How to Use a Mental Health Journal to Improve Your Well-Being

From fighting burnout to improving self-esteem, treat journaling as your new therapist.  

Journaling has become super-popular in recent years, but it is not all about snapping pictures of your gorgeous layouts for the ’Gram—keeping a  mental health journal can be really good for your mental well-being, too.“Many people find journaling therapeutic,” says UK-based Lindsay George, a psychotherapist and member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. “One of its key benefits for your mental health is that it helps with emotional regulation by managing stress and anxiety better, reducing feelings of distress, and increasing well-being.”Still not sure if keeping a mental health journal is right for you? Here are some ways the practice can help…

Making sense of complex situations
Writing your thoughts down in a journal can help you see things more clearly and untangle complicated issues. “Some people find writing a journal particularly cathartic, in that it acts as a way of emptying their thoughts and clearing their mind,” says Lindsay. “Others find it allows them to create more clarity, accountability, and an awareness of their responsibility in part to a situation that may be preoccupying them.”

Combating burnout 
“Someone who is feeling overwhelmed may find writing a list of things to do will help them feel more accomplished and in control of their life,” explains Lindsay. Plus, the satisfaction that comes from ticking off a task on your to-do list is a massive mood-booster in itself. Buh-bye, burnout.

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Building self-esteem

Feeling down on yourself lately? Journaling can help with that too. “Someone with low self-esteem may find writing a journal beneficial,” says Lindsay. “A therapist can help guide and support this by encouraging them to write down positive affirmations and celebrations of small wins that they can then read back when they are feeling at a low ebb.”

Keeping track of thought patterns and moods

Sometimes, knowing what triggers your worst moods can help you to avoid them in future. Your journal is the perfect place to figure this out. “Keeping a journal can help identify patterns in your feelings and behaviours, which, in turn, allows you to recognise whether there are specific triggers that are affecting your mood. This way, you can learn to manage them more effectively,” explains Lindsay.

Helping with goal-setting
Feeling a bit directionless? It might help to use your journal as a place to identify goals you would like to work towards, and how you can get there. “Journaling can help break down future goals, creating structure by developing smaller, step-by-step, actionable to-dos that feel more realistic and less daunting,” says Lindsay.

Giving you perspective
Things often are not as bad as they initially seem, and keeping a journal can help you realise this. “Revisiting your writing the next day often creates a new perspective,” says Lindsay. “This can help reduce the intensity of your anxiety, which can not only make you feel more positive about yourself but more in control of your life and ability to care for yourself, which can be immensely liberating.”

Not sure how to get started? Helen Colebrook, author of Journal with Purpose: Layout Ideas 101, shares her tips…
1. Have a Plan: Jot down some thoughts about what you want to get out of keeping a journal. Is it to record the happenings of each day, somewhere to express and process your emotions, plan out your dream life, somewhere to get creative, or perhaps a combination of all of these?
2. Schedule it In: Keeping a journal does not have to take long at all. It is better to take a ‘little and often’ approach, so that it becomes an easy habit to maintain. Perhaps look at your schedule and discover when you have a little free time—like the spare 10 minutes while dinner is cooking, which is the perfect time to reflect on your day.
3. Start with Prompts: There are lots of journaling prompts available online, which can really help to get you writing. Also, you could glue in a quote or lyric that you love, then write about why it means so much to you. Keeping a journal helps you to become naturally more observant, so you will soon find that you have plenty to write about.