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We’ve all heard that journaling is good for our mental health, maybe from our parents, teachers, or posts online. So much so, that if you’re like me it may even get annoying at some point. However, turns out that thing all the health professionals and experts are saying over and over again about journaling for mental health…it’s true.
I used to roll my eyes when my mom recommended journaling to help my anxiety and depression, I was a naive teenager. But, I grew up to come to the same realization I had so many times before, my mom was right again!
Turns out journaling is extremely beneficial for all of us, especially those of us who struggle with mental health issues. So, if you struggle with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, or any other mental health issue like I do, you may want to have an open mind towards journaling.
How Does Journaling Reduce Our Anxiety And Depression?
According to an article written by Jeremy Sutton for Positive Psychology, journaling can benefit our mental health by:
Reducing anxiety
Breaking away from obsessive thinking
Improving awareness
Regulating Emotions
Practicing gratitude
Important Mental Health Indicators To Track
A key aspect of journaling can be to track numerous factors of our mental health on a daily basis. This is so that over time we can see patterns and correlations between different factors we are tracking and what's going on in our lives.
A great example of this is if I'm tracking my anxiety and stress levels along with my sleep quality then I can start to see relationships between them. Over time I might see a trend of every time my sleep quality is bad for a few days my stress and anxiety levels get higher. This would tell me I need to focus more on improving my sleep quality by starting a sleep schedule or cutting out screens before bed.
Important indicators of your mental health to keep in mind or track:
Overall happiness
Stress
Anxiety
Sleep
Diet
Exercise
These are all key factors of our mental health that I personally track everyday on a scale of 1-10. It's super simple but can be a great form of insight for yourself and even doctors or therapists.
Journal Prompts To Help Get Thoughts Flowing
We all have days that are uneventful or routine. This is when journal prompts come in handy to help us generate some thoughts and talking points. They ask us a question or evoke some sort of emotion to get us thinking about broader things in our lives besides our daily routine.
Some example journal prompts:
Is there anyone in my life who I’m grateful for?
Reflect on a childhood memory
What is a goal you have for your life right now?
Write a love letter to your body
What is something someone said to you that made you feel warm and fuzzy inside?
Describe yourself in ten words. Why do those words come to mind?
What makes you feel the most inspired?
What can you do today to take better care of yourself?
What comes to mind first when you think of what makes you feel safe?
What are five things about yourself you want people to know?
What’s something that makes you feel warm inside?
If you were to improve something about your life, what would that be? Why?
What’s your first coping mechanism that comes to mind? Do you think it’s helpful or harmful, and why?
How are you helping yourself when things are hard?
Write a letter to your younger self, talking about mental health. What would you want to tell them?
Do you allow yourself to feel the emotions you need to feel? Why or why not?
What do you think is holding you back?
Write a list of 10 things you want to be able to remember during your most difficult times.
Different Journal Types To Match Your Personality
Our journals are personal to us, so why not make sure they match our personality and speak to who we are and how we express ourselves? There are various types of journals out there for us to adopt.
Day One is a journaling app and on their blog they wrote a list of 20 different journal example types.
Some of them included:
Gratitude Journal
Daily Reflections Journal
Art Journal
Mood Journal
Nature Journal
Dream Journal
Fitness Journal
Check out the full article to find the journal type that resonates with who you are as an individual!
You can find the full list of journal prompts and journal types in the Resources section of my website.
Journaling Tips For A Better Experience
Consistency is important and simplicity is your friend. The last thing you want is for this to feel like a chore or something that puts pressure on you. It can be as simple as writing down one sentence and that’s it. You can draw or doodle if that’s what feels right for you that day. Write down a nice quote you found or a new song you discovered and enjoy. It’s your journal, do whatever you want!
You don’t have to write at a specific time. Morning, noon, or night. Whatever is best for you! If you are looking for a recommendation though, morning is the time when our minds are most clear and not filled with stresses of the day.
Be kind to yourself, it’s a judgement free zone.
It doesn’t have to be neat! We see a lot of stuff online of these amazingly neat journals with perfect handwriting and cute little drawings. It’s okay if yours doesn’t look like an Instagram post. It’s a method of recording our thoughts and feelings, not an audition for journal modelling magazine.
You don’t have to have a fancy journal from the book store. Pen and scrap paper or one of the 99 cent paper books from the store works just fine. I actually like to use it as a motivator and say to myself that if I start journaling and keep up with it for 3 weeks then I can buy one of the nicer journals as a reward for starting this new habit and sticking to it!
It’s not feminine, it’s not masculine, it’s none of those things. If you’re afraid of someone finding out and making fun of you and making jokes about you keeping a diary, don’t. They are incorrect and have their own issues they need to work through if that’s how they want to treat another person.
Journaling Will Improve Your Mental Health!
Journaling is a great tool for us to add to our mental health toolkit. It belongs right beside our meditation and breathing techniques. Regardless of how hesitant you are towards its benefits, I urge you to give it a wholehearted, committed chance to see the results.
Although hopefully this article has taken away some hesitancies you may have come here with. It relieves anxiety, decreases stress, helps us regulate our emotions, and makes us feel good! It feels good to get things out of our head and onto paper so that we can take that weight off our shoulders.
It’s amazing to discover this new way of taking all the rushing thoughts weighing us down and depositing them into this journal and leaving it in our room when we go out rather than carrying it with us all day. I can confidently say that you will not regret starting to journal. It’s helped me a lot with my mental health and it will do the same for yours!
Speaking of breathing techniques, check out this video on one of my favourite grounding techniques to help with anxiety and panic attacks. Happy journaling! 💙