How can writing strengthen your mental health? These three practices can take you from blank paper to a deeper understanding of yourself.
Simply keep scrap paper or a journal by your bed, along with a favorite pen or sharp pencil. Invest just five minutes in the morning and evening for yourself. Ready for greater mental clarity? Let's go!
1. As soon as you awake in the morning, drink water and
write about your dreams. What happened? How did you feel in each scene? Be patient with yourself when you start this practice. Set an intent each night to remember something from your dreams. The water quenches your thirsty mind.
2. Before you go to sleep each night,
write five gratitude statements. Reflect on the best of what had occurred that day. For more impact, read the gratitude statements aloud. Following are some examples:
- "I am grateful (fill in the blank) happened today."
- "I give thanks for (fill in the blank)."
Pondering the blessings in your life could help calm storms of worrisome chitchat in your head.
3. Write cursive. Yes, close the laptop and pick up your favorite pen. In Judy Santilli Packhem's The Case for Cursive: Connected Letters, Connected Thinking, brain mapping "shows that during cursive writing both the right and left hemispheres of the brain are active. This is something that is not present either while keyboarding or writing in print." This synergy improves language and memory functions. Some brain researchers believe such left-right hemispheres integration increases our innovation and problem solving.
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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