So, you want to start a journal for your mental health? Congratulations! Maybe this is your first try. Maybe (and this is probably more likely), you’ve tried a million times before and want to try again.
There are a million and one ways to start a mental health journal. Unfortunately, many of them don’t work long-term.
If your goal is to start a journaling journey to improve your wellness – I’m here to help. I’ve started and stopped journaling too many times to count. Now, I enjoy a regular practice that guides me to grow.
How’d I do it? Here are my best tips for starting a mental health journal the right way.
Success Over Aesthetics
When I first started my journaling journey, I kept falling off. Why? I wanted the Pinterest-worthy journal with the golden washi tape and perfect calligraphy. That just isn’t me.
Don’t get me wrong, art therapy is real. There are a lot of benefits to putting your all into a project and making it look beautiful. If that is what you are going for – GREAT. That is a wonderful skill to learn and perfect. The problem comes when you want to perfect two skills at once.
Make no mistake—journaling for mental health is a skill. If you want to get deep with your journal, you’ve gotta focus. Mental health can be messy. On this blog, I will encourage you to leave pages incomplete and write with ugly handwriting. That’s what I do! Heck, we’ll even explore some artsy journal prompts—just promise me you’ll never try to make them perfect.
Your journal is a space for you to be vulnerable. It’s kinda hard to do that when perfectionism gets in the way. Still struggling? Check out my post on keeping consistent!
So please, ditch the aesthetic when starting a journal for mental health.
One Habit at a Time
Okay… so I lied a little bit. Journaling for mental health isn’t a single skill – it is a skill set. You’ll need a little something different for every tracker, prompt, and list. That’s why it is best to start off with one technique at a time.
Trust me, I know it is tempting to start everything all at once. Wouldn’t life be better if you were accountable for drinking water, addressing your anger, and planning for the future all at once? Sure. But doesn’t that sound intimidating?
If you’re like me, you’ll bite off more than you can chew and fizzle out. Then one scrapped journal becomes ten. Sooner or later you have a hoard of half-filled notebooks or word docs that clutter your life. No more!
Pick one journaling goal and try to stick with it for a month. There are plenty of ideas out there to get you started! Soon you’ll be able to add everything you want to.
Remember, the goal is to make this a lifelong practice. You have all the time in the world to build up the best journaling routine you can. Baby steps!
Start With Gratitude
Gratitude journals are one of the easiest things to start off with. They are also really, really effective.
Many studies have confirmed that gratitude leads to more life satisfaction than most other personality traits. Who doesn’t want a little more life satisfaction? I am all for writing out every feeling (the good AND the bad). However, journaling should be more than that.
We have this idea that mental health is all about fixing what is wrong with you. Let me tell you, this approach doesn’t work. You need to acknowledge self-compassion, joy and hope JUST AS MUCH as you need to acknowledge trauma, guilt, and shame. I know, I know. This is way easier said than done.
But that’s what makes a gratitude journal such a great place to start. For those 3-5 lines, your entire focus is on what is right with the world. That is powerful.
Grow into Discomfort
Like I said, mental health is messy. You are going to have thoughts you don’t like. You are going to discover things about yourself that are hard to know. (This is why I keep my Shadow Work Journal separate from my more positive writings.)
But here’s the thing. It is nearly impossible to grow in your comfort zone. Every time your pen hesitates to write, you are facing your values. Every time you face your values, you become more conscious of who you are and what you need. That, my friend, is the foundation of mental health.
Well…that and compassion.
Compassion, Compassion, Compassion
Have you ever heard the phrase, “you can’t hate yourself into loving yourself”? It’s true.
When I say you need to grow into discomfort, I do not mean you need to be as uncomfortable as possible. That is a mistake I’ve made more than once. Instead, spend a little time doing hard things and a lot of time being compassionate to yourself.
For example…
THIS IS YOUR DAILY REMINDER that you are not your thoughts. That means you are ABSOLUTELY not your journal pages. If they are a little ugly (visually, emotionally, whatever) you are still a good person worthy of care.
After every single journalling session, do something kind for yourself. Yes, I mean it. Something as simple as a hot cup of tea or listening to a happy song. Writing your wellness is not always easy.
Protect Yourself
A therapist once told me to burn my journals. As a librarian who loves a pretty notebook…this felt sacrilegious. But you know what? She had a point.
For some, writing is healing enough. Others like to re-read their work or meta-journal. You get to choose what feels right.
That said, you never want to hold back when journaling. A mental health journal should be a place for total honesty. Honesty doesn’t just happen. You need trust. Trust that no one will ever, ever, EVER read your writing unless YOU want them to.
Look for a safe and secure place to keep your journals. It sounds obvious but it is worth saying. Add that password or lock if it makes you feel better. Shred the pages. Burn it (but please be responsible). At the end of the day, you need to know that nothing will compromise your writing process.
Personally, I feel comfortable leaving my journals around the house. However, I always relocate them when hosting (and no, I won’t tell you where).
Don’t Buy More Journals (For Now)
Do me a favor, and don’t buy a new journal if you have a half-filled notebook anywhere in your house. If you must “start fresh”, rip out the pages you’ve already written on.
***The golden rule is to never buy a new notebook if you’ve never finished your first. ***
Have I mentioned that I am a recovering stationary hoarder? Believe me, I know there are a lot of shiny new notebooks out there and all of them seem to hold limitless potential. But you don’t need them. All you need is yourself and something (anything) to write with.
The hardest part of keeping a mental health journal is starting it. Don’t delay the process by waiting for the prettiest notebook. Don’t ignore the hard work you have done in previous journals. Just get started.
I promise nothing gives you a bigger sense of accomplishment than finishing that last sentence on that last page. You got this.
