{"id":100553,"date":"2018-11-29T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=100553"},"modified":"2023-03-10T10:33:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T10:33:39","slug":"how-to-use-a-self-help-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-use-a-self-help-journal.htm","title":{"rendered":"How to Use a Self-Help Journal to Improve Your Moods"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_100559\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6227229093_3ede2bc18e-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100559\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6227229093_3ede2bc18e-1-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"self help journal\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6227229093_3ede2bc18e-1-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6227229093_3ede2bc18e-1.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-100559\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/emmalarkins\/6227229093\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Emma Larkins<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you heard about keeping a \u2018self help journal\u2019? But found it hard to believe<\/strong> writing about your daily life would help with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/anxiety-vs-depression.htm\">anxiety and depression<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Journalling can be far more than logging events.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">[Feel like journaling isn&#8217;t going to cut it, and you need help, fast? <a href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Mid%20Post\">Book an online therapist now<\/a>, be talking to someone as soon as tomorrow.]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5 Ways to Use a Self-Help Journal to Improve Your Moods<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at new ways you can use journalling to ease\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dealing-with-anxiety.htm\">anxiety<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/types-of-depression.htm\">depression<\/a>, as well as many other benefits.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">1. Record your feelings and moods.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Instead of just recording what happened to you, record <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-listen-to-yourself.htm\">what you are feeling and thinking<\/a>. This can serve a very practical purpose &#8211; you can track your moods.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You can start to notice what is triggering your<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-does-therapy-help-anxiety.htm\">anxiety<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/guilt-and-depression.htm\">depression<\/a> that you hadn\u2019t recognised before. And when you are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/depression-vs-sadness.htm\">feeling overwhelmed by low moods<\/a> you can look back in your journal and remind yourself that you are not always this way. Things will change.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Struggle to know your feelings?\u00a0 Just keep<\/strong> trying. A surprising starts to happen &#8211; you start writing things you didn\u2019t even realise about yourself. It can feel as if your hand knows you more than your head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>self awareness<\/li>\n<li>optimism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">2. List five things you are grateful for daily.<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_100558\" style=\"width: 313px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/36839508431_bb102af116.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100558\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100558\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/36839508431_bb102af116-303x400.jpg\" alt=\"self help journal\" width=\"303\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/36839508431_bb102af116-303x400.jpg 303w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/36839508431_bb102af116.jpg 379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-100558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/53272102@N06\/36839508431\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Abhijit Bhaduri<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Yes, you\u2019ve probably heard it before. But gratitude is so talked about as it really works<\/strong>\u00a0(read our article on &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/practicing-gratitude-mood.htm\">How Gratitude Changes Your Mood<\/a>&#8221; to learn the science behind it).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Write down five things you are grateful for daily, even if they are small things that only make sense to you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Try to actually <em>feel<\/em> grateful as you write them. If you can\u2019t muster any feeling, you might be<\/strong> writing down what you think you<em> should<\/em> be grateful for over what <em>actually<\/em> makes you feel good. Find something you connect to more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>better moods<\/li>\n<li>higher productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">3. And list your accomplishments, too.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Think of it as your \u201cI am proud of me\u201d list.<\/strong> This idea is actually influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-london.htm\">cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)<\/a>, which can see you track what you actually do with your time. The idea is that a lot of anxiety and depression can come from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/overcoming-fear-of-failure.htm\">feeling like we are a failure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Many of us tend to entirely overlook our own accomplishments, or <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/comparing-yourself-to-others.htm\">compare ourselves to others<\/a><\/span> so much we don\u2019t recognise our efforts.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>If you have had a challenging day where you feel nothing got done, look for<\/strong> small things you take for granted. You got your<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/student-stress-what-is-it.htm\"> kids to school<\/a> on time, you navigated that lunch meeting with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/is-dealing-with-difficult-colleagues-affecting-your-mental-wellbeing.htm\">difficult colleague<\/a>, you finished the laundry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the days you are feeling useless, looking back at these lists can remind you<\/strong> how untrue this is. And it\u2019s also found that recording what we do achieve inspires us to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-set-goals-that-work.htm\"> keep achieving<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>set and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/new-year-goals.htm\">achieve more goals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/self-compassion.htm\">raised self-esteem<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">4. Work on some &#8216;balanced thinking&#8217;.<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_100557\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100557\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-100557\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/23697500545_4e04c1ee59-1-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"self help journal\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/23697500545_4e04c1ee59-1-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/23697500545_4e04c1ee59-1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/23697500545_4e04c1ee59-1-180x120.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-100557\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/14480409@N04\/23697500545\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Bruce Dall<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-techniques.htm\">cognitive therapy tool<\/a> you can try in your journal is called a \u2018thought chart&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A 7-step powerful process, it helps you recognise and challenge the thoughts that bring you down.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You challenge your thought by finding its opposite, and the facts that you actually have to support both sides. Read our article on &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/balanced-thinking-benefits.htm\">Balanced Thinking<\/a>&#8221; to learn the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It can feel a bit tiresome at first, but soon becomes addictive as you start to realise how much power you<\/strong> actually have to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-perspective.htm\">change your perspective<\/a> and moods.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Over time, the process becomes natural<\/strong> &#8211; you start immediately catching and challenging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thinking.htm\">negative thoughts<\/a> in your mind. And you stop spiralling out into low moods over small things.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>better moods<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/foggy-brain.htm\">clearer thinking<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">5. Try a &#8216;brain dump&#8217;.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/anger-and-personality-disorders.htm\">Feel furious<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/depression-vs-sadness.htm\">sad<\/a>, and don\u2019t know who to tell? Why not<\/strong> talk to the page?\u00a0It can be like fast-track therapy session. You feel much lighter after, and are less likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/psychological-projection-are-you-making-everyone-else-responsible.htm\">take out your bad mood on a loved one<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For this journaling technique, it can help to not use your actual journal but some loose sheets<\/strong> (or tear some pages out).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Promise yourself you will rip up the pages afterwards &#8211; this creates a safe space for your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-unconscious-mind.htm\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\">unconscious mind<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> to really unload.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>And then go for it. Write out anything and everything you feel, even if it feels<\/strong> childish, crazy, or downright mean. The page<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-stop-judging-others.htm\"> doesn\u2019t judge<\/a>. And nobody is going to see it, because it all gets ripped up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Write fast, messy, outside the lines<\/strong> &#8211; you don&#8217;t need to read it after.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/myths-about-mindfulness.htm\">feel calm<\/a> fast<\/li>\n<li>shift mental blocks and big emotions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Want to work with a cognitive therapist who can help you record your thoughts and start to change your moods? Harley Therapy connects you with some of London&#8217;s <a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-london.htm#view-therapist\">top CBT therapists<\/a> in central London locations. Or <a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">try our booking site<\/a> that connects you with registered and experienced UK therapists for <a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/therapists?location_type=skype&amp;utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">online therapy sessions<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-117271 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-150x150.png\" alt=\"Andrea M. Darcy mental health expert\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-e1675110089673.png 268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Andrea M. Darcy<\/b> left a career making a living as a screenwriter to follow her passion and become a mental health and wellbeing expert, training in person-centred counselling and coaching. Using the power of writing to process trauma is of great interest to her. Find her on Instagram @am_darcy<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Andrea M. Darcy Have you heard about keeping a \u2018self help journal\u2019? But found it hard to believe writing about your daily life would help with your anxiety and depression? Journalling can be far more than logging events. [Feel like journaling isn&#8217;t going to cut it, and you need help, fast? Book an online [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":100559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety-and-stress","category-depression","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Use a Self-Help Journal to Improve Your Moods - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can a self help journal really work to help you lower anxiety and depression and feel better? Absolutely. Try these five tips to get started\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-use-a-self-help-journal.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Use a Self-Help Journal to Improve Your Moods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can a self help journal really work to help you lower anxiety and depression and feel better? Absolutely. 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Book an online&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100553"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139174,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100553\/revisions\/139174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}