How Journaling Can Help With Mental Health Issues
Keeping any type of journal will help with improving mental health issues. However, if you really want to tackle a specific problem you’re having, it will help to determine the right type of journal to keep. Keeping a particular kind of journal may work best for your issue as an individual.
As we go further into this article, we will briefly look at 8 different reasons how journaling can help with mental health issues…
* Boosts Your Mood – If you really want to boost your mood, keeping a gratitude journal is where it’s at. All you have to do is write an entry once a day, preferably before bed.
Note down what you’re grateful for today. It might not seem like much but it’s very powerful for going to sleep, thinking positively about your life.
* Increases Your Sense of Well-Being – As you write out your thoughts, you’ll start seeing issues from a new angle because you’re opening your mind to think about it. This is going to make you feel more capable of dealing with whatever happens.
* Lessens Symptoms of Depression – Understand that depression is something different from sadness, and that you likely need a counsellor.
Writing it all down can make it seem less horrific, so that you can feel better. Plus, you can look back at days you thought life was “over” and see better days ahead.
* Reduces Anxiety – The problem with anxiety is that it was designed to help us get away from immediate danger. It triggers the “fight or flight” response.
If each time you have that anxious feeling you choose to write in your journal how you are feeling and why, you’ll start to control it better.
* Lowers Avoidance Behaviours – Many people who have mental health issues practice avoidance behaviours such as not going to places that cause them anxiety, or not doing the things they need to do due to how they feel.
When you write it out, it helps you get the feelings out but also encourages you to do what you are trying to avoid anyway.
* You’ll Sleep Better – Pouring your heart out into a journal is a great way to get things off your chest. However, for sleep, go to your gratitude journal and write down what you’re thankful for today. This will help send you off to sleep thinking about that.
* Makes You a Kinder Person – Exploring your own emotional state, and accepting your own feelings while you work through what makes you who you are in your journal is going to make you naturally more empathetic to others too. Letting go of judgment mentality improves your thoughts for others aswell.
* Improves Your Memory – This is almost a situation where you want to say “duh” but it has to be said.
Writing down things helps you remember them because you can go back and read it, but also because the act of writing something down enables you to recall it.
One thing that can really help you make your journaling a success is to learn how to keep one effectively. Make some journaling rules and do it every day to create a habit.
Keep it private unless you decide to let your therapist see it or you decide to use it to help others. This is for you and only you for the most part.
How Journaling Can Help with Mental Health Issues – Back To Top!
Check out PART 9 of our journaling series below…