3 Journaling Exercises For Better Mental Health Processing
What do grief, anxiety, depression (or any other hardship you may be navigating) have in common? All of these can feel heavy to carry and have the tendency to require a large amount of mental energy to effectively address and process. Have you ever had the thought “I have so much going on in my head, I can’t keep it all straight”? or “I don’t know how to process what I’m feeling or how to even put it into words”?
If so, you are not alone! Previously, in multiple blog articles (such as the article discussing creative ways to express grief), I’ve referred to journaling exercises as a common therapeutic tool I provide to clients. However, I have not expanded on how journaling can be helpful or identified a few of the common exercises utilized. Well now’s the time! I will cover the benefits of journaling, as well as briefly describe (and provide examples) of a few of the most common journaling exercises I provide to clients.
benefits of journaling
There can be many benefits to journaling; some benefits may differ from person-to-person. I want to highlight a few of the most common benefits I discuss with my clients when exploring as to whether or not journaling will fit and be an asset to their journey. ***Please keep in mind, if the benefits you experience from journaling don’t match these, that is okay! Everyone’s experience is different. If they don’t match, I would encourage you to take some time to identify how journaling benefits you. Hint, hint that could be a journaling exercise itself!
A few of the benefits of journaling are:
It helps get you out of your head: as I mentioned earlier in the article, a very common experience I hear is “I have so much going on in my head and I can’t sort through it”. Journaling exercises allow you to get your thoughts out of your head and in front of you; resulting in a possible sense of quick relief.
Allows you to regain a sense of control: in addition to getting the thoughts out of your head, journaling can also allow you to regain a sense of control over your thoughts. It’s not uncommon to feel as though your emotions are controlling your actions (especially when anxiety is part of the battle) without allowing space for the influence of logic (i.e. leaving you feeling as though you’re in control). By writing your thoughts out, you are giving yourself the power to choose how you want to handle those thoughts once they are out of your head and on paper.
Identify themes: journaling also provides you with a visual representation of your thoughts which can leave room to identify themes or thought patterns. These themes/thought patterns can be explored further and altered (if they do not serve you) in therapy (if you’re discovering unhelpful themes and would like to explore them further, schedule your FREE 15 minute consultation to learn what that work might look like).
Discover new areas: not only could themes be identified but you may also discover new areas of hurt or growth from your journaling exercise(s).
To begin witnessing these benefits, I encourage you to engage in one (or all if you choose) of the three journaling exercise described below. While there are many different journaling exercises, these are the three most common I provide to clients.
Journaling Exercises: stream of conscious
In the stream of conscious exercise, you are freely writing about whatever comes to mind for a certain amount of time. I will usually “assign” this exercise to clients when they communicate having an extensive thought load in their mind and are unsure of where to start processing those thoughts. To engage in this exercise yourself, I encourage you to try the following:
Place yourself in a distraction free environment (if possible. If you aren’t able to remove all distractions, find a space that has minimal distractions.)
Identify a topic/area of concern you’d like to write about (this can be a topic you’re discussing in therapy or something from your day that’s weighing on you and is heightening symptoms/thoughts.)
Set a timer for 3-5 minutes (start with a smaller amount of time and grow from there.)
Don't stop writing until the timer ends (even if you find yourself stuck, keep writing! Write about feeling stuck. Chances are it will lead back into your topic/area of concern.)
Journaling exercises: prompts
Similar to being unsure of where to start processing all the mental load, you may experience uncertainty of WHAT to explore around your area of concern/main stressor. Or you may have been asked a question (such as what triggers the grief, anxiety, depression, etc.?) that you are unsure of how to answer.
In situations similar to these, I will provide clients with a series of journal prompts (or questions pertaining to their main area of concern) to spark exploration/processing. Journal prompts may look like:
When anxiety is present, how does it show up in your body?
When the depression was triggered, what thoughts followed?
What is your biggest fear with addressing and processing the grief?
Journal prompts are intended to get you thinking; they are not intended to find a correct answer (it’s your experience! Any answer you provide is “right”). Some have found it helpful to implement the stream of conscious exercise while answering the journal prompts.
***Keep in mind: the exercise above displays journal prompts for three different areas as an example! When you are provided with journal prompts specific to your situation, you will receive a series of prompts that are related to the main issue/concern/stressor at hand. For journal prompts unique to your situation, schedule an appointment with me to begin this process.
journaling exercises: gratitude practice
This exercise is a bit different than the rest in that it’s a PRACTICE; meaning it may not come naturally at first. However, with continued engagement, it will become more natural and may even work itself into your routine. A gratitude practice can help shift your focus from the future that anxiety is convincing you of and the past that depression won’t let you release'; preventing you from being in the present moment.
Most think of a gratitude practice as listing three things you’re grateful for such as: 1) I am grateful for my family, 2) I am grateful for my job and 3) I am grateful for my friends. Which, yes, this is technically a gratitude practice! However, it’s very broad. To engage in a deeper gratitude practice, I encourage you to try the following:
Review your day and identify what within your day brought you joy. Was it a specific friend? Was it a song? Was it something you saw? Was it something you were reminded of that you’ve forgotten?
List specifics as to why you’re grateful to what brought you joy. If there was a particular friend that brought you joy, write about what it was they did that brought joy. Was it a random text that told you they were thinking of you? Was it a reminder of how much they add to your life? If it was a song you heard, what is it about that song that brings you joy? How does the song make you feel? ***Don’t be surprised if, during this step, you find other things to be grateful for such as the ability to hear or the ability to make friends.
Following the completion of all these exercises (especially the first two) be sure to allow yourself time to step away, engage in self-care and reground. If necessary, you can then return to the exercise and engage in further exploration; whether that be on your own or with a therapist.
Regardless of how you choose to utilize journaling, I hope it fosters insight, provides an element of relief and allows for growth. If you’d like guidance with journaling (or any other area within your healing journey), click below to schedule an appointment with me to begin therapy.
Here’s to living a better life as your best self.
Brittany Squillace, MA, LMFT
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Grief Counselor
