Marya

Journaling is one of the best activities you can do to improve mental health. Depression and anxiety can affect you physically, mentally and emotionally. Journaling can help you to distract your mind from what’s troubling you, identify triggers for depressing and anxiety.

Why You Should Keep a Journal

Some celebrated journal keepers throughout history include Henry David Thoreau, John Steinbeck, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Edison and Marie Curie. Journaling can be a creative outlet, emotional release as well as a space to record important information so that you can refer back to it later.

Mental Health Benefits of Journaling

A regular journaling habit can help you to get your emotions under control. As you become more familiar with the natural ebb and flow of your emotions, it will become much easier for you to become more mindful about what kinds of things are occupying your mind. When you sit down to journal, you’re recording exactly what happened and what your response was. You’ll be able to go back to these moments in the future, allowing you to see patterns of behavior that may be bogging you down.

Journaling can help you learn to problem solve. After you’ve been journaling for awhile, you’ll have amassed lots of information about yourself. Consider if you react to some things differently during different times of the day or time of year. What was the weather like that day? So many external factors play a part in our mental state.

Journaling sharpens cognitive skills. How good is your memory? How much can you remember from your childhood? Having the ability to recall information from your memory helps to enhance cognitive abilities. And the more you do this, the better you’ll be at recalling all that stored information in your mind.

Journaling jumpstarts creativity. After you’ve established a solid journaling habit, creativity will begin to flow more naturally. You’ll become more aware the choices you can make and the paths you can travel to achieve the goals that are important to you.

After you’ve been studying your thought patterns for awhile, you can discover the most likely causes for triggers, and possibly devise ways to lessen the blow. With consistent hard work over time,  you may be able to overcome many of the issues that are taking away your time and effort.

How to Identify and Heal Emotional Triggers

Have you experienced displaced thoughts and vague feelings of anxiety from a triggering event recently? When you’re examining your triggers, it can be very difficult to know exactly when you are experiencing a triggering event. For some people, the symptoms can be very obvious while others could manifest in very different ways. Many of us are so out of touch with ourselves and our feelings that we may not recognize the triggers and effects when they’re happening.

Learning to become self aware. With intentional time and effort, you’ll learn to identify when you’ve had a triggering event and what your response to it was. If you’re seeking professional help, understanding this information can help both of you as you’ll have a better understanding of your behaviors and reactions to triggering events.

Create a tracking chart. Using a calendar or printable can help you to track mood swings and events to see if there are any correlations between the time of month, time of week and so on. Having this information available at a glance will help you to identify triggers and your reactions to them.
day.

Keeping a journal or log. It’s essential to record everything that happened each day, especially something that sticks out in your mind that may have triggered you, whether it be encounters with people, animals, situations, or sounds. Sometimes you may even need to go back and revisit what you’ve recorded after some time has passed. You might be very surprised to find that some things bothered you more than you first thought.

Make sure to write some descriptions of your feelings that came about as you responded to the trigger. It may be helpful to color code these emotions so that you can make a chart and see how your mood changes and how it
relates to triggers.

What to Put in a Self Care Journal

Do you ever find yourself having a hard time getting out of bed, or even wanting to take a shower before work? When you’re dealing with anxiety or deep depression, it can be really difficult to do those simple daily tasks that need to be done to care for yourself. It’s perfectly okay to need to have reminders of these things because we all go through times where certain tasks aren’t at the top of the list of favorite things to do.

Here’s a few ideas on using a journal for self-care. Remember, this journal is for your eyes only. Feel free to write down anything and everything that you need to!

It’s okay to ruminate on your feelings.  How often do you typically sit and think about how you really feel? Many times it takes awhile to really know how you feel about certain things. If you’re like me, you often get delayed reactions to things because you didn’t thoroughly process them! Emotions can be very difficult to
process, and if you’re missing certain bits of information, then you could be in for a shock. You shouldn’t try to do it all in your head, use the journal to know when you got upset. Record who was in the room, and how you felt.

Create a gratitude list. One of the most time tested ways of grounding yourself is to create a daily gratitude list. No matter what’s going on around you, there’s always something to be grateful for! You don’t have to feel like the world has turned its back on you. Writing it down can help you to remember that there are people who care about you.

Be patient with yourself.  Remember that you are a work in progress. You have the right to make good healthy choices about what you want to do. Allow yourself forgiveness for past mistakes. They can teach you about yourself in shocking ways. As you journal and record these different time periods you are slowly building evidence to help you to find out what might be causing you to have intense reactions of different kids. Just be sure to have time to yourself every so often.

Do you have any tips about journaling for mental health? I’d love to hear about them!

Can you believe we’re almost at June? Life has changed on a dime for many of us. If you had travel plans for this summer, they’ve probably changed. I truly hope we can all get out to enjoy some nature and sunshine. Here’s some June journaling prompts for self discovery to get you dreaming and planning

June Journaling Prompts for Self Discovery

1. List your goals and plans for June.2. June 2nd is ‘National Leave the Office Early’ Day. Can you plan something fun to do and work a half day today?
3. What are some new ways you can practice self care in June? What are some things you would love to do for yourself?
4. What are you grateful for right now?
5. Do you prefer the beach, the mountains or the lake?
6. What do you like to do when the weather is hot?
7. Pay it forward – plan a beach cleanup day. How can you make it fun and educational for your kids?
8. It’s ‘World Oceans Day’ – do you remember your first time seeing the ocean? What are your favorite memories?
9. What is your favorite thing about the beach?
10. Do you remember the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up?
11. Make life beautiful today, how can you celebrate life?
12. What are some summer vacations you have planned for this year?
13. What is your idea of the dream summer vacation?
14. What is your most memorable summer vacation so far?
15. It is halfway through June – how are you doing on your goals so far?
16. List 10 things you want to get done before the month is over.
17. It’s ‘Eat Your Vegetables Day’ – eat something healthy today and write about your favorite healthy foods.
18. What are you most excited about this summer?
19. What are some summer activities you have planned for the kids?
20. It’s the First Day of Summer! How do you plan to celebrate?
21. Today is Father’s Day in the US and UK – write down some fond memories of your dad or father figure.
22. How has your vision for your life changed in the last 10 years?
23. What are some daily habits that are getting you closer to your goals?
24. List 3 accomplishments you have had this month.
25. List 3 things you want to improve.
26. Write down 5 positive things about you and your life.
27. Look 5 years ahead – what is ONE thing you hope you’re doing?
28. Picture your dream house in your head, then describe it.
29. What is something you are looking forward to in July?

30. How did your June go?
31. June is ‘Entrepreneurs Do it Yourself Marketing Month’. If are an entrepreneur, what are some ways you can “do it yourself?”
32. When you were a kid, what was a business you wanted to start?
33. Name some dream businesses that you might want to start.
34. How could you be more productive in your business?
35. If you work for yourself in any capacity, what is your favorite part?
36. June is also ‘Men’s Health Month’. What are some ways you (or a man in your life) could improve their health?
37. What does it mean to you to be healthy?
38. How are you teaching the children in your life to be healthier?
39. How has your vision of health changed in recent years?
40. How often do you and your family members get regular exercise?
41. Celebrate ‘National Camping Month’ by writing down your favorite camping story.
42. It is also ‘Great Outdoors Month’ – what do you look forward to doing outdoors every year?
43. List your favorite things about camping.
44. Do you have good or bad childhood memories about camping?
45. List some other fun outdoor activities.
46. June is also ‘Rebuild Your Life Month’ – what does that mean to you?
47. Write about your life (love, finances, etc) in 5 years.
48. Write about your life in 10 years.
49. What are 3 things you can do this month to help rebuild your life?
50. If you could redo anything from your life so far, what would it be?

Your daily morning routine is probably the most important part of your day because it helps to set the tone for and helps you to organize your thoughts and todo list.  One popular daily habit that has helped many people improve their morning routines is morning pages. Also known as stream of consciousness writing,  morning pages are a form of daily journaling that you do right after you wake up.

Morning pages became popular through the work of Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way.

“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.

We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential, grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul. We should write because writing yields us a body of work, a felt path through the world we live in.

We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves that or not.”
― Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

Although daily journaling in general is good for you, morning pages are especially beneficial, and there’s a reason so many successful people swear by a daily writing routine.

What Are Morning Pages?

Morning pages are simple enough to implement, and there are three basic requirements you should keep in mind.

• You must do your morning pages immediately upon waking up (though some might want to wait until after coffee and yoga!)
• You should write until you’ve completed three pages in your notebook, which is about 750 words.
• Morning pages must be handwritten.

This is your journal, for your eyes only. Write about whatever comes to your mind. You might find that initially you’re struggling with random thoughts or observations but if you keep at it, you’ll come up with some real gems later on. Just stay patient and committed, it will happen for you

Many people devote about a half hour to writing their morning pages though it may go faster for you.

Do you have to follow the above requirements exactly? While morning pages can be whatever you want them to be, there are some reasons for these A requirements.

It’s best to do your morning pages right away when you wake up because when it’s that early,  your mind will be still be waking up and you’ll be able to write down more honest thoughts from the inner depths of your mind.

It does take about three pages to produce in-depth writing. Otherwise, you’ll only be scratching the surface with your journaling.

While handwriting is best for morning pages (many feel that putting pen or pencil to paper creates a stronger connection), computers and apps do have their place. As far as the requirement about handwriting your morning pages, there are a few reasons for this. Many people feel that the act of putting pen or pencil to paper results in a stronger connection between what themselves and what they’re writing. And if you’re writing on a computer, it’s easy to get sidetracked with notifications and social media. If typing is your preference, check out a site like 750words to help you stay consistent with your morning pages routine.

Finally, remember that morning pages are meant to be private.This makes it easier to write authentically because you’re not concerned about what people might think about you’ve written.

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Mental Health Benefits of Morning Pages

Morning pages are a great way to get into a daily habit of journaling. While there are many kinds of journaling, journaling first thing in morning is often great for stream of consciousness, bullet journaling, and planning out your day with greater clarity. Here’s a few more benefits of morning pages to consider:

Journaling is Cheaper Than Therapy

Since you’re the only one who sees your morning pages, this is the perfect opportunity for you to privately write about your thoughts and feelings. Many of us are so busy that our thoughts and feelings get buried. Taking a few minutes to focus on how you feel and what’s really bothering you can make all the difference in your outlook.  Journaling can also make a difference in your relationships. It can help you to better understand where your partner is coming from and show you how you can communicate better in the future.

Journaling can also help you to break down something that stressed you out the previous day, you may discover why it bothered you and what steps you can take to solve the problem.

Complete Freedom of Expression

Your morning pages are your own private world, and you can write and do whatever you want with them. While writing down your thoughts and feelings is one of the most common choices, you can also use your morning pages to create your vision and goals for the next few weeks and months, or take a more long-term view of what you want to accomplish in life. You can even use your morning pages to write your own short stories.

Journaling Stimulates Creativity

Many of us lose touch with our creative side as adults. It’s still there, we just have to put in the work to develop that creativity. To get your creative juices flowing again, the two most important factors are devoting time to it and having the right setup. Morning pages can help you become a more creative person. This is because instead of waiting for inspiration to strike you, morning pages require you to make a daily commitment to put in the work.

The other consideration is your setup. When you’re typing your ideas into a computer program, there’s may be a disconnect between you and what you’re creating, and you can quickly edit anything you don’t like before you’ve even thought it through. Using a pen and paper is a completely different process.  The ideas flow much better this way, especially when you’re just waking up.

Finally, stimulating creativity isn’t just for artists. If you’re an entrepreneur, your morning pages could be where you come up with great new business ideas. If you’re a busy mom, setting aside some intentional time for morning pages can help the day go smoother.

Morning Pages Can Help to Clear Your Head

Morning pages are great therapy for reducing anxiety and helping you be in the present moment. They allow you to clear all those nagging little thoughts and stressors from your mind so that they aren’t weighing you down the rest of the day. Many of us know how overwhelming it is to have an ongoing monkey mind as we attempt to focus on what needs to  be accomplished on a given day. By putting those thoughts to paper in the morning, you set yourself up for a more focused and productive day.

Morning Pages Help You Value Your Time More

Even though you’re setting apart 30 minutes to write morning pages into your room, it will pay off throughout the day as you make better use of your time.  You’ll know what your priorities are and be less apt to get distracted. And you’ll have a conscious desire to make the most of each and every moment.

Once you see how much those 30 minutes of morning writing can improve your life, you’ll want to use the rest of your time just as wisely. That means less procrastination and killing time on mindless tasks. You’ll move through life far more efficiently.

Simple Ideas for Your Morning Pages

Even though there are some recommendations on how you approach your morning pages, there really is no right or wrong way to do them. This is your personal mental playground. However, if you’re unsure how to start writing your morning pages, here are some ideas that could help.

Write What’s On Your Mind

This is probably the popular choice for morning pages, as it’s great for clearing your head and ridding yourself of stress. You’re get to be your own therapist here by analyzing how you’re feeling about a situation and why you’re feeling that way. The important thing to remember here is to keep asking yourself “why” as you write about how you feel. The first paragraph or two may just skim the surface, but as you continue to write you’ll make more progress as you break down your thoughts further.

For example, one morning you wake up feeling worried. As you write, you can pinpoint exactly what’s causing that worry and how you’re going to handle it. If you hadn’t done your morning pages, you may have spent your whole day stressed out.

Create a Plan of Attack for the Day

Your morning pages are the perfect place to write what you’re going to do that day, from the most mundane tasks to your big picture goals. By writing all these in the morning, you’re less likely to forget anything that you wanted to get to. One idea is to visualize everything as you go, and remember to keep positive mindset about it.

For example, instead of just writing that you have to get some cooking today, write down all the wonderful meals that you’re going to create and how much time this will save you in the kitchen over the next few days. Many times it takes is belief that things will go well, and positive results will follow.

Morning Pages for Brainstorming

If you’re trying to get those dormant creative juices flowing, you can use your morning pages to brainstorm new ideas. You may find that ideas just flow as you’re writing about other things. You could be writing about a recent annoyance, which then gives you an idea for a new way to deal with it.

You might also find it helpful to dedicate entire mornings of journaling to brainstorming, though. Your morning pages give you a place to work through ideas, even ideas that may seem silly at first. Remember that not every idea is going to be brilliant, but you should still give them all a chance.

Combining Different Ideas in Your Journal

As you decide how you’re going to approach your morning pages, consider combining different journal ideas and giving them each a portion of your writing. For example, you might spend your first page and a half on getting your thoughts down and clearing your head, and then use the next page and a half on what you’re going to do that day or week.

Or, you can just jump in and see where your writing takes you. It’s fine to start your morning pages talking about how tired you are and how much you’d rather be sleeping. The stream-of-consciousness approach tends to work very well for morning pages, and you may be surprised with what you come up with.

How to Make Morning Pages a Lasting Habit

To be successful with writing morning pages, you need to turn it into a daily habit. Start by carving out 30 minutes in your morning routine, even if that means waking up earlier. If you fly by the seat of your pants, the odds are that start skipping them because you don’t have the time.

Make daily  commitment to writing your morning pages for 30 days in a row. It will probably take time to see the results of this new morning routine. You’re selling yourself short if you stop after five days because you haven’t noticed a difference. When you set 30 days as your first goal, it gives you enough time to see the results in action and make morning pages a habit.

Morning pages are a time tested way to reduce stress, boost creativity and problem solve any situation.  All it takes is a notebook, a pen or pencil, and about 30 minutes of your time to make yourself happier and healthier.

When you start journaling for self discovery, you begin to find some incredible built in health benefits.These benefits might take a little while to become apparent, so be patient and don’t rush the process.  Just remember not to force yourself to feel or experience something you think you should be experiencing.  It’s okay to let come naturally.

One of my favorite benefits of journaling is the ability to truly become a happier and more peaceful person.  By starting an intentional journaling practice you’ll find clarity, vision for the future and so much more.

The first thing to remember is that journaling is not meant to be perfect. Don’t pressure yourself. You don’t have to do it in a particular way. You aren’t showing your journal to anyone (unless you want to), so you can write anything and everything you want without worrying about any  repercussions.
Your journal is your private sanctuary, your safe haven, the one place you can go to where you can express all your inner thoughts and hopes and fears without worrying about judgment or ridicule.

Journaling can provide so much power for your life, allowing you to become a much more peaceful person, and ultimately, a happier person and content person as you go through life’s ups and downs..

Gratitude Journaling

Gratitude is an amazing benefit you get by journaling. Sometimes it can seem a little counter-intuitive, but when you are more thankful for what is in your life, it brings in even more happiness and more things to be grateful for.

Never underestimate the power of gratitude! No matter where your life is now, there is always something to be grateful for. Here are some examples to get you going. Remember, what you’re grateful for is going to be unique for you.

* You have steady employment whether it is your dream job or not.
* Your personal/family life is going well.
* You got up today.
* Your illness is improving.
* You have amazing friends in your life.
* You accomplished something today.
* You are working hard on your goals.
* You have all the basic comforts people need.
* You had help with a big problem you were experiencing.
* Your faith is helping to bring you peace in a dark time.

99 Journal Prompts for Self Discovery

1. What is the one thing you are most grateful for in your life right now?
2. Name 5 things you are grateful for this week.
3. Who is someone you can’t imagine your life without?
4. What is a way you can show more gratitude every day?
5. Do you feel that you appreciate the good in your life often enough?
6. What is something that made you smile today?
7. Write down one memory that this month provokes.
8. What ideas inspire you?
9. What one thing/fear would you like to conquer this month?
10. Who are you most grateful for this year?
11. What one thing has happened to your family & how did you cope or celebrate?
12. What color do you think about most around this time of year?
13. Take your journal outside today and just doodle or sketch instead of writing!
14. How do you exercise with your child or younger relative?
15. Have you met your health goals this year?
16. What business plans can you put into place this month?
17. What local foods are in season now? How can you incorporate them into your meals this week?
18. Describe the weather outside today.
19. What is the one thing you love about where you live?
20. Focus on one healthy goal for this week.
21. What do you love about your life?
22. Name someone that you appreciate right now?
23. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
24. What creative projects are you currently working on?
25. If you could change places with someone else this month, who would it be?
26. Describe some ways you can add more walking into your routine.
27. List 10 goals you would like to complete this month
28. Name 5 things you are grateful for this month.
29. Talk about an obstacle you overcame this year
30. Get outside and enjoy the sunshine, then journal your experience.
31. What is a good way to relax and unwind this month?
32. What is your favorite flower or plant?
33. Visit a friend or family member you haven’t seen in a while. Describe that day here.
34. Do you have personal challenges to overcome this month?
35. Reflect on your self-care practice. What is one new thing you can do for yourself this month?
36. List 3 things you haven’t done in a while, and try to do them this month.
37. List 10 things you love about yourself.
38. Check in with your health: Are there any improvements that need to be done?
39. How are you feeling this month?
40. How is your mental health right now?
41. What is one creative thing you can do this month?
42. Are you honest with yourself?
43. Describe your day in bullet points.
44. Talk about what you will be doing this weekend
45. Are you happy with your current friendships and/or relationships?
46. Do you feel happy with your life right now?
47. What are 3 things you can do this week to help improve your life?
48. What’s your biggest concern
49. Are you more of a positive or negative person?
50. What do you think are the best qualities in your family and friends?
51. How can you be a better friend?
52. What do you believe are some strengths of yours?
53. Do you think you value yourself enough?
54. How can you develop a more positive mindset?
55. What is something you are struggling with?
56. Describe the times when your mind went to negative thoughts today.
57. Is there one specific thing you are trying to work on?
58. Do you believe you are a good person?
59. What was the best part of your day?
60. What is your current morning routine, and how can you improve it?
61. Do you feel happy today?
62. What are your main personal goals?
63. Where would you like to be a year from now?
64. Do you have a five year goal?
65. Do you have a ten year goal?
66. Who or what do you aspire to be?
67. What is your goal for next week?
68. What are some things you would like to accomplish this year?
69. Do you have a bucket list?
70. Are you where you thought you would be at this point in your life?
71. Who is someone that inspires you?
72. What is a movie you can watch that always makes you laugh?
73. Do you have a favorite book that you like to reread?
74. What are your favorite playlists?
75. Is there a skill you would like to learn?
76. What hobbies would you like to learn how to do?
77. If you could be great at one musical instrument, what would it be?
78. If you could start your life over, would you?
79. What is one thing about your life you would willingly change?
80. What is something that was difficult, but you would never change?
81. What is a mistake today that you believe you learned from?
82. Name something you are proud of today.
83. What is something you can do to be physically healthier?
84. Do you feel like you made healthy choices today?
85. Do you have any fitness goals? List them here.
86. How can you schedule in more time for your health and wellness?
87. Is anything causing you stress today?
88. Eliminate one bad habit, then see how you feel in a week.
89. Keep track of your mental health signs and symptoms for one month.
90. Who is your best friend now?
91. Do you remember who your best friend in elementary school was?
92. Who is someone you used to be friends with, but aren’t any longer? Why did you grow apart?
93. Who is someone from your childhood you would like to find again
94. If you could talk to one person right now, who would it be
95. What is your family life like right now?
96. Do you have a significant other? Talk about them.
97. Talk about a memory between you and a sibling.
98. Write a letter to a family member who has passed, who you would love to catch up with.
99. Do you have any family pets? Write what you love about them!
100. Are there other pets you would love to get?