to use a journal to write things down in order to understand why you feel the way you do? In a way, does this also help you become more relaxed as you “let go” of the items that were bothering you since in the bigger picture they are kind of small in size compared to the rest of the day?

I think it does help as you get stuff off your chest and out of your head. It is also good as you can make a list and mark it off as you achieve them.

Yes, because it helps you avoid carrying things around in your head; if you have negative thoughts or are feeling stressed, writing them all down in a journal will definitely provide mental relief—it’s highly recommended.

I used to work at a job that I hated. I was so miserable that I would stress so badly that I would give myself ulcers.

That bad!

Before I finally had enough and quit, I’d write to help ease the stress.

I maintain several blogs and writing has always been a favorite non-fitness activity of mine.

I bet I’d write like 5 big blog posts a day back then. Each one being 2K to 5K words long.

Writing still helps me. It gives me a dopamine hit. I get excitement, even as I write them post.

I’ll never let AI take that from me; I love it too much!

On Nov 5, 2026, Shawn said:

I used to work at a job that I hated. I was so miserable that I would stress so badly that I would give myself ulcers.

That bad!

Before I finally had enough and quit, I’d write to help ease the stress.

I maintain several blogs and writing has always been a favorite non-fitness activity of mine.

I bet I’d write like 5 big blog posts a day back then. Each one being 2K to 5K words long.

Writing still helps me. It gives me a dopamine hit. I get excitement, even as I write them post.

I’ll never let AI take that from me; I love it too much!

The bit about the ulcers really strikes me; I’ve certainly experienced plenty of hatred, stress, and rage myself, yet I never developed an ulcer. That’s really rough for you. It’s a good thing that writing, at least, provided you with a fair amount of relaxation—mentally, anyway—even if it wasn’t quite as much as you truly needed. But just imagine what might have become of you if you hadn’t written; you would have literally exploded with rage.