4 Ways Writing Helps You Relax

Life can be stressful, perhaps now more than ever. I’m in full encouragement of people practising self-care and doing all they can to relax. Writing is my very favourite distraction from the world, so I just had to share those 4 wonderful ways writing can help you to relax.

Writing is an escape from reality
What better way to relax, than escaping our real life worries? Writing offers the most incredible escape from reality. In writing you can focus entirely on other people, other worlds and other situations. You can write things that make you feel happy, powerful, creative, inspired and excited. It is completely in your control, and that’s what makes it so glorious.

Writing helps you make sense of your thoughts
There’s a wonderful writing quote by Flannery O’Connor; “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” I completely agree that writing is a great way to organise and better understand your thoughts. You can explore things that frustrate or frighten you, making sense of them as you go. In that sense, it can have a real positive effect on your mental health, thus helping you to relax.

Writing can reduce stress
Writing is a healthy way to vent, it allows you to get out what you need to without hurting anybody else, or yourself. Not only that, but writing can have a positive physical effect on your body. It can relieve stress by steadying your breathing, and lowering your blood pressure. Writing is a highly recommended exercise for de-stressing, be it writing fiction or expressing yourself through a journal or diary.

Writing gives a sense of achievement
You have no obligation to be productive, or busy. You have the right to relax regardless. But for those of you who struggle to chill until they’ve done something, writing is a great way to go. Write a little, or write a lot, but either way you’ll have achieved progress. And if that’s what it takes to allow yourself some down-time, then get to it!

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I hope you’re all staying well and managing to relax as often as possible in these troubling times. Share your tips below, as I find relaxing really difficult, and am keen to discover more ways to do so.

Until then,
Keep writing (and relaxing!)
M
x

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