Tips to help with your mental health #2: Journaling

What is Journaling?

You may have heard people talking about journaling before but not really understood what it is or why it’s helpful when it comes to mental health. First of all, it’s important to recognise that there’s a big difference between journaling and keeping a diary. A diary is usually just a record of day to day activities. However journaling is a much deeper dive into reflecting around thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences from the day. Think of it like a diary is about the content of your day and a journal is about the emotional and psychological process that goes on for you during that day.

So How Do I Go About Journaling?

Actually, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to journaling. You choose the focus of your entry; it may be something that happened to you today, things that have happened in the recent past or things that may be coming up for you in the future that are on your mind. Your journal entry could focus on questions you are struggling to answer in life or perhaps on feelings or thoughts that are on your mind. Your entry may even focus on past traumas , unhealthy, compulsive or addictive behaviour or trying to understand your emotional reaction to certain people or situations.

And journaling doesn't even need to be about negative things. You can absolutely reflect around happy and positive experiences. In fact, some people have a journal for more difficult themes and a separate one for more positive themes, allowing them to read back their positive journal for a psychological boost whenever they may need it.

And it's important to remember that this is your journal. It is private. This means you can write whatever you need to, in whatever way you need to. If you want to rant, swear, write in big capital letters, write in different coloured pens to express your mood, write in different directions or patterns, it's all absolutely fine. As I said earlier, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to journaling. But it is important that you feel able to express yourself in whatever way you need to in that moment.

But How Does Journaling Help?

When people come to an initial therapy session at my Counselling and Psychotherapy Practices in West London, I often get asked how therapy helps bring about positive change. Well the first step to change is to gain understanding and awareness of your situation and your experiences of the past. The more understanding and self-awareness you have, the more power and control you then have to make changes to your life, both from a thinking, feeling and behavioural way.

Journaling is a way of doing the same thing but in the privacy of your own home and is something I encourage my clients to do alongside our weekly therapy sessions to help them continue our work at home. Like anything, at first it may feel tough and you may feel yourself wanting to procrastinate and avoid journaling. However the more practiced you become at it and the more regularly you do it, the more self-aware you become and the more ability you have to understand what comes up for you and control your reactions to challenging situations.

How do I start?

Well the first step is to get yourself a journal or notebook of some kind. I always advise physically writing rather than typing on a computer as physically writing helps to us to connect with ourselves at a deeper level.

When it comes to the actual writing, for those of you who have experience of therapy, imagine it like sitting down and talking to your therapist, except in this case you take the role of both therapist and client. Begin your entry with the question, theme, feelin or experience you want to reflect around. For example if struggling with your health you may ask yourself “Why do I reach for unhealthy food when I’m feeling low?”. This allows you to have a focus for your reflection.

You can then just begin writing. Don’t overthink it, just relax into it and let the words flow. You’re not there to “find an answer” and there is no destination you're trying to reach. It's more about a journey towards greater understanding, even if that raises even more questions for you. And try to avoid making your entry too cognitive. Journaling is all about just reflecting and following your train of thought and checking in on your feelings. So in the question above, you may reflect around the past when it comes to food and mood - how did my parents respond to me when I was feeling low? What was the role of food in my childhood? Was it a reward, a substitute for love, etc. And wherever those thoughts take you, follow those lines of reflecting further. Or you may choose somewhere else to start, for example reflecting around the role of food and how it makes you feel, or for some people not feel. Or the role of food in attracting help or pushing people away.

This journal entry may then lead to further entries on future days as you go deeper and deeper and discover more and more about yourself or you may choose to reflect around a completely different topic.

Final Thoughts On Journaling

Whatever your question or reflection in your journal entry, just allow yourself to be curious about yourself as you write. Imagine what a therapist may be asking you or encouraging you to think about if you were discussing this in a counselling or psychotherapy session rather than writing it down. Remember there is no right or wrong way to journal, as long as you are keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to reflect, be curious and feel. Be mindful though about slipping into shaming yourself or self-criticism.

And maintain your journaling, even when you're feeling psychologically and emotionally well. Remember we don't clean our teeth just because we suddenly have a tooth ache, we clean them to prevent a tooth ache. In the same way, journaling if done as part of a daily or weekly routine can help you to feel more mentally and emotionally stable in life.

Extra Help

If you’re struggling with your mental health and need some support around an emotional or psychological struggle, please feel free to contact us by email at info@londontherapyservices.co.uk.  We see clients for face to face counselling, psychotherapy and talking therapies at our London practices in Chiswick, Ealing, Hanwell, Kew, Richmond upon Thames, Hammersmith, Putney, Clapham and Southfields. We are also able to see clients Online via Zoom so please feel free to reach out, even if you're not in the London area!