For as long as I remember I have always enjoyed journaling. For the most part, I have always used it to talk about my day or vent about what was going on in my day. Those were really good ideas at the time. That’s mostly because writing in my journal is like being able to talk to a friend and just letting all of my emotions out. At that time that’s how journaling helped me.

But growing up journaling was always hit or miss. I was never really consistent and I would skip weeks or even months at a time. Because of this I never really saw any growth within me and I always seemed to dwell on things instead of writing about them and just letting it go. So, at the time I figured journaling just wasn’t right for me and it didn’t help.

What is Journaling?

So, what is journaling? Journaling can be whatever you want it to be. There is no right or wrong way to use them and you have to make it personalized to you and what will make you want to use it.

Journaling is a way for you to put pen to paper and get all of your feelings out. It’s a good way to just unload and at times it can make you feel better. It’s a good way to talk about your goals and aspirations and how you can push yourself to accomplish those goals.

Why is journaling good for mental health?

There are many reasons that journaling is good for your mental health. It’s almost as if you’re talking to a friend without always complaining to your friend. It helps you gain clarity on things that you’re struggling with and how you can overcome it.

I know if you have anxiety about the past, present, or future then finding journaling prompts for those can make it a little less stressful. Usually, I can write about certain things and gain clarity about what I have anxiety about and it makes the whole situation less stressful.

The same thing goes with depression. Depending on what you write about it can help you gain clarity on your negative thoughts. It has made me realize that I’m not my negative thoughts. My negative thoughts are not me. It is my brain trying to work against me and trick me, but that is not me.

But I feel like the only way it can help you is if you actually try it and you aren’t just dumping negative thoughts into it. You need to delve deeper into why you feel this way and challenge your thoughts. I have been questioning everything almost like my six-year-old son and constantly asking why.

How to get started with journaling

I would probably start with writing your goals with journaling. What exactly do you want to get out of journaling? Is it to vent, talk about your goals and how you want to progress, or work with your mental health?

Next, you need to decide whether you want to journal on your computer or phone or in an actual journal. I highly suggest writing in a journal because it makes you slow down. It also makes you think about the things you want to say or talk about. However, I get that some people do better typing it out. If you decide to go with a physical journal then now it’s time to find one that you like.

To me finding a journal I like can be the hard part. It’s good to find a journal that works for you and is appealing to you. Now why should it be appealing? I have noticed that if I don’t get a journal that is appealing to me then I’m not going to like writing in it. When I say appealing I don’t just mean how it looks but also how it feels.

I know that probably sounds weird. Why would you need a journal that feels good to you? For me it just helps if I like the feeling of it and if I like how it fits in my hand.

Your next action would be to figure out what time of day you want to write and how often you want to journal. For me, I write in the morning and I write every day. But you by no means have to write every day but I would suggest writing at least once a week to make a habit out of it. Then maybe later down the road, you can try to increase it if you want to.

After that, it’s time to start writing! You can write about how you feel, how your day went, or what you want to accomplish. Those are the most common but there’s a lot more you can journal about. If you find yourself struggling with what to talk about then I suggest googling journal prompts!

How to find the right journal for you

Finding the right journal has always been a struggle for me. I like to have one with a pretty cover, but I also have to have the pages just right. I know there are a lot of people who don’t care what kind of journal they have and they can pretty much use the first thing that they pick up.

I’m very much not that way. The journal has to have a certain feel to the touch and a certain look to it that draws me to it. I have to have the pages a certain way too. I know I know I’m super picky, but after being this way for so long I’m able to pick what I want from Amazon without being able to hold it and see how it feels.

Now I’m not saying you have to be as picky as I am. In fact, I really hope that you aren’t as picky as I am because sometimes it can make things extremely hard and a bit aggravating. But I do suggest having a little bit of pickiness towards it but just don’t take it to the extreme. I say this because you don’t want a journal that’s going to mess up on you quickly. On top of that, you don’t want a journal that you are going to consider “too pretty” or “too ugly” to even use.

To me finding the right journal to use is a bit of a process.

With that being said there are a few things that you need to take into consideration. I’m going to start off with the cover. Do you want something cute, inspirational, or plain? For me, I always go straight to cute or inspirational. I don’t like plain journals and if I were to get one I would probably never even use it. It might be different if I had stickers to decorate it a little bit but I don’t so I wouldn’t go with it. I’m a very much visual person so I have to like looking at what I use.

Also, when picking it out you want to take into consideration how the pages are. Are they thick enough so that whatever you decide to write with doesn’t bleed through? On top of that, there are journals out there that have pages that have a little bit of a silkiness to them and others that don’t. I bring this up because if you have pages with a bit of silkiness and you accidentally touch where you just wrote then it can smear.

The last thing I would consider is how many pages it has. Do you want something that has a lot of pages and will last you all year? Or do you want something shorter so you can have multiple journals in one year?

Hopefully, this is something that will help guide you into finding the right one for you!

Where to get your journal

You can get your journal from Walmart, Target, Amazon, and any bookstore. Below are some journals you may wind up liking.

Conclusion

Journaling is such a great way to get things off of your chest. If you actually use it to your advantage then it can completely change your mindset on things. It can change your mind from being negative to being more positive. Journaling is a good way to help keep track of your goals. It also helps with how well (or badly) you’re progressing and then how you can change direction.