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4 Tips for Journal Therapy – How To Get The Most Out of Journaling

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So you’ve had a few sessions with your therapist and they introduce to you the concept of journal therapy. Their goal is to keep a log of your progress, feelings and emotions to help further your reflections on your condition as you go through it as well as to create actionable ways to combat reactions. Week to week, chances are your therapist will lack insights into how your condition affects you and this can be very useful once in the hands of a practitioner.

Journals have been used for many years to help a running log of a person’s life or emotional state and the popularity of journals is only growing as their reputation spreads. Journal therapy is very similar to the popular technique of talk therapy used by many therapists to help you express your emotions by vocalizing your experiences.

We’d like to recommend a few ways that you can start using a journal to master your day.
These are all recommendations and advice for newbie journal users. Let’s dive in.

Starting Your First Journal Entries

Your first few entries will be difficult, what do you write about…?! And how do you go about writing it? One of the best starting points is to date your piece. This simple and routine task will help to determine the date to which you’re writing on and will help you in the future to see the progress you’ve made.

Many people start their first entry off with a short outline of why they’ve been asked to create a journal. This is a very open way to begin your journal and can help set the tone. After this introductory piece, the first entries will be easier to write.

Writing up your feelings and emotions can be a good starting point, whatever stage you are in treatment. The act of journaling is to be reflective but also present, so sharing your current state of mood can help towards building the best outline of you journal.

From positive to negative emotions, making sure to log all entries to how you feel will capture all of your moments. Covering all of your potential drawbacks to the best of days, the journal will give your future self a view into your thought process. This can be extremely valuable as you reflect on your condition and ever feel the need to understand or look back on your emotional state later on.

Making sure you complete your journal on a routine basis during treatment can be tricky, with all of the many other things to do during your day, it’s another to add to the list. Setting a simple routine reminder on your smartphone or using the reminders of your journal app, can help you to not forget when you have to fill in your journal entry.

Now, you’re sold on journal therapy, let’s dive into some useful tips for making the most of your journal.

How to get started with journaling _ quote 1

Writing Tips for Journal Newbies

1.  Picking A Journal App

Using an attractive journal will make writing a lot easier to come back to as a habit.

Thanks to the digital world that we live in today, it doesn’t have to be a physical notebook. There are plenty of ways you can log all of your emotions and thoughts digitally, securely too. The smartphone in your pocket can become a tool for collecting those valued moments for later analysis. If you’re looking for a strong journal application, we’d recommend our own, Therachat.

Using this free, secure journaling tool with journal activities created by therapists, you can collect emotions, thoughts and document your state through this application. It’s recommended by many therapists and comes with built-in reminders. An added bonus for your schedule means, your smartphone is portable and easily accessible allowing you to add notes at any time of the day.

2.  Being Open

The best results of journaling come through being honest.

Inside of your journal, being as clear as you can with your emotions is valuable. Honesty in your journal breeds an opportunity to truly reflect on your emotional state. This open approach to your journal will help in real-time by providing you with the effective way to reflect on the events of the day or your feelings at that current time.

Getting started could be much harder when you need to be reflective. There are a host of prompts that can be made available through your therapist or even online allowing you a strong starting point to kick off your entries. Here’s a great list of journal prompts to get you started.

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3.  Morning Entries

One of the recommended times to enter into your journal is in the mornings. This potentially quiet segment of your day provides a window to add to your journal, distraction-free. Many journal takers love to enter their thoughts during this period of the day, after a long sleep allowing them a feeling of creativity to kick off their day.

A popular author and leading podcaster, Tim Ferriss recommends to start off your journal practice in the mornings for 15-minutes. With a cup of tea or coffee, he’ll sit down and enjoy his practice reflecting on his thoughts at that current moment.

Of course, you are able to enter entries multiple times during the day, however, a morning entry could push start your day with a sense of control by reflecting on the day before, or the day ahead.

4.  Set a time limit

Your journal is a place to reflect. Once you get started, the practice is yours to adapt.

Setting a time limit for your entries is a good way to condense your writing and recap your emotions without the need for long entries. Many journal fans use time limits to keep things simple, setting a timer between 10 – 20 minutes long as a guideline to freely write about their emotions. If you see yourself as a slow writer, not a worry, set the timer to 30-minutes.

This has helped many of those journal users to keep on task and express all of their experiences in a healthy piece of writing.

how to get started with journaling _ quote 3

Using your Journal

Your journal practice will get stronger and stronger over time. Taking your journal with you across the day is important. Capturing the stressful moment, concerns, and experiences will help to provide a window of control and venting. A lot of journal users love to have a portable journal in their bags to grab at any point to share all of their experiences.

Coming back to remind yourself to do your journal. A recommendation is to download a popular task manager like Todoist, or even Reminders on iOS to set recurring daily reminders on a routine, like journaling. Or you can use the built-in reminders a lot of journaling apps offer.

This will help reduce stress around making sure you are taking the time to do this.

Where to write? 

We’d recommend going with what suits you best. Many people use notebooks, others have migrated towards the digital applications. Digital tools can be scary. The act of downloading an application, writing on your iPad feels very alien to those who love the feel of a notebook, but it can appeal to many lovers of technology because it comes with added benefits of all entries being available 24/7, having built-in reminders and many more.

There are a host of digital journal tools available now for your iPhones and Android phones making your practice portable to wherever you go. The power of your devices allows you to add photos, videos, day information and much more about your day to your journal entries. If you’re a tech lover and following therapy, you can also recommend to your therapist. Through Therachat your journal entries will immediately be shared with your therapist so they can follow you in between sessions and provide actionable feedback, giving you the best result from entering into your journal.

So whether you’re keen to use your journal on your iPad or on a fresh-new notebook, it all works!

How can your Therapist use your journal entries?

Bringing your journal to treatment will help your therapist towards tailoring the session. Remember your therapist isn’t going to be there during the week so they will not know about all of the experiences that you encountered.

Like with anything new, journaling will become easier to adapt to your daily routine. Making sure you add your entry will slowly become a habit, and your pieces will evolve into a fluid piece of writing perfect for assessment from your therapist if that’s the path you choose. Rounding up, through the use of a journal, will help to fill in the gaps and help to customise future sessions with you accordingly. For many therapists, clients (you) having a journal is a perfect way to enhance your treatment and further extend your homework to benefit your condition.

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Journal therapy is one of the many helpful resources for those suffering from mental health issues as it helps to develop a healthy routine of reflection and documentation. Make sure to follow along with our Blog to keep updated with all of the journal-related advice you need!

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Let us know in the comments below about whether you’ve ever tried a journal or have considered it? Or if you’re a journal pro, feel free to share what works for you!

Managing Anxiety – Advice from Influencers with Anxiety

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Dealing with an anxiety or any mental health condition can feel overwhelming at times, but you’re not alone. We see a range of people conquer anxiety in small doses or even huge leaps and taking control of their day. Stress and anxiety are not discriminative to who they target and can become a part of anyone’s life, at any age, at any stage in their life. There are even celebrities and influencers with anxiety.

It’s important to realize that it’s not just you suffering from this condition. Many of the Hollywood stars or online influencers have also faced this.

Some of them might have been able to control, manage or conquer their anxiety completely, allowing them a platform to them share their experience. Others might have been very close to someone with anxiety or even been a researcher in this field, with some valuable lessons to share to the world in the same respect.

Here are some influencers with Anxiety and how they dealt with it.. [Read more…] about Managing Anxiety – Advice from Influencers with Anxiety

How to use Guided Meditation to Manage Anxiety

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Guided meditation is a great way to counter anxiety and is also one of the oldest forms of meditation practices. As early as the 12th century, Benedictine monks practised a form of Christian meditation that stated the involvement of steps into the process “read, ponder, pray, contemplate” giving some clarity on routine.

It wasn’t until the 1960’s that meditation became a practice for the masses were guided meditation classes, retreats and trips to spots like India and Asia were considered to be an effective way to meditate. Mediation became popular with successful artists and bands like John Lennon, the Beatles and lots more who influenced their generation.

[Read more…] about How to use Guided Meditation to Manage Anxiety

6 Simple Mindfulness Exercises to Improve Your Mental Health

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Mindfulness exercises for anxiety and stress are becoming increasingly popular at work and at home.

While it might sound difficult to add yet another to-do to your daily routine, mindfulness exercises don’t have to take long at all. Anywhere between 5 – 30 minutes will provide enough time to help subdue feelings of anxiety and stress.

Effective mindful routines and exercises can help you to take control of your stress, anxiety and improve your overall mental health as mindfulness exercises provide a break for both your mind and your body during a stressful day at work or at home. [Read more…] about 6 Simple Mindfulness Exercises to Improve Your Mental Health

What is Anxiety and How Does It Work?

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What is anxiety? Anxiety is a mental health disorder that affects millions of people around the globe.

Diagnosis is tough. And in the US alone, a study suggests that 1 in 20 US adults are misdiagnosed due to medical errors. For doctors and those in the medical profession, getting this wrong can affect the course of treatment for those suffering anxiety confusing with symptoms of depression, stress and other mental health disorders.

Depression is one of those disorders that is commonly misdiagnosed. Due to the nature of the symptoms, depression can be mistaken for PTSD, anxiety or even bipolar disorder, which demands a very different set of medical treatment.

So with these misdiagnoses on the rise, with over 12 million errors, how do we know that you have anxiety? [Read more…] about What is Anxiety and How Does It Work?

Overcoming Anxiety: How to Take Control of Your Anxiety

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Overcoming anxiety is one of the most challenging and personal journeys you can embark on.

Defining success when challenging anxiety is not wildly diverse, though. For most, success means taking back control and overcoming their anxiety.

Anxiety isn’t something that can be cured overnight. And many anxiety sufferers have combatted anxiety for many years, even some for most of their adult lives before they finally overcome it.

Just over 18% of the adult US population suffer from a type of anxiety – costing the US over $42 billion a year, almost a third of the entire total US mental health bill.

In Northern America, prescriptions for mood-altering conditions shows us the extent of use with 43% of the North Americans taking these on a daily basis.

And according to leading healthcare organization, NICE, in the UK alone, anxiety and depression affect 7,8% of people. Further NHS research also states that that 1/5th of days in the UK are lost due to anxiety and depression.

So what can we do to combat and overcome anxiety?

How to Treat Anxiety

The great news when it comes to overcoming anxiety is that there are millions of successful case studies and roads to success.

Planning your first moves

Overcoming anxiety often multiple tiered approaches, using a range of mindfulness practices and much more.

A three step approach like the below could be a good place to start:

  1. Speak with a doctor: You should consult a doctor or GP to measure and quantify the type of anxiety you might be suffering from. From this diagnosis, you’ll have a more defined state of your anxiety with recommendations from a healthcare professional about how to control, manage and suppress your anxiety.
  2. Try a range of treatments: You’ll need to spend time with a range of treatments to find out what works best. From here you’ll be able to define the most effective treatments for you and the least effective. Remember that there will not be a single recipe that works for everyone. Check out some ways to overcome anxiety below.
  3. Weekly review: Set a time at the end of each week to discuss your progress. Spend some time looking back at the week. This simple process will provide you with a recall to your anxiety, progress you’ve made and help you set a course for the next week to which treatments to double down on or alleviate.

Overcoming Anxiety: 5 Treatments to Help You

Treatment 1: Herbal Methods

Herbal remedies won’t fix the problems overnight, but they can contribute to the big picture by providing a treatment method that avoids standard medicine.

Using herbal methods or medications to reduce the feelings of anxiety is a traditional way to use outside of mainstream medicine.

As natural remedies, there is a broad selection of teas, sprays, flowers, vitamins that can help assist your everyday efforts to curb your anxiety.

A few popular suggestions include;

  • Chamomile Tea – This popular brew has been noted for its health benefits. From soothing an upset stomach to reducing blotches on your skin. The tea not only reduces stress and anxiety but plays a major role in controlling your sleep, and sleep is a big factor when it comes to taking control of anxiety.
  • Lemon Balm – This calming herb is part of the mint family. The balm retains its classic mint flavor with a hint of lemon. Lemon balm is used to reduce the stress cortisol levels and brings relaxation in your body without drowsiness. Lemon balm is also used to help bring your mood up as well to combat your anxiety all round.
  • Green Tea – You may have heard of Green Tea and its benefits of weight loss. Well, Green Tea is a source of L-theanine, perfect for creating calming effects and relaxing your mind and body.
  • Valerian – Valerian Root, in small dosages, can be an effective way to reduce anxiety and stress. The remedy has been used for centuries, even in the Ancient Roman and Greek era, to help with stress, nervousness, insomnia and lots more.
  • St John’s Wort – With the botanical name, Hypericum perforatum, St John’s Wort is an over the counter remedy for anxiety, sleep issues and depressions. By increasing brain chemicals like serotonin and noradrenaline, the brain activity can react and regulates your mood.
  • Common Lavender – A simple one, for women, this can act as sleep inducer helping young people and females get to REM sleep and stage 2 sleep. According to research, the effects are reversed for men. Lucky for some.

Many of these remedies have been used for centuries as a way to naturally counteract our stresses like anxiety, sleep, and depression.

According to research, herbal medicine is the most popular complementary therapy, with the UK 34% of all of complementary medicine users turning to herbal treatments (Ernst & White, 2000).

These natural solutions can provide an individual combatting anxiety with some control of their feelings and emotions by taking them with a small break away from the noise.

Treatment 2: Meditation

Meditation has a multitude of benefits.

The effects of meditation on stress and anxiety have been documented over the last 20 years and is shown to be one of the most effective treatments for combatting anxiety.

Last year, a study from John Hopkins looked into the relationships between stress and meditation practices. The results uncovered that meditation could play a fundamental role in reducing the emotional effects of anxiety, stress, and depression. This study stands alongside many others that indicate the positive effect meditation has on mood and anxiety.

From extensive surveys of those who meditate and also suffered from anxiety, 60% of anxiety prone individuals after 6-9 months of meditation showcased notable improvements in their anxiety and stress levels.

As you can imagine, meditation won’t solely cure your anxiety but provides a sustainable way to help improve your mood, well being and stress levels.

Here’s how you can get started:

Try a 5-minute session

Starting with something simple like a 5-minute mindfulness exercise for anxiety can be an excellent way to get started. Find a place in your house, flat or somewhere quiet, and sit in a comfortable pose with a good posture. Set a timer for 5-minutes on your smartphone and attempt to blank your mind best you can. This easy 5-minutes will be a starting pillar to control your morning and evening routines. To enhance your meditations you could also try listening to some meditation music.

Attend a local practice

Your local area will typically have some form of meditation practice running, whether it is a community-run event or in your local Buddhist center, attending might be a nice step forward for your meditation. Being around others who want to improve themselves and escape anxiety might help you overcome your fears by listening to others. Try using an application like Meetup or Eventbrite to find all your local events.

Download a meditation app

Try a meditation application like Therachat (free), Headspace, Mindfulness, Aura or Calm to get started with a guided meditation. Guided meditations can help beginners get started with a simple meditation practice and help divert their attention during the meditation to something positive, further toning down feelings of anxiety.

 

Treatment 3: Yoga

Yoga is one of the fastest growing trends in the US and around the world as people are beginning to see the benefits for their everyday well being.

For anxiety, practicing Yoga on a weekly basis can help you to detox and improve your mental and physical strength.

Yoga is beneficial for those overcoming anxiety. For example it:

  • Helps to regulate your breathing
  • Reduces tension with from the body
  • Distracts our attention from concerns
  • Allows us to accept discomfort with our bodies
  • Detoxes the mind by following a set routine

The great thing about Yoga is that is easy to get started with. You can try downloading an app to help or even grab an older Yoga poses book from a charity shop, totally up to you.

According to a study in the US, 43% of those who do Yoga practice at home (US) and the other 40% attending Yoga studios with a trainer.

Thankfully Yoga is a very open experience and easy to get going.

Treatment 4: Counseling

Counseling is one of the best forms of support for those suffering from a combination of anxiety and depression.

Speaking with others provides an outlet to express emotions, worries, concerns, situations, and ruts that you may be in. “Talking therapy” as it’s known in the healthcare space can help to reduce feelings and the pressures of anxiety.

If you’re struggling with any of the following, talking therapy is recommended;

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • An eating disorder
  • Addiction
  • Phobias

Whether the counseling session is a family member or with a healthcare professional specialized in this form of therapy, providing this feedback helps to uncover hidden issues and speed up the rate of success, overcoming your anxiety.

Apps like Therachat go further with supporting the emotion tracking between psychologist and patient by providing a comprehensive app to track progress between each meeting to improve diagnosis, reporting, and treatments.

If you’re looking for progressive apps to help you with your anxiety management, try of these ten app recommendations.

Treatment 5: Reading

Like taking therapy, hearing other people’s experiences can provide you with a safe haven when suffering from anxiety.

Hearing that someone successful suffered from anxiety and managed to make it through might be an inspiration to you as you begin your journey.

Reading can be a great way to find these stories and help benchmark your emotional state and intensity of anxiety against the experience of others. Find biographies, self-help books and even health specific ones to kick start your insight into control.

Here are a few recommendations from the health care community;

We wish you all the very best as you get starting combating and treating your anxiety.

Kouris Kalligas

CEO & Co-founder of Therachat