Journalling for Mental Health

Self-expression is a great way to understand yourself, what drives and inspires you. It can also help in relieving the stresses and tensions you have built up.

One of the most accessible methods of self-expression is journaling. Individuals can collect their thoughts and write with purpose or simply write through a stream of consciousness to explore thoughts and feelings they were unaware of. For this very reason, journaling can be an excellent practice for a person’s mental wellbeing. When they are experiencing feelings of inexplicable stress, anxiety or depression, journaling can lead them on a path of self-discovery and mindfulness to analyse what is causing the feelings and how they can address them.

What is journalling?

In short, journalling is the practice of keeping a record of events and your thoughts. Whilst typically associated with handwriting thoughts into a book, it can also be done digitally on a phone or desktop, or even through audio recordings where you speak thoughts aloud. The practice provides a safe and secure space for a person to express their emotions and effectively analyse them and their effects.

Most people would typically journal each day or week as it enables them to keep a regular routine and effectively track the progress of their feelings. Some would recommend journalling 3-4 times a week minimum to help express your feelings whilst also providing regular motivation throughout the week, even the more difficult ones.

What does journalling do for your mental health?

The simple act of self-expression and exploration through journalling can be incredibly beneficial for a person’s mental health. Whilst it is hard to quantify in terms of hard data, a whole school of therapy has been developed around the concept of journalling. In the 1960s, the concept of ‘Journal Therapy’ came to prominence, and is based on the exercises of using journal prompts to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing on an individual level.

Studies indicate that the practice of journalling keeps a person’s brain stimulated and engaged, enabling them to better regulate their emotions. This is likely due to the practice of journalling, finding a starting point and self-actualising all leading to greater problem-solving skills to overcome negative aspects of a person’s own life.

It can often be difficult to explore personal feelings, especially in today’s modern age where everything is seemingly interconnected. Taking the time to journal, be mindful, present and introspective of one’s feelings away from the distractions of modern life enables true self-reflection and analysis of a person’s mental wellbeing. When a person can achieve this and understand more about themselves and their feelings, they’ll feel more motivated and focused to do the same again in the future. The practice, whilst introspective, also provides individuals an avenue to relieve stress. All the pent-up frustrations of the day or week can be healthy expressed and released into a journal, and it can feel like a weight is ‘lifted’.

How to journal for mental health

As previously mentioned, there are different forms of journalling. Each has its own style and methodology as well its own benefits. Some of these practices may focus on specific issues, giving you a starting point on what to write about. You can even keep multiple journals to keep track of different facets of your life, for example:

• Food journals For keeping track of nutrition and maintain a healthy diet

• Reading journals Noting books you have read, how they affected you and what books you intend to read

• Travel journals When you travel abroad, a travel journal allows you to note highlights, what you enjoyed, what you didn’t, how you felt at the time whilst you were there and where you may plan on visiting next.

• Art journalling Keeping a record of things that have inspired you to create art as well as the stages, processes and outcome.

• Hobby journalling If you are struggling to find a passion or something that interests you, a hobby journal lets you keep track of all the new hobbies you have tried and note which ones you particularly enjoyed.

Journalling can help to keep track of physical and mental wellbeing. You can improve and maintain your physical wellbeing by focusing on nutrition, exercises, overall physical wellbeing. On the other hand, you can maintain and track mental wellbeing through noting hobbies and passions, inspiring you to pursue them further. In the same vein as these examples, productivity and project journals may be focused on something that is ongoing in your life and inspire you to fulfil it to completion. Productivity journalling is based on setting an overarching goal and segmenting different tasks to be completed to achieve it, such as redesigning your home and ticking rooms off one by one as well as each individual element. Project journalling operates in much the same manner, but may be focused on something more specific, such as writing a novel, where you can track your progress, motivations and specific tasks to complete at specific points. The motivation, inspiration and generally focus afforded by these practices can help overcome negative emotions as you remain engaged with the tasks at hand, enabling greater regulation of negative emotions.

Other types of journalling may be more focused on self-analysis, expression and understanding. A vague example of this is dream journalling. The practice of waking up from a dream and recording it in your journal might just be seen as a hobby and memory exercise, however, it does allow for introspection. By recording dreams that muster up strong emotions, individuals can begin to analyse what the dreams mean to them personally and the associated emotions through creative assessment. However, more common examples of introspective types of journalling are:

• Daily journalling

• Gratitude journalling

• Stream of consciousness journalling

• Minute journalling

• Idea journalling

Whilst daily journalling is not strictly focused on analysing one’s own emotions, it will often result in introspection. When considering emotions and events (positive or negative), individuals can begin to give more in-depth thought into the actions that may have led to them feeling a certain way. They can either replicate them if they led to feelings of positivity or avoiding repeating them if they were particularly negative. This how gratitude journals can also assist with mental health. By tracking focusing on positive aspects and events in a person’s life and showing gratitude for them, they can begin to consider why it had this effect, why it made them feel happy and how they can begin to incorporate it further into their lives. Simply noting what made you feel happy can increase mindfulness and boost your mood through memory association, improving your standard of wellbeing.

7 tips to get started journalling

Like with many things in life, taking the first step and getting started can be the most difficult part of the process. Whether it is overcoming scepticism, embarrassment or confusion on whether you are doing it correctly, beginning to journal can be intimidating. Here are some basic tips on how you can begin journalling.

1. Choose a practice you are comfortable with

As we have covered, there are multiple forms of journalling. It isn’t a one size fits all method in where if you do not enjoy the practice, you should move on. It is dependent on what’s suits you and your method of working. Whether it is artfully journalling, where your thoughts are accompanied by some illustrations or scrapbooking, whether it is handwritten, digital on a phone or laptop or simply a specific focus, find what suits you to make it part of your routine.

2. Make time to focus on journalling

In the modern world, it can be difficult to find time to focus on yourself, let alone hobbies. Carving out moments of peace and serenity can really help. Try to pick times and days to journal, with no distractions to interrupt you and disturb your mindfulness.

3. Get comfortable

Ensuring you are comfortable when journalling is about more than finding somewhere scenic to write or that you are satisfied with your writing position. Whilst these are factors to consider, being comfortable can also relate to how you feel within yourself. If you are distracted by work, your phone, loud noises or something else that may be taking priority, this will dominate your thoughts. If you are comfortable, free from external distractions, you will begin to truly explore your feelings and improve your wellbeing.

4. Practice repetition

Once you begin journalling, the next hurdle to overcome is maintaining the pattern. Plenty of things can come between you and regularly journalling. It could be work, social events, declining mental health, or it could be as simple as not giving the practice priority. Regardless of the reason, like with anything, regular practice and integrating it into your routine, seeing the progression through this repetition will ensure you continue and regularly hone your skills and desire to journal.

5. Ignore judgement and inhibition

Within some circles, journalling may be a practice that is judged and stigmatised. This stigma relates to it being an activity based around positive mental health. This can make the practice off-putting to certain people who want to appear strong and able to overcome mental health struggles with no assistance. Releasing this inhibition and moving past the misplaced judgement makes it far easier to engage with the practice and begin to boost mental wellbeing.

6. Engage with the practice and your aims

Some who begin journaling will come in with preconceived notions of the practice and be sceptical of what it can accomplish. They may not take it seriously and avoid being honest with themselves whilst journalling, with no belief they will achieve anything of note. This flawed thinking will ensure that a person will gain nothing from the practice. It is necessary to give yourself fully to the practice and understand what you are working towards to gain perspective from it.

7. Practice honesty and truthfulness

Whilst journalling has its benefits, it will mean nothing if you are not truthful with your form of expression. If you are writing and holding back how you feel, you will achieve very little as frustrations, stress and any negative emotions will still be pent up within you. Being honest and letting your feelings flow, acknowledging the point you want to reach will enable you to develop your resilience and improve your mental wellbeing.

Journal prompts for mental health

Finding the inspiration for the beginning point of a journal entry can sometimes be difficult. People can very easily encounter writer’s block. However, there are some very simple prompts that can be used to kickstart a journal entry.

What happened today/recently?

A quick recap of recent events can get the ball rolling as you assess the events and get your mind working.

How did something that happened make me feel?

This can be related to the noted recent events, analysing how they make you feel and how they impacted your mood.

What made me happy recently?

Noting what made you feel happy and better recently is a solid method to better understand what you enjoy and how you can replicate it.

How am I feeling right now?

Analysing how you feel in the very moment you are creating your journal entry enables you to realise what made you feel this way and why it has affected you so.

How can I be kinder to myself?

This prompt can allow you to analyse how you are treating yourself, if you are showing yourself enough self-compassion or being overly critical of yourself.

What is causing me stress?

If you are feeling stress or there is a recurring issue that makes you feel stressed, you can note it, air the frustrations and begin to devise solutions.

What are some negative patterns I’m noticing?

Analysing what patterns typically lead you to feeling worse and negatively impact your mental wellbeing can help you to break out of this pattern.

What’s one thing I like about myself?

Finding one aspect of yourself that you like is a positive practice when you may be experiencing feelings of depression as you can realise that you are not what your poor mental health leads you to believe about yourself.

How can I be a positive influence in other people’s lives?

Being a positive influence in people's lives ensures you can maintain positive behaviours and improve your mood.

What do I need to feel better now?

Thinking about what makes you feel better immediately enables you to begin doing this and improve your mood to build up mental wellbeing.

HA | Wisdom Wellbeing and help with our EAP

One of the primary issues people struggle with when attempting to journal is being present and mindful. With access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), you will have access to the Wisdom App. Here you can access a host of resources that can assist you with mindfulness to focus on journalling. With a host of resources such as breathing exercises, yoga and guided meditation , you can centre yourself and focus on mindfulness, eliminating external distractions. As well as this, you can access the mood tracker, which will allow you to assess how you are feeling and decide if it is the time to journal to externalise these feelings and relieve stress.

Whilst journalling, if you feel helpless or your mood is not improving, you also have access to a 24/7 counselling service, 365-days a year to provide expert counselling and assist you with your wellbeing.

Conclusion

Journalling can be a very personal practice and can simultaneously be rather intimidating due to the stigma around mental health and wellbeing improvement. However, it can be incredibly therapeutic and self-reflective. Providing an avenue to grow and develop your feelings from can be extremely beneficial not only to personal development, but also for the purposes of mental health maintenance and improvement.