You are taking a leap to start your digital detox. Hopefully some of the tips and tricks we have shared over the last few weeks can help you start on that journey. We wanted to give you some insight into what this can mean to you. The numbers might seem high, but about 61% of people admit to being addicted to the internet or digital screens. This essentially makes it a necessity to institute a digital detox for our generation. So, what is it exactly? It is all about making the mindful decision to intentionally take a timeout from using electronic devices. Although the behavior might have heightened during lockdown the last couple of years because this became the default activity during that time. So, it’s important to recognize and regulate how much time we spend in front of our screens daily.
But, of course, being in the business of journals, we hope that journaling can be a bright spot you steer towards on that journey. We truly believe in the power of it.
There has been a renewed hype around the art and emotional benefits of journaling the past few years. Thus, many of us grew up writing in our journals but stopped this practice as we got older, but now this is something that adults are encouraged to do to help process emotions and just write down our daily experiences.
Journaling can be a helpful habit to get into while you’re detoxing just to help you process some of the anxiety you might be feeling while you’re offline because FOMO (fear of missing out) is very real for our generation. Many of us are used to constantly sharing our feelings and thoughts on our timelines with our followers as and when we are experiencing them. Without that space to share, journaling can be a great source of comfort. It’s not easy to get into it, but once you build the habit, the benefits can be immense.
So, what are some of the benefits we can gain from journaling more consistently?
- According to some research, it has been associated with decreased mental distress and increased well-being. It can ease daily anxieties, with researchers finding that those with various medical conditions and anxiety who wrote down their experiences (this can apply to physical journaling) for 15 minutes three days a week over a 12-week period had increased feelings of well-being and fewer depressive symptoms after one month.
- Journaling can give you perspective about something you’re experiencing, thus it gives you the space to reflect and get an outside-in perspective on events. Writing down your feelings can help you understand them and yourself better.
- It can improve your physical health and wellbeing. This is important because the reality is that our emotional distress often impacts our physical health as well. By journaling what you’re feeling instead of resorting to unhealthy habits like eating or drinking, it can reduce the impact on your physical health.
The best place to start is to keep it simple if you decide to do journaling, but otherwise, there are no set and hard rules about how to go about it. Do what feels right and comfortable for you until you get into the habit of journaling.
We have some great books available to help get you started, check them out over at jo-bos.com