The brain.

How are we to treat mental health issues if the treatment doesn't get initiated due to the stigma society has cast upon them?

Is journaling an adequate source of producing a healthy and balanced mind?

Can writing down your thoughts, feelings, aspirations, inside struggles, and deepest desires help one articulate and process? In recent studies, it has been shown that the high percentage of deteriorating mental health has been an epidemic; research also conveys that the stigma has been one as well. Due to the rise in mental health concerns and the increased stigma of those affected by such conditions, can journaling promote a healthy mind?

Our most current and past generations have had a massive amount of political, social, emotional, educational, and personal issues to deflect the mental instability within our given society. The amount of young teens suffering from depression and self-harm and even suicide is alarming, and the stigma that arises from the issue is just as mournful. Journaling can be a form of emotional output and indirect way of describing while formulating what is going on inside that cannot always be verbalized on the outside. If mental health professionals were to precisely advocate journaling as a form of self-expression and emotional release therapy, I wonder if our mental health statistics would look differently.

I believe writing down what one's internal battleground looks like can be extremely helpful and significant in pursuing a healthy, self-processing technique. “Journaling promotes a healthy mind while pursuing a fresh perspective on things, it can also relieve the stress and emotional suffering of insomnia, anxiety, depression, grief, cancer survivorship, anger, loneliness, traumatic events, eating disorders and addiction to tobacco, drugs, and alcohol” (Mind Body Studio). Why does such a stigma regarding mental health issues exist? Why has our society not accepted valid issues concerning mental health as we do with regards to physical health?

Amongst the various contusions we now face in this non-stop generational society, mental health tends to have a continuous cycle and is increasingly getting worse.

What is driving the stigma related to mental health issues, how are we coping with our cognitive malfunctions, and what can we do differently as a society? “Studies found that stigma directed at adolescents with mental health problems came from family members, peers, and teachers. 46 percent of these adolescents described experiencing stigmatization by family members in the form of unwarranted assumptions” (Psychology today).

The number of political, social and personal issues the typical individual faces can overwhelm to a point of problematic and disastrous behavior. “Each year, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self-injury, and 90 percent of people who engage in self-harm begin during their teen or pre-adolescent years” (Healthy place). Some don’t have a means of a solution or a community of people they can trust to get the help the may need.

Admitting the need for help is excruciatingly difficult in itself, and the stigma referenced with mental health makes it even worse. “Frequently, untreated depression and other mental health challenges create an environment of despair that leads people to cope with these challenges in unhealthy ways” (Healthy place).

Why is it that our society is so stigmatized concerning mental health issues? Is it that we don’t feel we can openly talk about them as we do physical health issues that have a noticeable physical explanation to them? “For many, young adulthood is characterized by the pursuit of greater educational opportunities and employment prospects, development of personal relationships, and, for some, parenthood. While all of these circumstances offer opportunities for growth, they may also result in stress that precipitates the onset or recurrence of psychiatric disorders” (JAMA Psychiatry). The first 20 years of a young person's life are supposed to be the prime years and the most endearing, however, it now seems those years are being robbed by the onset of yet undiscovered mental diagnoses.

If we could engage our society while promoting mental health issues as if they were physical illnesses, things could potentially start shifting in the mental health world. “While the media may be getting better at increasing their portrayal of anti-stigmatizing material over recent years, studies suggest that there has been no proportional decrease in the news media’s publication of stigmatizing articles, suggesting that the media is still a significant source of stigma-relevant misinformation” (Psychology today).

If we could transmit our society's understandings and misconceptions regarding mental health to legitimate facts, I believe our statistics would look much different. “Stigma embraces both prejudicial attitudes and discriminating behavior towards individuals with mental health problems, and the social effects of this include exclusion, poor social support, poorer subjective quality of life, and low self-esteem” (Livingston and Boyd). The cycle seems to rapidly circulate and repeat due to the lack of knowledge and ignorance of the matter. For an example: the depressed individual is clearly having a difficult time, meanwhile, she is incessantly being avoided, isolated, and misunderstood for her depressed and oppressive behavior, and she then becomes more depressed.

The individual spirals downward into a self-harm pattern feeling so alienated and peculiar; she doesn’t seek help because she fears that will make her appear even more pathetic and isolated. “People with chronic anxiety may recognize this episode of peace restored as a false détente, a psychic ceasefire that in retrospect gives off the same aura of accumulating violence as the years between the World Wars” (Daniel Smith). The stigma deters her from seeking mental health attention she needs, and the cycle continues to enhance while potentially growing progressively even more self-destructive with entertaining thoughts of suicide.

Many children, teens, young adults and a staggering number of grown adults have some kind of mental medical complexity issue, which, therefore, necessitates the process of finding solutions and necessary coping skills. Healthy coping skills are most important if one genuinely wants to work through his of her condition. “The goal here is not the production of a written product but the interior experience that results from it” (Mind Body Studio). The problem is, each and every individual's situation is unique and calls for different recovery, counsel, and coping skills, so it can be difficult to pinpoint what works best for some. “Spending just a few minutes a day writing in a journal is an opportunity to slow down, look back and revisit key events of the day, describing not only what happened, but what you recall thinking or feeling” (Depression Tool Kit).

Many struggle with discovering a healing and coping mechanism that is longstanding, healthy, and legitimate, despite medication. Unfortunately, many who severely struggle with mental disorders inevitably fall into self-mutilation, abusing pills and prescription medications, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and out-of-control behavior. “Studies have shown that journaling can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health, and can make psychotherapy more effective” (Depression Tool Kit.org).

Research shows that the statistics of those who healthfully process and self-reflect on paper have a greater chance of long-lasting recovery and sustainable mental health. “Most people, however, experience journal writing as a positive and therapeutic experience. In fact, the remarkable thing about therapeutic journal writing is its ability to provide insight into life’s problems and reduction of physical pain and relief from mental, emotional and spiritual suffering, sometimes as effectively as prescribed medication and professional counseling” (Mind Body Studio).

Journaling through the unpleasant times as well as the pleasant ones can be self-gratifying by giving one means to articulate life’s circumstances positively. “Beyond its use in alleviating these forms of pain and suffering, journal writing can increase your sense of mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, build resilience, enhance emotional intelligence, nurture creativity, improve communication and relationships, identify purpose, meaning, clarify, deepest values, and ignite a personal passion for your unique life path by cultivating acceptance, gratitude, happiness, forgiveness and compassion” (Mind Body Mind). The assets journaling produces promote a cleansed and healthy mind with better chances of recovery.

Some go through short spurts of mental illness while others suffer chronically, which is why discovering promising coping skills is ideal. The financial burdens one pays to better the illness causes even more of a fog over the intensity of the illness; could something as simple as journaling positively shed light on disease? The rise of mental health issues is a mass number, although, if we begin implementing various other helpful but healthy coping skills, we may decrease the current mental health statistics as well as the negative stigma.

I believe the mind is a beautiful gift. Although I don’t in any capacity come close to understanding how it works or why it works the way it chooses, I do understand and believe wholeheartedly that journaling can be a source of healing and articulating what one cannot put into words. “Dead, but walking, is one way to describe it. You feel numb. Perhaps the worst part is that you remember when you actually felt something and the contrast between then and now makes the pain worse” (Family Life).

I can attest personally that scribing out your inside misunderstandings and ruthless battlegrounds can bring somewhat of a closure after you finish and shut your book of words. Words that mean so much on paper are those same words that eat at you up on the inside until they are dissected and treated with care and consideration with a pen. “Scientific evidence supports that journaling provides other unexpected benefits.

The act of writing accesses your left brain, which is analytical and rational. While your left brain is occupied, your right brain is free to create, intuit and feel. In sum, writing removes mental blocks and allows you to use all of your brainpower to better understand yourself, others and the world around you” (Psych Central). I find my greatest self-revelations come out on paper inside my journal, through my prayers. Sometimes one with depression or anxiety can have such great trouble functioning and managing through even the most minuscule of tasks until she is able to reproduce on paper what those neurons are actually trying to transmit inside her. "Things you used to take for granted—a good night's sleep, having goals, looking forward to the future—now seem beyond your reach” (Family Life). The illness can be hard enough while the stigma makes it worse.

The broad inconveniences mental health struggles can actually inflict on one's life can impede the simplicity of waking up and choosing whether or not to get out of bed or carry on throughout the rest of the day, as well as the “everything” in between. “Physical pain, you think, would be much better—at least the pain would be localized. Instead, depression seems to go to your very soul, affecting everything in its path” (Family Health).

Sometimes trying to play it off as though everything is completely fine on the inside and all is well in the world produces even more disaster for some reason; the associated stigma generally makes it harder to relieve and release these things to others due to fear of stigmatization and alienation. “Does it help to know that you are not alone? These days, depression affects as much as 25 percent of the population. Although it has always been a human problem, no one really knows why. But what Christians do know is that God is not silent when we suffer.

On every page of Scripture, God's depressed children have been able to find hope and a reason to endure” (Family Life). Mental health complications tend to affect the whole being when it gets severe. “Research indicates that journaling can help people face stressful events, lessening the impact stress can have on their physical and emotional health” (Depression Tool Kit). It may interfere with one's social, emotional, intellectual, relational, financial, spiritual, personal, and physical well-being. “People recovering from a depressive illness may choose to also include information in their journal specific to their symptoms and treatment” (Depression Tool Kit).

These things can alter one's personality and demeanor as well as how they interpersonally interact with others, which could potentially make them a lonely individual. I find that journaling intercedes when I am unable to properly express or cognitively work through things, it allows me to feel fulfilled with the concept that there is still hope and room for articulating what I am unable to verbally or even intellectually. “Journaling is a great self-teaching tool. It provides a safe environment for not only looking at “what happened” during the day, but also examining how changing your thoughts or behaviors might have brought about a different outcome” (Depression Tool Kit). Learning to work through the difficult mental blocks and times of depressive behavior can be such a helpful tool in rehabilitating oneself independently. If we could learn to implement healthy coping skills such as journaling, we may be able to decrease the saddening statistics while eliminating the associated stigma.

The greater benefit journaling provides is a reference to how you got through the past rough times and seasons of sadness. It gives you the ability to look back and have actual and personal evidence as to how you made it through the last or past difficult times. “Never has so much been crammed into one word. Depression feels terrifying. Your world is dark, heavy, and painful” (Family Life). Those words in that journal may offer perspective and encourage perseverance in times of despair and distress. Journaling is a healthy and free means of coping that statistically promote a healthier mind. Due to the rise in mental health concerns and the increased stigma of those affected with such conditions, can journaling promote a healthy mind? Yes, journaling benefits the mentality toward the disease as well as a treatment. Not only do statistics prove this argument to be true, but I personally can argue it as well.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”