I’ve never been one to understand my thoughts and feelings properly. With a million notions in my head, I found the best way to express my ideas into words clearly is through journaling. Here is what helped me and I hope can help you!
Write your worries
What helps me when I am super stressed out is to just word vomit all over the page. I just write out every single thing that is stressing me out at the time or stressors that could potentially happen, and it feels so good to have your thoughts out laid in front of you. Keep going until you’ve written everything that you can get off your chest. I usually tend to journal in messy cursive writing because it’s faster and I can write as fast as my mind goes. Also no one will be able to understand it except for you!
Reflection
Take a deep breath and look at what is written in front of you. Reflect on your concerns and look at the situations that are out of your control. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- What are some facts that support this concern? What are some facts that go against this concern?
- How likely is it for this situation to occur? How are you so sure?
- What are the positives to the potential situation? Can you make the outcome positive? Can it be neutral?
- What situations can you control? Cross out the concerns that are not in your control. Leave it to the universe.
Challenging your thoughts can provide you with some stress relief and a better outlook on certain situations. It helps you see your concerns from a different perspective, and realize that it’s not as bad as you think it is going to be.
Journal prompts
Journal prompts are a great way to practice having a healthy mindset. Here are some journal prompts I like to use to self-reflect and plan.
- What are 5 things I am grateful for?
- How can I make today better than yesterday?
- What stressors can I let go of?
- Who or what can I embrace today?
- I am… ( 3 positive affirmations)
- How can I show others love today?
- I need to prioritize…
- These things are holding me back…
- I need to let go of…
- What is one step I can take to get me to a positive mind set?
- Where are you feeling stuck?
- Where are you feeling growth?
Journaling is a powerful stress-management tool to organize and examine your thought process. It helps reduce my anxiety, lessens feelings of distress and increases my state of mind. Not only is it a pretty simple tool, it’s enjoyable. Sometimes I even doodle alongside my word jumbles! These methods of journaling are what helps me and I hope it can help you as well.