Mindfulness Journaling for Wellbeing

Mindfulness journaling for wellbeing can help you quiet anxiety and develop your own personal version of stillness and inner peace. When it comes to mental health and wellbeing, journaling simply works. The Positive Psychology Program, an organization dedicated to improving wellbeing and mental health through the application of positive psychology, provides 83 sound reasons why journaling is an excellent healer of depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, and more. I’ve reaped the benefits of journaling, and I’m excited to announce that I’ve written The Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety that, in combination with mindfulness exercises, guides you gently on a rewarding journey to stillness and self-recovery.

Journaling is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time. –Mina Murray, fictional character, Dracula

Mina may exist in fiction, but her wisdom is quite real. In mindfulness journaling, you get to talk softly to yourself while simultaneously listening to and processing what you have to say. The depth of healing that can happen as a result is incredible. When you journal, you get anxiety and other problems out of your head and onto paper; likewise, you get your values, hopes, and dreams out of your head and onto paper, too. Your inner world comes into your private outer world when you journal. An article published by the Rochester Medical Center explains that, “Keeping a journal helps you establish order when your world feels like it’s in chaos. It helps you get to know yourself by revealing your innermost fears, thoughts, and feelings.”

Mindfulness Journaling for Wellbeing: Is There a Correct Way?

Anxiety likes to make us think in black and white, all-or-nothing terms. (Journaling, by the way, can help you become aware of this and other negative thought patterns you might hold onto without even realizing it. It can also help you discover how to replace those patterns with more helpful and accurate ones.) Life, though, isn’t black and white, nor is journaling. There isn’t necessarily a “right” and “wrong” way to journal. Journaling should be an activity you enjoy; therefore, you can journal in the way that feels right. Some people want blank pages, while others prefer prompts and direction. Many people like to write in complete sentences with structure, and many others prefer free form. Some make their journals colorful. Others prefer to write in pen and only one color.

Your journal is a personal treasure, and you can create it in any way you please. In this respect, there isn’t a correct or incorrect way to journal. There is just one exception. An “incorrect” way to journal is any approach that keeps you from moving forward at best and causes more problems at worst. Indeed, according to people in The Positive Psychology Program,

Simply putting words on a page will probably not get you all the benefits of journaling, but effective journaling can result in many positive outcomes and improvements to your quality of life.” – 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management

So What Is the Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety Like?

In The Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety, I sought balance. After all, one thing this journal can help you with is balance, evening out what’s important in your life. When you regain balance in your life, anxiety becomes still. While interacting with your journal will help you create balance, the journal is balanced in another way as well. You’ll find soft prompts, never bossy but firm enough to guide you. You’ll have plenty of space for free writing, too. Mindfulness exercises will help you quiet your anxious mind, and stunning artwork will enhance your appreciation of beauty. (I state this without ego, for an artist–not I–beautified the mindfulness journal.)

This journal is about development. With it, you’ll develop: