Best Ways To Start Journaling For Mental Health
The benefits of starting a journal for mental health are vast. Keeping a journal for mental health can help you to identify patterns of behaviour and experiences in your life that may be contributing to increased stress and anxiety levels. As well as being a useful tool for noticing patterns and triggers, journaling for mental health also helps us to find the most effective ways to take care of ourselves and nurture our hobbies and passions.
If you’re eager to start journaling for mental health, this blog post contains useful tips to get you started. The important thing to remember when it comes to journaling for mental health is that your journal is unique to you and you can interpret prompts and tips however you see fit. So with that being said, let’s look at some of the best ways to start journaling for mental health.
Find a journal, notebook, app, or printable that suits your needs.
Journaling is universally considered a fantastic tool for coping with and managing mental health issues. Because of this, you’ll find that there are hundreds of different ways for you to start journaling. The medium you decide to use when beginning your journaling adventure will most likely depend on the amount of time and energy you’re able to dedicate to journaling.
For example, if you’re a creative person looking to express yourself through words, poetry, drawings, paintings, and doodles, a bullet journal or art journal may be just the thing for you. Alternatively, if you’re worried about the time you’ll be able to dedicate to your mental health journal, an app, preprinted journal, or downloadable iPad journal may be better suited for you.
Honesty is the best policy.
Your mental health journal should be a safe, private place where you can share not only your thoughts, but also your emotions. Some people worry that a traditional pen and paper journal isn’t as secure as a digital journal and therefore prefer to keep their innermost thoughts and emotions safely locked up on their phone or tablet.
When we are focusing on trying to improve aspects of our life, it’s important that we are honest with ourselves and have a coherent way of documenting the process. Journaling for mental health gives us the perfect tool to focus on reflection, accountability, goal tracking, and being honest with our emotions.
What do you want to achieve from journaling for mental health?
When you initially begin journaling for mental health, it’s important that you think carefully about what you’re expecting to get out of the process. Think about your goals, but keep them short and simple. You may want to focus on one overarching goal that you’ll be working towards for the next week, month, or even year. You may wish to then include a couple of smaller goals that are more specific in nature.
Search for printed mental health journals and view other people’s examples.
When you first get your journal, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. Staring at those blank pages can feel quite daunting. You may worry that your handwriting isn’t neat enough for this journal, or that you’ll ‘do it wrong’ and mess it up. Let me tell you this: your journal is unique to you and it doesn’t have to be a work of art. Some journal entries are nothing more than frustrated scribbles across the page, whereas others are neatly written stories that are full of introspection and reflection – both are perfectly fine!
If getting started is something you’re struggling with, take a look at some examples. Pinterest and Instagram are awash with mental health journal examples and prompts that’ll inspire you to get started. If you’re still worried that you’re not 100% sure you know what you’re doing, consider purchasing a printed mental health journal instead. These journals often include habit trackers, spaces for gratitude lists, prompts and much more.
Journaling for mental health is a great way to organise your mind and practice self care.
Journaling for mental health helps us to sort through and prioritise our thoughts and emotions, as well as giving us a safe place to let sit with ourselves and our feelings. Journaling can provide comfort during difficult times and allow us to better understand ourselves and our habits, leading to self discovery and self growth. If you’ve not started journaling for your mental health yet – this is your sign to get started!
