By Daniel Lesser

Journaling can help reduce the stress in your family in several ways. For one, by lowering your own stress levels, you will get along better with your family. You will be a happier person which will, in turn, make everyone else happier to be around you.

You will also learn to deal with family situations better and can teach the rest of the family ways of better managing their stress. Through journaling, you can also learn a new appreciation for your family and this will show when you are around them.

Use the following prompts to help you use your journal to reduce family stress.

If you don't have accurate details regarding journaling, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don't let that happen: keep reading.

"My family makes me feel stressed by..." "My family deals with stress by..." "Sometimes I get angry at my family when..." "Sometimes I resent my family when..." "If I could change anything about my family, it would be..." "One thing that would make my family better is..."

You can work your way through these prompts at any pace you wish. Be sure to keep an eye on your stress levels. Note how you feel when writing about each situation. Does writing help you "let go" and release certain emotions and feelings that could be causing you stress?

This same plan for reducing stress in your family works for your friends and your workplace. Often we get so busy in our lives that we never take the time to really think about things that are bothering us or worrying us. We just push it further back in our minds and these things keep building up. This is basically what stress is. Journaling will help you bring these things out so that they can be acknowledged and dealt with.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

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