Healthy Life

Journaling is simply writing down your thoughts and feelings to understand them more clearly.

And if you struggle with stress, depression, or anxiety, keeping a journal can be a great idea. It can help you gain control of your emotions and improve your mental health.

The Benefits of Journaling

One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy way to express yourself. This makes a journal a helpful tool in managing your mental health.

Journaling can help you:

• Manage anxiety
• Reduce stress
• Cope with depression
• Journaling helps control your symptoms and improve your mood by:
• Helping you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
• Tracking any symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers and learn ways to better control them
• Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviors

When you have a problem and you're stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that stress or anxiety. Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress.

Keep in mind that journaling is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle for better managing stress, anxiety, and mental health conditions. To get the most benefits, be sure you also:

• Relax and meditate each day.
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
• Exercise regularly—get in some activity every day.
• Treat yourself to plenty of sleep each night.
• Stay away from alcohol and drugs.

The StayWell Company, LLC ©2021

For more information visit our Wellness at Work webpage.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, the Oswego Health Foundation Business Relations Committee feels it is especially important to regularly practice self-care and take time to keep ourselves healthy. Our committee is reaching out to you as an organization leader in hopes of you utilizing this information by sharing it with your staff. We will continue to share simple ways for you and your employees to boost wellness while at work. We hope these tips are beneficial and help to relieve some of the stress that you may be experiencing during this ongoing difficult time.

The Oswego Health Foundation Business Relations Committee members include:

• Molly Ball - Huhtamaki
• Laura Denny - NBT Bank
• Lynne Eggert - Novelis
• Brad Broadwell - Fulton Community Development Agency
• Kevin Hill - JP Jewelers
• Michele Hourigan - Oswego Health Foundation
• Kelly Montagna - Oswego Health, Fulton Medical Center
• Charlie Noel - AmeriCU
• Katie Toomey - Centerstate CEO
• Chena Tucker - SUNY Oswego, Office of Business and Community Relations
• Garrette Weiss - CitiBOCES
• Rita Wicks - Oswego Health, Occupational Health