J.J. Boyles

Writing To Relieve Stress. . . . sounds like exercise doesn't it? You know, you hear it from the doctor, on tv. . . eat less, exercise more (blah, blah blah) So the last thing you want to hear from me is that you should start writing stuff down to help you with your stress level! Well, humor me for a little bit, and I'll give you some good reasons to do it, and also some easy tips to get started, or to start writing regularly!

First of all I hope you won't be intimidated by the thought of keeping a journal. It isn't nearly as scary or as boring as it sounds. My journal, which you saw in the last post is a whole mish mash of stuff. I'm probably the only one in the world that could decipher it (which is as it should be!). I started keeping a journal because I was so frustrated with all the little scraps of paper I had lying around that had phone messages, notes for my calendar, to do lists, and on and on. So I made myself a journal and have been using one ever since. You might associate keeping a journal with the old "Dear Diary" days of your youth. Mine certainly isn't like that! Only every once in a while will I write a "heartfelt" entry where I write about something for a whole page or more.
That's where the benefits of keeping a journal comes in.

An article written by Griff, April 2007 states:
"A new report in the news today will interest all writers out there. According to a new study just released, writing can reduce stress.

The study says if you are having stressful experiences, you should not keep them locked up inside. Instead, you should pick up a pen and notebook, and let it all out on paper. The researchers found that by writing about their lives, people tended to visit their doctor less, sleep better, and had a stronger immune system. The idea of writing about things in your life that are causing stress is called expressive writing"

You can read the whole article here. (It's a good one!)

So, writing can help to relieve stress, especially if you don't let the writing itself stress you out! It's not about pouring your heart out every day on paper. That could be very difficult and cause stress in itself. It's about having an outlet available for when you DO need to pour your heart out! I'll be posting more about this subject and some good journaling tips I've found, in the next week.

But in the meantime, I'll bet you want to know what the second part of the big announcement is don't you!

My "Write It Down Special Event" doesn't just include those special leather journals I made, I've got something else to give you. (drumroll, please. . . )

A spare journal to share! My hope is to spread this stress relief as far as it can go, so I'm sending you an extra journal with your order of the special "Write It Down" journal. You are welcome to keep this extra journal, OR, you might just know someone that is going through a rough patch and think they could use something to write in. This little bonus is yours to keep, or give away, it's up to you!

These envelope style journals measure 5 3/4" x 4 1/2" and have 80 pages in them if you count both sides of the page. None of them will be this exact print, each one will vary in color and print. They are bound with a ribbon and have an envelope closure. If you're thinking of giving this little journal to a man, please let me know. Alot of the prints lean toward the feminine side, but I can include a more masculine one if that is your choice.

So there you go! A great "Write It Down" special leather journal AND an envelope journal to share! These journals will go on sale in my Etsy shop, Monday March 9 at 9:00AM. I will have available 13 black leather journals, and 2 burgundy ones. I hope to see you then!

I would love to hear from you in the comments, if you have anything to add on this subject or if you have any great journaling suggestions!

Until Monday! Have a great weekend!