How do I journal for depression, anxiety and self reflection?

[Baileybasil]

I have been wanting to start properly journaling for a while but I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be writing down. Prompts online like “write things you’re grateful for” seems cheesy and pointless to me, I would like to figure out why or how feelings etc happen

[sbella02]

Hey Baileybasil,

Thank you so much for posting on our forums. Writing out your feelings can be difficult for this very reason - it's tough to know where to start.

I kept a diary/journal for nearly 10 years. While towards the end, it became less about feelings and more about writing down every mundane detail about my day, it started off as a place to vent about literally anything that was on my mind. I wrote as if I was addressing my future children. I also put it in a safe and sacred place to ensure that until then, it would be for my eyes only.

Honestly (and I know this is vague advice), what you write in your journal is up to you. It can be whatever you're feeling at the time. If there's something interesting that you've seen on a particular day, you can write about that and how it made you feel. If there's an event in your life that's caused or is causing you distress, you may choose to open up about that. You may even choose to grab some coloured pencils and draw whatever comes to your mind. Generally for me, if I start writing something, the ideas follow. One of my favourite quotes ever:

"Action comes before motivation."

Here's a question: why exactly are you starting this journal? Is it to relieve feelings of anxiety or depression? Is it to help with introspection and understanding your feelings better? Would you like to consolidate feelings that you've already identified? Are you looking for a place to vent? This may be a good starting point if you're looking for something to write about, you can discuss why you've started your journal in the first place.

Please feel free to chat some more, and let us know how you go.

All the best, SB

[Baileybasil]

Yea I think mainly for introspection and figuring things out such as why I default to a certain emotion when x

I’m very stubborn with wanting to improve so I thought journaling would be productive while I’m in a slump not doing other things.

I used to draw a lot when I was a kid, I was even pretty decent at it but now when I open the page my mind blanks- even when I try to think about something to draw

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Baileybasil,

Oh good question! Starting a journal is the hardest thing to do.

I remember when I started my first journal, and the first thing I wrote was 'I don't know what to write'. Maybe you could do the same. It doesn't have to be pretty, it doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be on the page.

If you're thinking about defaulting to a certain emotion when- maybe you could write about that, and what emotions you 'default' to.

Perhaps another alternative could be writing about how you are feeling now, what's been going on for you today, or the stuff going through your mind.

I also thought I'd mention that there can be a couple of benefits to writing down what you like; one could be that it's a bit of a gratitude practice, or it could be a way of helping your mood. For some reason I really like baking but I never bake, so it was a bit of an eye opener to think about the things that I like and if I'm actually doing them in real life. Gratitude practices absolutely sound cheesy but there's solid research backing them so it's not all hippy dippy 🙂

Hope this makes sense?

rt

[sbella02]

Baileybasil,

I've always been quite into drawing too. I think that would be a fantastic thing to include in your journal, perhaps even to personalise it a bit more, or to make writing in it seem slightly less intimidating.

You could try having a little Google search for blank mandala templates. If you print a few of them off, grab some coloured pencils, and put on some relaxing music, you'll be surprised what your mind can come up with.

SB