Journalling for Your Mental Health

Writing down everything that has happened that day that might have made you feel worried, stressed or sad is a good way to help you feel a bit lighter.

It is important to find ways to look after your mental health, especially during lockdown when everyone is struggling more than usual. It is great to incorporate self-care practices into your daily routine to help you feel better and more like normal.

Some of the things I love to do are: have a bath/shower followed by a pamper session, go for daily walks to get fresh air and exercise, give my pets cuddles and the one that I want to talk more about now is journalling.

There are two main ways I do this:

Bullet journalling

This is basically where you make your own planner or diary, for me it is a great way to be creative and to help keep me organised. I’ve put a picture of my February cover and calendar and as there are barely any events, I’ve put a memory from each day instead. Next I make my weekly spreads, I set these up differently every week and there are endless ways you can do them to suit your lifestyle. If you want to get started and need some inspiration all you need is a notepad and some pens – there are plenty of inspiration accounts of Instagram, you can find me on there @silverbirchbujo.

It is important to find ways to look after your mental health, especially during lockdown when everyone is struggling more than usual.

Keeping a diary

If you have had an especially hard day, writing down everything that has happened that day that might have made you feel worried, stressed or sad is a good way to help you feel a bit lighter. It always makes me feel better to get my feelings onto paper and out of my head.

Here are some prompts to help get you started if you are struggling:

  • Describe how you feel today.
  • What has made you feel like this? Has something happened that day?
  • Write about your favourite hobby or something that you would love to try and how you can make that happen.
  • What is something you are looking forward to doing when lockdown is over?
  • Write about how the whole pandemic has made you feel, what it has changed for you.
  • Are there things that you like about lockdown? Sometimes it helps to think about the positive things because it is easy to dwell on the bad.

Writer's Bio

Hello, my name is Sian and I’m an e-wellbeing ambassador. 

I'm a final year Psychology student and I love volunteering for e-wellbeing because it gives me a chance to help young people with their mental health from behind the scenes before I start my training in the near future and can do it first-hand. 

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