Blogging as a Path to Stress Relief

This is a sponsored guest post. 

Being a dad can be, well stressful. And whether or not “dad bods” are in, stress is bad for both your physical and mental health. It can lead to weight gain, overeating, and the development of bad habits and the forsaking of good ones. Besides that, stress just doesn’t feel good.

A proper diet is good for stress relief. So is exercise. But people who are stressed tend to eat the wrong foods and exercise less. One other way to relieve stress is to exercise your mind through journaling and writing. Some people find this even more relaxing in the form of blogging. There are of course a couple of ways you can do this.

You can blog for someone else. There is a great dad blogging site and social media network called Dad Life that is a great gathering place for dads. If you want more control over your content and even to start your own community, you can start your own blog. This will take some work on your part as you will need to choose and purchase a domain name, find hosting, and build a website or have one built for you.

Still, with modern tools these things are pretty easy. Then you will be on the path to using blogging as a path to stress relief. Here are some ways that it works.

Writing is Relaxing

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This is not like your English class at school. This kind of writing can be quite cathartic and relaxing. Expressive writing can be not only a great creative outlet and one that lowers anxiety, increases endorphins and dopamine, making you feel happier.

Also, writing is also a great way to process your thoughts and cleanse your brain. Sometimes just putting your thoughts into sentences can help bring clarity to problem solving and help you work things out that have been puzzling or bothering you. This is especially helpful when it comes to everything from parenting to nutrition, diet to workouts, and more.

The good news is that as a parent, you can blog about nearly anything, and other parents can relate to what you are going through. Your writing can be on a variety of topics and still rech your audience and be relaxing for you.

Sometimes you Need to Vent

The thing about venting as a parent is that you won’t be alone. Sometimes your frustrations are simply related to normal parenting struggles, but you just need to release them, and writing a blog post about them is a great way to do so. This is true for a couple of reasons.

First, venting often helps you put a situation into perspective. On written reflection, the problem can be seen as minor and even amusing. Secondly, much like writing to organize your thoughts, you may also see that other parents share your same struggles and frustrations. The relief often comes in simply realizing you are not alone. Kids are kids and have been since the beginning of time. Transcending barriers of race, religion, and even social status, parents struggle with similar issues.

One of those is often time management, and part of that is frustration often derails the rest of your schedule and your day. Blogging can help you get those things back on track and relieve some of the stress you are feeling.

Find Empathy

Yes, other parents go through the same struggles and they understand what you are going through as well, and the good thing about blogging is that it does not have to be a one-way street. Through comments and even shares on social media, other parents can empathize and express solidarity, even offering advice that will not only help you, but help other readers as well.

The key is that you be willing to communicate through comments and allow others to express their opinions. You don’t want your blog to be a source of stress, but to help eliminate it for you and other parents who might follow it. Even when you disagree, the fact that every parent has different struggles with their children and reacts differently still allows for empathy and discussion.

This doesn’t mean you have to allow spam comments but ignore trolls and those who are just being disagreeable for the sake of disagreement. Look instead for the truly empathetic and embrace and build on those conversations.

Develop a Community

Like social media, many other blogs, and comment forums, a blog often results in you building a community, one that includes other dads, parents, and even experts in the parenting realm. This community means you don’t have to create all of the content for your blog, which is another stress reliever. Nor do you have to be the expert in everything. Instead, the expertise of your community becomes yours to rely on.

You can do this through allowing member guest posts, comment threads, and even through creating surveys and discussion boards. The more active your community, the more stress it can relieve for you while still providing you with an outlet that is viable.

Build and Teach

Your community, your blogging allows you a platform to build your knowledge base and teach others. Need to learn about nutrition for dads who are really busy? Research it and write a blog post, learning yourself and teaching others. This results in you building an even stronger community.

From parenting to strength training, from nutrition to aging and relationships, a blog gives you the opportunity to establish connections, teach and learn from others, and grow as a person while you help your children do the same.

The less stress you have, the healthier you are both physically and mentally, and blogging, used properly, can be a large part of a path to stress relief.

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