Journaling for your Mental Health
Image Credit: University of Texas at Austin
I can vouch for the cathartic and healing benefits of writing. Through out my entire journey with depression, anxiety and attempted suicide, I journaled. Putting the words onto paper gave me the opportunity to release, to let go and put down in writing my thoughts and emotions.
More often than not, as I write, answers to my questions appear. I have found forgiveness, acceptance, release and love in journaling. It has helped me on many occasions to respond to anger, frustration or resentment in a healthy way. Writing, has been a self-coaching tool, it has been therapeutic journaling.
Kathleen Adams a long time advocate for therapeutic journaling, reveals in her book Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth – Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life steps, tools and benefits of journaling.
Journaling IS therapeutic, many therapists highly recommended journaling for those suffering from mental illness. It can help you release thoughts and feelings that are keeping you stuck and give you insight into understanding your emotions.
Here is a copy of a page from my journal when I was in the psychiatric ward in 2004. I remember this like it was yesterday, I can feel the emotions I experienced while writing this. The other benefit that journals play for me is going back each year and reading some of them. This helps me to be grateful and honor how far I have come, also reflect on the lessons I learned – am I still applying them?
Commit to your mental health and begin a journal.