How does journaling help with mental health?

Some people think of journaling as a wellness fad, but it can be a practical and supportive way to check in with yourself and make sense of what you’re feeling. Research shows that regular journaling can reduce stress, ease symptoms of anxiety, major depressive disorder, and PTSD, improve emotional regulation, and even enhance physical health. 

Whether you use it on your own or combine it with other forms of treatment, journaling can go a long way in supporting your mental health. In this article, we share what journaling is exactly, how it helps, the benefits of journaling, and how you can get started. We also share lots of journaling prompts to help you out. 

What is journaling?

Journaling is the practice of putting your thoughts and feelings into words. You can journal on a piece of paper, on your computer, on your phone, or even by recording a voice memo. The goal isn’t to produce something polished or perfect, but to take a few moments to reflect on your internal experience and make sense of it in a way that feels supportive. 

Two of the most common types of journaling are:

• Expressive writing: This involves writing freely about your emotional experience (as opposed to focusing on the details of events)

• Gratitude journaling: This involves focusing on the positive aspects in your life that you’re thankful for. 

Journaling is widely used as a non-pharmalogical tool alongside medication and other mental health treatments. It can go a long way towards improving your awareness, developing self-compassion, and supporting emotional healing.  

How does journaling help?

Journaling is more than just going over the events of your day. It’s a process that allows you to slow down, observe your inner experience, and gain a fresh perspective. It can help you make sense of your thoughts and feelings without letting them take over. 

Here are some ways that journaling practices can help improve mental health outcomes:  

Regulate overwhelming emotions

Sometimes, putting feelings into words can reduce their emotional intensity. Studies show that naming how you feel (e.g. sad, anxious, bad, lonely, guilty) engages the brain’s logical centers and calms the parts responsible for emotional reactivity. By recognizing how you feel, you can pause, reflect, and regain control instead of being swept up in the moment.

Read: Depression in Adolescence: Key Factors and Strategies for Helping Teens Cope

Identify patterns and gain clarity

When you make journaling a regular habit, you start to spot patterns in how your thoughts, feelings, and circumstances react. This insight can help you understand what’s triggering emotional reactions, how certain situations affect you, and what might need to change. Over time, this awareness can help you respond more thoughtfully instead of reacting on autopilot. 

Improve relationships

Journaling can also improve your relationships by enhancing your ability to understand and express your emotions. When you’re more in touch with how you’re feeling, it’s easier to communicate clearly with others and reduce misunderstandings. 

For example, being able to say “I feel frustrated when I’m interrupted” can be very different from shutting down or lashing out at someone. This emotional clarity can help you better navigate conflict and build trust with others.

Mental health benefits of journaling

Now let’s take a look at some of the more direct benefits of journaling. 

Helps manage anxiety and stress

Writing down your thoughts can help stop them from spinning in your ahead. This gives you a chance to step back, reflect, and calm the nervous system. Over time, it might become easier for you to spot triggers, identify recurring stressors, and develop healthier ways to respond. 

Learn More: TMS for Anxiety: Benefits, Effects, and More

Increases self-awareness

Journaling helps you connect the dots between what you feel and why. By tracking your thoughts, moods, and behaviors over time, you might notice patterns. This improved self-awareness can lead to more thoughtful decision-making in your everyday life. 

Reduces brooding and rumination

Instead of obsessively rehashing a difficult event, writing about it with structure and reflection can help interrupt negative thought loops. We should make it clear here that time can help when it comes to this aspect: journaling is most helpful when it’s used to process events after you’ve gained some emotional distance. Otherwise, repetitive ranting or rehashing of the same unresolved issue can actually worsen distress and reinforce unhelpful thinking. 

Encourage positive change

Journaling can also help you clarify your priorities and set goals in your life. Gratitude journaling in particular – where you focus on things you are grateful for in your life – has been linked to increased optimism, improved sleep, and a greater sense of overall well-being. 

Keep Reading: How to Cope with Depression From Working at Home 

How to start journaling

Starting out with journaling doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need a fancy book or perfect handwriting. You just want to create space to tune into your thoughts and feelings in a way that feels supportive. 

Here are some tips to help you start journaling:

Start small and keep it simple

If you want to make journaling a habit, it’s important to keep it simple and doable. You don’t need to write pages and pages each day. Start with a short paragraph or even just a list. You might write about something that’s been bothering you, reflect on how you’re feeling, or note a few things you’re grateful for. 

If you’re struggling to know where to start, we’ve included some prompts in the next section. 

Choose a method that suits you

Some people love writing with pen and paper, others prefer typing or using a journaling app. You can even record a voice memo if you find it more natural to speak your thoughts out loud. Some other methods are visual journaling or bullet journaling. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as it feels comfortable and supportive. 

Pick a time of day that works for you

Some people like to journal in the morning to clear their head and set an intention for the day, while others prefer to write at night and reflect on the day. Choosing a time of day to write can help you stick to your journaling habit, but it’s also okay to be flexible and journal whenever you can.  

Let go of perfection

Your journal is your private space, so don’t worry about grammar, spelling, or structure. You don’t have to keep every entry and you never have to share it with anyone unless you want to. It’s okay if your entries are messy, emotional, or brief.

See: The Link Between Depression and Chronic Pain

Expect some discomfort and take breaks when you need

Journaling can sometimes stir up strong emotions. If a particular topic feels too heavy or you find yourself feeling worse afterwards, it’s okay to stop or take a break. If you find that journaling isn’t helping or feels too overwhelming, it may be worth speaking with a mental health professional who might be able to support you in a different capacity.

Journaling prompts to get you started

If you’re new to journaling, it can be tricky to know what to write about. Below, we offer some prompts designed for reflection and working through specific thoughts or feelings. Choose one that speaks to your current mood, or choose a few to explore over time. 

Everyday reflection prompts

These prompts are great for general journaling or when you want to check in with yourself: 

• How do the recent changes in my life make me feel?
• What am I most anxious or uncertain about right now? Where might that be coming from?
• What are three good things that happened today?
• What are three things I feel grateful for?
• What’s something I fear, and why?
• What do I genuinely enjoy doing, and what does it give me?
• How might someone close to me describe who I am?
• What would my very best day look like, and why?
• How would I respond to a difficult situation if I were being my best self?
• If I woke up tomorrow with everything I ever wanted, what would my life look like?

When you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed

These prompts can help ground you in moments of stress:

• What emotions am I experiencing right now?
• What physical sensations do I notice in my body?
• What thoughts or beliefs are fueling this feeling?
• What evidence supports these thoughts? What evidence doesn’t?
• What would my best friend or someone I trust say to me right now?
• What can I do to ground myself in this moment?
• Have I felt this way before? What helped me cope then?

When you’re feeling low or flat

These prompts can help you process negative emotions and gently lift your mood: 

• What am I feeling right now? Can I name the emotion?
• What’s happening in my body physically?
• Are there specific thoughts contributing to this feeling?
• Is there any evidence that challenges these thoughts?
• What’s one small thing I could do to feel a bit better right now?
• Who could I talk to or reach out to for support?
• What coping strategy has helped me before that I could try again?

After conflicts or stressful events

These prompts can help you move from a reactive state to a reflective state:

• What am I feeling right now, emotionally and physically?
• What message do I really want the other person to hear?
• Am I making any assumptions about their intentions or behavior?
• What are my boundaries or values in this situation? Are they being respected?
• How might the other person be feeling? Can I view this from their perspective?
• What actions could help us move toward a healthier resolution?

What the research says

For some people, journaling might seem like a popular wellness or self-help trend. But actually, it’s backed by decades of research. Here’s what some of the research says about journaling for mental health.

Expressive writing, which is focused on your innermost thoughts and feelings, can lead to measurable emotional regulation and physical health benefits. Studies show journaling can: 

• Lower blood pressure
• Improve liver and lung function
• Boost mood and psychological wellbeing
• Reduce depressive symptoms and avoidance behaviors
• Decrease mental distress  
• Lessen the number of doctor visits for stress-related concerns
• Shorten time off work following job loss
• Improve academic performance
• Decrease absenteeism from work. 

Capturing our thoughts on paper helps us accept our emotional experiences, which allows us to respond to stress with less self-judgement. This kind of emotional processing is associated with fewer negative emotional responses in daily life.

One meta-review found that journaling may be especially effective for women experiencing anxiety. The greatest benefits were observed in those who journaled for 30 days or more. 

Research also suggests that journaling can be especially meaningful for people healing from a traumatic event or navigating recovery. For example:

• Emotional expression through expressive writing has been shown to support emotional processing in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• In addiction recovery, journaling helped women in residential treatment build optimism, recognize progress, and connect with meaningful goals 
• Combining journaling with visualization techniques has also shown promise in supporting veterans and others coping with trauma. 

Journaling lets you step back from overwhelming thoughts so you see your experience more clearly. This distance, also called cognitive defusion, helps you observe your thoughts instead of being consumed by them. Over time, this can support greater clarity, acceptance, and goal-setting (Tartakovsky, 2022). 

Gratitude journaling, in particular, has been found to boost positive emotions and overall wellbeing. That said, doing it too often can become repetitive and actually reduce its impact. It might be more effective to write a few things you’re grateful for a few times a week rather than trying to do it every day.

Learn More: PTSD in Children and Adolescents

Support beyond journaling

Journaling can be a supportive way to explore your emotions and relieve stress, but it’s not a substitute for professional care. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or dealing with difficult emotions, you don’t have to go through it alone. 

At BestMind Behavioral Health, we offer evidence-based treatments for a range of mental health conditions, including medication management, telepsychiatry, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy, and esketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Our team is here to help you find the right approach for your needs and support you on your journey to mental well-being. 

Contact us to schedule a consultation or explore your options.