6 Ways Writing a Diary Can Support Your Mental Health

Caring for your mental health is a must. Still, so many people either neglect this type of self-care or don’t know how to handle it. But, mental health awareness is important, and you need to make self-care a top priority. Luckily, there are surefire ways for you to boost your mental health and find your inner balance. Writing a diary is one of the best methods you can use.

This article breaks down the 6 ways in which writing a diary can support your mental health. So, just keep reading to learn about each one!

1. Fighting Stress

When it comes to mental health, stress is one of the main enemies we’re all facing daily. Whether it’s work, family, or relationship-related, we’ve all had our fair share of stressful episodes.

But, if it goes too far for too long, stress can cause serious health problems or even cause depression and trauma.

Writing a diary will help you relieve that stress. When you put it all in writing, you’re getting the built-up negativity out of your system and helping your body and mind feel better. You’ll disburden yourself and make room for positivity.

2. Facing Problems

Sometimes, the trouble with mental health is that we’re ignoring or suppressing our problems. It might even happen that we’re unable to define what’s bothering us.

Luckily, writing a diary can help:

− dig deep inside yo

− urself

− be honest with yourself

− define the problem

− face it

Through writing, you’ll learn how to be more honest with yourself and write openly. This will lead you to discoveries about your dilemmas or issues that you weren’t able to face before.

3. Setting Goals

Lack of confidence is another typical issue that can cause mental health problems. Low self-esteem can cause people to isolate themselves from others, and feel depressed or unmotivated to start another day.

Setting goals is a surefire way to overcome such emotions and get more motivated and energized.

Use your diary to set any kind of goals- professional or personal. For each goal, define the following:

− minor milestones for accomplishment

− tools or resources you’ll use

− timeline and phases

− deadline

For instance, you want to try something new, like making pottery or kayaking. Make that your monthly goal. Develop a plan and elaborate on it in your diary. This will give you the motivation and confidence that we all desperately need.

4. Learning About Yourself

Getting in touch with your inner self and learning about handling your own emotions is a serious challenge. Most people find it hard to communicate their own feelings and be open about what they’re experiencing emotionally.

All of this can change through regular diary writing.

As you write your diary, you’ll open up a bit with each new day and diary entry. Soon, you’ll stop thinking about what you’re writing and what it may sound like. Instead, words will just come out on their own.

As you stop thinking and start letting go, you’ll write down things you didn’t even know you felt or thought. And, that is the true power of writing a diary.

This will signify establishing a healthy relationship with yourself.

5. Practicing Self-Encouragement

Once you get in touch with your emotions, you can also use your diary to encourage yourself to take action. You can be your own supporter and motivator to make the most out of every moment.

So, use your diary to:

− write your morning affirmations

− remind yourself of your strengths

− use pep talk

− pick yourself up after a hard day

People don’t need to be professional writers to write their way to mental health. But, if you decide to blog about mental health, you can get writing assignment help from a writing service that I use to write my essay paper. They can help you get started with your first blog posts.

6. Keeping Track of Progress

A great thing about writing a diary is that it’s all in writing. Everything you say and write remains preserved in this notebook or folder on your computer.

That means you can get back to it whenever you want and read about your thoughts and emotions from a week, a month, or a year ago.

Why is this so helpful for your mental health?

It’s simple- you’ll be able to see the progress you’ve made over the past period and see how much you’ve grown. You’d also realize how the things that used to bother you are no longer present in your life.

This will teach you an important lesson- look forward, keep on going, and fight for your mental health.

Final Thoughts

We all need a helping hand when it comes to mental health. But,we need to try and be our own primary support.

Writing a diary is the perfect way for you to actively work on preserving your mental health. Hopefully, we’ve inspired you to try it out today.

About The Author

Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at Papers-board. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

How to Use Writing as a Tool for Self-Therapy

Writing as a Self-Therapy Technique

When you are feeling down, depressed, and out of energy, remember – you are not alone. Such a state is familiar to every person, especially to those trying to do something meaningful with their lives. We cannot avoid stress, frustration, and other negative scenarios at work or college, with your family members, beloved ones, etc. The question is: how to get back to the sunny side? Some people decide to visit a therapist in such cases. The others travel, dive into their hobbies, or simply switch off from their busy lives to have a break. Creative people opt for art.

Numerous artistic activities can lead one to emotional healing and spiritual growth. Whether you prefer drawing, dancing, playing music, or anything else – all of them are equally great and efficient. Among all the methods, writing is special, since it gives you a chance to reflect on your perception of reality and dig into your soul. Even if you are not a writer, you can still benefit from this activity.

Self-exploration can help you get rid of numerous negative feelings, like regret, fault, stress, envy, and more. You can release them, stop for a while, think, and make sense of everything that you have to experience. It is much better than spending time in your head and twirling the same hurtful thoughts over and over again, making things even more complicated. Let’s discuss this beneficial practice in more details to help you include it in your daily routine and live a happier life.

What’s the difference between a personal diary and writing therapy?

While writing therapy and writing a diary are pretty similar, there are some significant differences. As a rule, a diary is:

• A form of free writing, when you put everything that comes to your mind on paper;

• Records about your daily life and reproduction of the events;

• Personal writing you rarely show to anyone else.

At the same time, writing therapy can be characterized as:

• Not free, but rather directed writing based on particular exercises that evoke needed effects and provoke the right questions/thoughts in the author;

• Reflection on your daily routine, your thoughts, analysis, and conclusions;

• Notes you should show to your therapist.

As you can see, diary is about describing your experience, while writing therapy takes you to another level – it is a self-analysis and reflection on that experience. We will discover more peculiarities of writing therapy below, so stay tuned!

Why do you need writing therapy?

While diary notes are great for relaxation, writing therapy is widely-used by therapists to help people outlive traumatic experience. Meaningful and expressive writing encourages patients to find a different perspective on the events, discover sense in their experience, and get insights about themselves and people around. This is a powerful tool that evokes new ideas and helps you get out of the dead end when you are feeling stuck. Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other disorders have reasons – these are traumas we had to experience throughout our lives. Without reflecting on traumas and “rewriting” our vision of them, we suffer from mental pain and repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

How to start writing therapy?

If you are planning to start writing therapy with your mental health supervisor, he/she will direct you and help you start the session. If you want to start on your own, then here are some useful tips to consider:

• Pick the format

You are the one to decide which format is the most comfortable for you. Choose the medium first. Would you like to write in the Word document, online blog, or a paper notebook? How much time do you want to devote to the writing practice? What evokes your desire to write? Start your writing with answering the last question.

• Don’t worry about the themes to reflect on

Everything can become your subject of writing. You can write about your most memorable childhood event or fear, as well as about the crow you have seen out of a window. The trick is to stay thoughtful and give full attention to the practice.

• Don’t push yourself

If you have no inspiration to write more than a few words a day, it’s fine. Just do it in your own pace and don’t try to squeeze three pages when you have just one sentence to say.

• Write for yourself

Even though you might be planning to show your writing to a therapist, try to write as if nobody will read it. Avoid showing yourself in the best light and try to be honest and authentic.

• Don’t try to write like a pro

The quality of your writing is not very important now. The aim is to express things that make sense and come naturally to you.

If you have a writing block or just cannot start – make sure to use the simple prompts listed below. They will help you get to work.

Prompts for writing therapy

These prompts can help you get started or continue your therapy once you are feeling stuck:

• Write a poem

Rhymes can make your creative juices flow! Try writing about your day in a form of a poem – whether humorous, symbolic, or romantic.

• Write a letter

This might be a letter to yourself as a child or a letter to any other person, be it your friend, someone from your past, yourmother, or even a celebrity.

• Write everything that comes to your mind

Free writing is a great technique to help you “unstuck”. The ideas might come to you in the process.

• Writing about the photo

Pick a photo (from your personal album or use the Internet) and think about people and events depicted there. What would you like to tell them? Do you have questions to these people? What do you feel when looking at the picture?

• Create a list

This might be a list of anything: things that make you sad, reasons to wake up in the morning, things you love, things you want others to know about you, etc.

• Create a mind map

Write the main question or problem that bothers you in the middle of the page. Draw lines that will represent the details, reasons, and/or outcomes.

Whatever you write about, try to listen to yourself. It is important to track your feelings and emotions, not spelling or grammar. When devoting your time to writing therapy, focus on the content and forget about the form. Hopefully, this practice will become your source of insights, valuable experience, and self-awareness. Keep these tips in mind and happy writing!

About the author

Lina Jones is a blogger for Apapers.com passionate about psychology and self-awareness practices. She finds art therapy and gestalt psychology efficient and especially interesting. Currently, Lina visits art therapy sessions herself and plans to share her experience in the series of blog posts.

Giving is Living

As far back as I can recall, I have always been a giver. Living in awareness of the world around me, wanting to be helpful and generous in thoughtful and meaningful ways. While this was not something that was modeled for me growing up, it was something I was deeply drawn to. What I know for sure is that giving feels wonderful, for both the giver and the recipient. Each and every time. It’s a win-win. As a young child I quickly realized this and I wanted more of it. It was the catalyst to make my first career change during college. Overtime, giving simply became a strong part of my identity, and a lifestyle for me.

As a volunteer in a pediatric oncology unit during college, I learned the importance of blood donations. While I had donated blood prior to that experience, I saw firsthand how something so simple and quick to do was literally life-changing for these children I had the honor to get to know. I began to donate blood regularly. It was one of my most favorite things to do. It still is today. About twenty years later, I heard about a young man in need of a kidney. At the time, I had no idea donating a kidney was something one could do while alive. I immediately wanted to learn more to see if I could help. After educating myself and speaking to other donors, I began the testing process. While I was not a match for this man, I was matched with another patient. On May 14, 2018, I had the privilege of donating one of my two healthy kidneys to a stranger who had been on dialysis for years. It brings me great joy to know what I was able to do for another human being and his family as their quality of life changed in a profound way. My mission continues as I do whatever I can to help raise awareness and educate others about giving in a variety of ways. I want people to realize how joyful giving can be. How it enhances and often transforms our lives and the lives of others. I want people to experience those feelings again and again, on a regular basis.

I met an extraordinary mother on Instagram. Michelle has a son who needed a kidney several years ago. She was not able to donate due to medical reasons. Her co-worker saw her crying at her desk one day and cared enough to notice and ask her what was going on. He ended up donating his kidney to her son. The care, the kindness, the awareness, and of course the ultimate generosity to act. He got tested and offered a part of himself to a stranger. Michelle remains deeply grateful and continues to raise awareness and match donors and recipients. She recently made a match via Instagram. Sami was an altruistic donor for Claudia.

I believe wholeheartedly that humans are inherently good and want to do good. That is why I created My Giving Journal. This daily journal serves as a guide to help us live in gratitude as we incorporate generosity and kindness into our daily lives. Opportunities are all around us. We just need to be aware and thoughtful as we live each day we are given. My Giving Journal is a path to thriving rather than simply surviving. It’s a way to live a life and a lifestyle of generosity, kindness and gratitude. I hope you get your copy and experience one of life’s greatest joys as you live well by doing good.

Purchase your journal here.

Connect with Adena @mygivingco on Instagram
Connect with Michelle @kidneyconnect on Instagram

L-R: Sami (donor), Claudia (recipient), Michelle (matchmaker)