Self-Help: The Importance of Journaling

Anyone who suffers from anxiety, depression, panic attacks and many other mental health disorders knows that there are always those voices (your own) telling you less than desirable things about yourself.

This is one area of concern that has recently been brought to my attention and is really confusing and hard to figure out. How do you control what you say to yourself when you are SO used to the negative self-talk that you slam yourself with on an (at last) hourly basis. It really is a part of WHO I am. It sounds like a lot of work, and of course my first reaction is, "I will never be able to undo the damage that is done." As you can see I have a lot of work ahead of me.

From my own experiences through journaling I can clearly see the connection between how I talk to myself and anticipatory anxiety. Many times I can easily reverse what just happened in my head and realize that indeed I was the one who fed that monster. But it seems like such a natural think to beat myself up, it's almost as if it's as automatic as my breath or my heart beat. I'm really going to have to DIG DEEP to get to the root of my self talk, as you probably will too. Bad habits don't form overnight, and neither do they break at the speed of light.

You know that saying, "you cant love, unless you love yourself"? Unfortunately for those that suffer from self-esteem and self-image issues it has some truth to it. As you start journaling honestly how to are feeling, you may begin to see patterns. Patterns you would only be able to see through journaling. What has been most beneficial for me is being able to look back and really see and feel myself, almost as if I am viewing myself as a third person. You will see yourself in different lights, and this light will shed on some of the changes you need to make in order to get better.

You don't need to be an English major, just-start-to-write and see what happens. It doesn't have to be in essay form, or even in complete sentences. It can be words scribbled on a page. The pen and paper is the pathway of making what is in your brain some form of reality that you can make more sense of later on. 

Just WRITE!

For more information on journaling for mental health head Here.