How Journals Can Help Your Mental Health

I find that writing in a journal helps me a lot. Allowing myself to just write without judgement gets it out of my head. I can then tap on any issues that come up during the process. I love bright, colourful and arty journals.

I am loving Abby Wynne’s One Day at a Time journal. It has themes to explore each month and affirmations to keep me positive. As well as questions to help you reflect on how you feel.

Journal
Writing Journal

Inspirational Journal

I also have an inspirational journal. This is a bit like a vision board. I stick images, photos, quotes and anything else that I like the look of in it. It is really great when I am feeling a bit low or lacking motivation. I flick through it and immediately feel a bit better. Sometimes I open it randomly and it always falls open on a page that has a message I need to hear.

Journal
Inspirational Journal

I update it on a regular basis (usually once a month). I spend some time going through my magazines (e.g. Psychologies, Planet Mindful) and rip out anything that catches my eye. Then I lay out the clippings on the table and decide how I will match them together. I like to have themes to my pages, e.g. nature, inspiration, motivation, confidence etc.

I then cut them to size and stick them in my journal. When I have finished I like to review my new pages. I will then flick through it and find something that really resonates with me in the moment. This could be a new page or an older one. I like to keep this journal out on show all the time so that I remember to pick it up and use it when I need to.

Quite often we have these tools and we forget about them. That is why a vision board or journal like this is handy to keep in view.

Self Care

What is also helpful is writing a list of self care activities that you can do when you need to. That way you don’t need to think about it too much. Your brain is not very good at thinking when you are in need of some self care! Again you could have a separate journal or use your writing or inspiration journal. Make your list colourful and pretty so that you feel uplifted by it when you see it.

If you would like some self care ideas you can read this blog post.

Happy journaling!

Louise

Keeping Notes

When we work with EFT our emotions, thoughts etc are often changed for the better. Our stress and anxiety is reduced, our body feels better and it is sometimes hard to believe we ever had a problem. The reason we take note of the intensity of the issue is to keep a track of the problem and ensure we are making progress.

I advise my clients to make some notes too.

EFT - Write a list
Write a list of what you tapped on

It doesn’t have to be a long journal. It could be as simple as the following:

  • Original emotions and their intensity
  • All the aspects
  • Main tapping statements
  • Intensity levels as they change
  • Insights/Learnings

Just jot them down as a list or a mind map. This can be really helpful to look back and see how far you have come.  We all have times where an issue seems too much or overwhelming and it can be helpful to remember we have made progress in the past. Of course, if you do get stuck please be sure to get some help from a qualified EFT Practitioner.

I hope you find this useful.

Keep tapping
Louise