Journaling for Mental Health

Manage your emotions, fears, and frustrations.

At the heart of all personal development work lies the common principles of self-direction, autonomy, empowerment, and self-efficacy — the ability to become the author of your own life. Writing can be purely for play, but it can also be a therapeutic activity when we allow ourselves to use it for earnest, open, authentic self-expression.

Journaling can be an amazing way in which to step straight into becoming your own mentor, coach, and inner guide. The benefits of realizing this power are huge, and the results can be just as transformative as those to be had through facilitated coaching.

Studies have proven that having a journaling practice can be incredibly beneficial for mental wellbeing. The practice of writing authentically and expressing ourselves can lead to clarity and insight, which can help us overcome problems and difficulties. It can also be cathartic — writing can provide a fantastic opportunity for us to 'get off our chest' any number of issues, which we may find difficult to say out loud or talk openly about.

It is the act of writing itself that holds so much power, to accommodate mental wellbeing. This all has to do with expression. When we express our feelings, they no longer remain bottled up internally, and the way we perceive and experience our feelings and our reality can shift dramatically through the simple process of articulation.

In the simplest terms, expressing our feelings makes them real, and, when we listen to ourselves and allow our feelings to be realized, felt, and acknowledged as legitimate, we can begin working through them. It is impossible to work on and find peace with feelings we are not allowing ourselves to feel.

We all go through periods of high and low mental health and having a journaling practice that helps you to understand the fluid nature of this can, in itself, be unbelievably valuable. Journaling fosters awareness, and this is the gateway to all kinds of improvements, upgrades, and self-care measures that we can take for our mental wellbeing.

Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

Stream of Consciousness (5-10mins)

Set yourself a timer, and allow yourself to free write, without stopping at all, for 5-10 minutes. Don't pay any attention to any slippage in terms of syntax, semantics, or spelling; simply write whatever pops into your head.

This can be a powerful exercise in clearing the cobwebs, so to speak, and a way in which to embody giving ourselves permission to feel and express, which is, in itself, of inherent benefit to mental health.

Unsent letters

This can be a very valuable way in which to clarify and express your feelings towards others, to your past self, or even to those who are no longer alive. The letters are not intended to be sent, and we advise, even if you are tempted to send them, you refrain, or at least reflect over time before doing so.

The purpose of writing an unsent letter is to allow yourself to fully express your emotions, for your own benefit. Once you can see what's there, then, you can decide whether any action needs to be taken.

Worry purge: get it all out.

When we are feeling overwhelmed by worry, the experience is usually characterized by one worry leading to multiple other worries, with the volume and frequency of worrying thoughts increasing to the point at which we cannot mentally keep track and begin to feel out of control.

Letting the worries 'fester' in the frantic cognitive vagueness that can arise out of this experience doesn't help, as they may not even be fully formed or expressed, making them much harder to tackle practically. Taking a few minutes with pen and paper and having a 'worry dump' is a terrific way in which to get them all written down so that you can see them.

You can also tear out pages to crumple or burn, stomp on your journal, tear a page or two in half or take a color to match your mood and apply it to the page accordingly. Although words are our best form of expression, color, images, and actions can also help us express ourselves.

Journaling is not a replacement for professional therapy, but it can be an amazing tool for mental health management. Dump your anger, celebrate your accomplishments, list your blessings, your dreams, your frustrations. A journaling practice can be incredibly beneficial for mental wellbeing. The practice of writing authentically and expressing feelings can lead to clarity, empowerment, and insight.