Being a caregiver is a stressful task. Even when you’re not actively providing care, you’re thinking about it and worrying about it … in fact, it’s something you can never get away from. That in turn can lead to heightened stress, poor health and an overall lessened quality of life, says D’Evereux Fondren, Senior Advisor at Bridges® by EPOCH at Hingham.
“It’s important to have coping techniques that allow you to get out of your head, so to speak, and provide you opportunities to de-stress and refocus your attitude,” D’Evereux says. “While doing things like eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and doing things you enjoy are all good ways to help destress, the process of writing down your thoughts in a journal has actually been proven to be one of the quickest and most effective ways to work through caregiver stress, solve problems and instill an attitude of gratitude.”
How Journaling Improves Health
It lowers stress.
First and foremost, the act of getting your thoughts down on paper allows you to get them out of your head. While it won’t always necessarily make the thoughts go away, the act of writing them down can actually help you work through your emotions. As you write, or after you’ve written, you might realize that things aren’t as dire as they seem, or there’s a logical solution to the problem or you simply just feel … better. All these sensations produce a sense of relief because your stress levels drop accordingly. Since hypertension is a source of a slew of health issues including depression, strokes and heart issues, reducing your stress is a very good step towards becoming a healthier you.
It improves your problem-solving abilities.
The act of writing stimulates the right side of your brain, which is the creative center of your mind. By getting your creative juices flowing, you may get an “aha” moment that allows you to see your problems or frustrations in a different light. By observing the issue from all sides, you may discover something you hadn’t thought of before, or look a little differently at a solution in a way that helps you solve it.
It can help make caregiving a little easier. Journaling each day can help you start to recognize patterns in your caregiving or the way your loved one behaves. This can help you identify things that could be streamlined, improved or otherwise changed to help make your caregiving journey a little easier and a little less stressful.
It improves overall health.
A study by the University of Cambridge found that when people journaled about difficult feelings or events for just 20 minutes each day, their immune system improved. Apparently, the relief gained by writing down thoughts and feelings improved the body’s ability to withstand disease, stress and infection. Additional benefits of journaling include better sleep, faster healing, greater mobility, decreased blood pressure and more.
It puts you in a state of mindfulness and gratefulness.
Actively practicing mindfulness and its sister, gratitude, has gained in popularity over the years, and for good reason. Mindfulness is the practice of being “in the moment,” calming your thoughts and allowing yourself to let go and be present. This results in greater mental and physical health as well as a calmer and more optimistic outlook. Many caregivers report that mindfulness allows them to more easily de-stress and manage the hard times, which is great for helping to reduce the incidence of caregiver burnout.
Gratitude is another emotion that can be boosted by intentionally performing it. Gratitude starts with recognizing and appreciating the things you have in your life to be thankful for. It’s very easy to get caught in a negative spiral as a caregiver, focusing on everything that’s going wrong or worrying that you’re not doing enough, or feeling resentful for the situation you’re in. Journaling goes well with the practice of gratitude, because it allows you an opportunity to write down the things you’re thankful for and reasons you have to be positive. Some caregivers choose to do this right before they go to bed, because it puts them in a mood of thankfulness, which helps them drift off to sleep (and stay asleep).
All these benefits result in one thing: a more thriving, healthy and caring you. Journaling and practicing gratitude are two great skills you can use to help you be a better caregiver, and thus provide better care to your senior loved one.
If you’d like to start the practice of journaling, here are some topics and prompts to help you jump-start your journey.
- Five good things that happened to me today are…
- What is one thing I would like to change about my morning routine?
- What is one thing I would like to change about my evening routine?
- What is a goal I want to accomplish?
- What new skill would I like to learn? How can I start making that happen?
- Ten things that make me happy are…
- What about today was difficult? What can I do to make things better moving forward?
- Am I taking care of myself? If yes, how am I doing that? If not, how can I start doing that?
- What are three things I’d like to do in the future?
It’s easy to get started journaling – you don’t even have to have a fancy journal to do it (although we do recommend purchasing a special journal just for your thoughts). If you’re just starting off and don’t have anything, a notepad or index cards work just as well. Dedicate a specific time to your journaling, and soon you’ll find you have a helpful new habit to help you be the best you and the best caregiver possible.
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