These Holidays Write It All Down!

Christmas for most people is the best time of the year; lights everywhere, decorations, happy faces, gifts. But for many it can be a very stressful period too. Having to organize parties, the shopping and gift picking could provoke stress and anxiety. In addition, many people are either away from home, unable to see their loved ones or have lost their loved ones. These days on the other hand, being associated with family and love are reminders of all that and make them feel rather nostalgic. Either ways, it would be a good idea to write all them feelings down!

It should be noted that keeping a journal is not about passively registering life experiences. It is a rather healthy, therapeutic way to get in touch with your emotions and spill them all out. It is a way to calm yourself down for a little while, get in touch with yourself, acknowledge your thoughts and feelings, empower yourself and find your intrinsic motivation. It is a way to make sense of everything that is going on in your life; the rights and the wrongs! It is a catharsis! It will help you tap into your nostalgia, make sense of it, see how it affects you and deal with it in a productive way in order to enjoy these days.

Usually, creative processes such as writing, turn out to be useful tools to discover underlying feelings and emotions hidden in our unconscious and psyche. People nowadays, being too busy, don’t take the time to get in touch with themselves. Writing is a way that “forces” the feelings out of you since memories, life events and experiences are closely connected to emotions. James Pennebaker, a pioneer on the research regarding writing as a healing mechanism, supports that writing has helped a lot of people dealing with death, depression, anxiety or a traumatic experience.
Apart from helping us getting over an unfortunate situation, it can also help get in touch with the people around us. How many times have you written down in a Christmas card or a letter things you couldn’t express verbally, while looking the other person in the eyes? How many times have you read something that brought tears to your eyes? So writing is not JUST a therapeutic mechanism. It is a way to communicate with others and yourself. It is a way to remember, a way to forget and a way to recognize and remind yourself what is important, what really matters and what does NOT.

Thus, buy yourself a journal, find a quiet place and write to yourself. Write about what brings you joy, write about the memories and the people you cherish. Write about your routine, about what you like or dislike. Write about what stresses you out or upsets you during the holidays. Write, write, write! Then try and leave your stress, worries and nostalgic feelings to your writings and enjoy these festive days as much as possible! Be grateful for all you have, don’t get discouraged and remember that everything is possible! Fear, melancholia, nostalgia, stress are all part of the human emotionality, they are part of who we are THUS WHY THEY ARE MANAGEABLE!

Enjoy writing along with all joyful holiday moments!