Mental health is an essential part of our overall health and it doesn’t exist on its own. The state of mental health implies that the individual has the ability to form and maintain affectionate relationships with others, to perform in the social roles usually played in their culture and to manage change, recognize, acknowledge and communicate positive actions and thoughts as well as to manage emotions. Mental health gives an individual the feeling of worth, control and understanding of their internal and external functioning. Unfortunately, mental health issues have been on a rise in today’s time. There are multiple beneficial sources of uplift one’s mental wellbeing, journaling being one of them. To develop the habit of daily journaling is the first step to being emotionally well. There are several mental health benefits to developing a daily routine, of putting your pen to a piece of paper and expressing your negative thoughts and experiences which allow for an emotional release in a healthy way. Today, most of us lead a lifestyle that can cause mental distress and it becomes our responsibility to create opportunities to look into our emotional well and pull out any negative thoughts and emotions and to create positive effects. Scroll down and view our ultimate guide to creating a daily habit of consciousness journaling.
Benefits of Daily Journaling for your mental health
Journaling involves open ended sentences, prompts, statements and quotes. It means expressing your thoughts and feelings with words or illustrations and can include documenting personal goals and reflecting on people, interactions, and events. The purpose of journaling is to capture personal, reflective or creative ideas. Some benefits of journaling involve:
- Accessing feelings and thoughts, especially those of the distressing kind
- Healthy processing of grief and trauma
- Providing an avenue for introspection
- Improving problem-solving capacity
- Encouraging self-confidence
- Boosting emotional intelligence
- Helping achieves goals
- Boosting memory
- Inspiring creativity
- Enhancing leadership
- Enhancing critical thinking
- Improving physical health
- Strengthening communication and writing skills
- Stress management
- Managing anxiety, or working through depression
- Developing mindfulness
- Personal growth
Types of Journaling: Researched ideas for you
While journaling is a common tool used in the treatment of mental health conditions, there are various types of journalling that one can use.
Expressive writing:
This is a journaling technique in which one expresses their deepest thoughts and feelings on paper in a session of 20 minutes.
Gratitude journaling:
A gratitude journal is a diary of accounts for which one is grateful, and where attention is focused on the positive aspects of one’s life. It helps reduce the tendency to focus on the negative things and foster genuine appreciation for daily experiences.
Free Writing journaling:
This type of writing style is unedited and unstructured. It simply involves writing thoughts down as they come to your mind, with no rules or guidelines.
Reflective journaling:
This type of journaling requires you to focus on significant events and experiences in your life, whether they are distant or recent. This helps contemplate and record the lessons learned through such experiences. It helps add perspective, facilitates objective problem-solving and then consider how best to meet needs.
Creative journaling:
It involves the use of images and words to express internal thoughts and feelings. It helps increase self-reflection and self-disclosure – both required for wellbeing. Creative journaling can involve poems, shapes, drawing, use of multi-coloured pens, markers, paints and crayons, etc.
Bullet Journaling :
Bullet Journalling is a fairly new form of journaling that involves making bulleted lists that range from functional to artistic. Bullet journals help creators to gain holistic and novel views of their life, reflect on life trajectories, appreciate the imperfect world, and resist a culture of super-efficiency. It can also help track habits and goals.
When and how to start journaling
Daily journaling of 10-20 minutes in a calm and comfortable environment is quite helpful in relaxing the mind and body. Writing by hand or drawing is more effective as it seems to engage the brain with information processing. However, if you are more comfortable with a digital option, there are multiple journaling applications on android and iOS that you can choose from based on your interests.
Best Journal Prompts that work
A prompt is a statement or thought that encourages or launches the writing process. Sometimes it is helpful to begin writing with a specific prompt. These prompts can either be personally developed and used or one can look for prompts from other sources. Here are some tips of 10 best prompts that can help kickstart your journaling journey!
- I feel angry when…
- I feel sad when…
- I feel anxious when…
- I feel excited when…
- I feel relaxed when…
- I feel connected to others when…
- I struggle when…
- I feel ashamed when…
- I feel awesome when…
- I feel the most energised and happy when…
Still feeling stuck when it comes to journaling? Get creative! Beginners could find inspiration from daily life to make their journals look pretty. We have listed several types of journal prompts or even techniques on journaling. Put your pen to paper and find the motivation within to build this habit in everyday life. From visual journaling to maintaining a dream journal or even a bullet journal, find your unique way to build this practice.
Journaling is more than just putting words on paper— studies have shown that it’s a pathway to self-awareness, healing, and growth. By regularly engaging with prompts that explore emotions and experiences, you create space for reflection and clarity. Over time, this simple practice can reduce stress, strengthen emotional balance, and nurture better mental health.
Photo Credits:
First image: Rudzhan Nagiev
Second image: Kostikova
References
Ayers, S. J. (2022). Journaling for Personal Well-Being. English in Texas, 52(1), 33-36.
Davis, T. Journaling Ideas: Topics, Tips, and Suggestions.
Sohal, M., Singh, P., Dhillon, B. S., & Gill, H. S. (2022). Efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Family medicine and community health, 10(1), e001154.
Sakshi
About the author
Sakshi is a clinical psychologist with a deep passion for understanding human behavior, a strong drive for research, and a keen eye for psychological intricacies. Committed to continuous learning, she seeks to explore every facet of psychology, from theory to practice, to better support and empower individuals. With a curiosity that fuels her pursuit of knowledge, she strives to bridge the gap between research and real-world applications, making psychology more accessible and impactful.
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