How to Start Journaling

You can personalize the How to Start Journaling resource by downloading it HERE, and adding your own responses, or continue to view it below.

When you were a teenager, you may have had a diary...or you had to answer prompts about yourself in an English class. Maybe you wrote notes on an adventure you took, or wrote out ideas to practice communicating something important. If you’ve had any experience like this, it was probably a safe place for you to confess your struggles and fears, as well as wins and successes, without judgment or punishment. It probably felt good to get all those thoughts and feelings out of your head and down on paper. The purpose of journaling is the same concept; it’s simply writing down your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and/or plans, to understand them better. If you’re experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, other mental health struggles, or just want to gain some clarity on a topic, keeping a journal can be a great way to support yourself. Journaling can be part of a healthy lifestyle and is a simple, low-cost way of improving your mental health.

Benefits of Journaling

Journaling helps us manage symptoms and improve our mood by:

• Prioritizing our problems, fears, and concerns
• Keeping track of any symptoms we are experiencing on a regular basis
• Recognizing triggers and learning ways to cope with them
• Providing an opportunity for positive self-talk and affirmations
• Identifying unhelpful thoughts and behavior patterns, and brainstorming more helpful ones
• Identifying and tracking personal goals
• Finding inspiration, and/or motivation
• Boosting our self-confidence
• Processing challenging thoughts and emotions by “externalizing” and gaining new perspectives

Tips for Getting Started

• Try writing a little bit every day to make it a habit. Set aside a few minutes in the morning and/or at night to write. 
• Write whatever feels right for you. You don’t need to follow a certain structure. Start writing what you want to express and let the words and ideas flow freely, and remember that your writing doesn’t have to be perfect.
• Pick a place to journal. You can journal in your room, at the beach, at the park, in the bath, sitting on a porch, or anywhere that feels like a peaceful, productive spot for your daily writing exercise.
• Set a time limit. Set a goal of how many times a week you want to journal and for how long. For example, you could try committing to 5 or 10 minutes, a few times a week. Then, if it feels right for you, work your way up to 15 or 20 minutes.
• Try journaling prompts. If you don’t know where to start, try some of the suggested prompts below. You can also access the PDF version of this resource to use the “morning reflection” and “evening reflection” sections. And remember, you can always ask a member of your care team for suggestions!

Suggested Prompts

1. List 3 things you’re grateful for
2. Talk about the day you just had (evening journal)
3. Talk about your goals for the day (morning journal)
4. Identify a personal or professional goal and list ways you’ll work towards achieving it
5. List your coping mechanisms and discuss if they’ve been effective
6. Write a compassionate letter to yourself
7. Describe what you like about yourself today and the areas you are working to grow in
8. Write down the emotions you regularly feel
9. Write a "reminder" entry to read on a bad day (e.g. accomplishments, successes, etc.)
10. What is your biggest challenge in life right now, and how will you overcome it?

Morning Reflection

1. How are you feeling this morning from a scale of 1-10?
2. What are you looking forward to today?
3. What is at least one thing you are grateful for today?

Evening Reflection

1. Reflect on your day. Write 3 things that went well today and what felt good about them.
2. If you had a challenging experience, what could you have done differently?
3. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?