Anyone keep an anxiety journal?

I've heard that one of the most useful things you can do for your anxiety is to keep a journal and write down your thoughts and feelings when you're feeling anxious, depressed or when you're just having a rough day. I was curious if anyone here has kept a thought/anxiety journal and if that helped them out at all? Thanks!

[mn15]

I use notes on my phone. It’s something I can do anytime as something starts to bubble I can rewrite it Down. I find it helps me keep track and I start to notice patterns and just getting it out of my head for a few minutes really helps!

[Hidden in reply to mn15]

I have Notes on my phone for grocery lists but never thought to use it that way! Thank you for your input, I appreciate it!

[Isaack]

Nope. Does it help??

[Simonn]

Ive read it helps but not tried

[claire0410]

I call it my "worry" journal. I think it helps to try and put things in some kind of perspective. It doesn't make it go away, but I do get some comfort from writing my thoughts and fears down on paper. If I'm really having a bad day, I find sometimes I can't do it - my thoughts are just swirling and I can't focus. It also helps to reread what I've written especially the "good" days. It makes it easier to realize that there are quite a few good days and they will come again.

[Hidden in reply to claire0410]

Reading/writing about the "good" days are another reason I've been thinking about keeping a journal of some sort. In the midst of an anxiety/panic attack or when I'm having a really rough day, it's easy to feel totally consumed by all the negative thoughts and forget that there are a lot of positives in life as well. Perhaps in those tough moments, reading back on a good day/experience can help put things in perspective.

[HearYou]

Yep, at least a page a day in notebooks, along with when and what medication I take and how I am feeling at that moment, as well as how I slept, etc. Not a pretty neat note each day, but notes none the less. Also helps as a record, such as my mood is changing, can go back and see when I began to notice that and what was happening.

[Hidden in reply to HearYou]

Thank you for your input, it's great to hear from others who have tried this and how it has helped them. The more I read about journaling and read the responses above, I lean more and more towards doing it

[HearYou in reply to Hidden]

Nawww, you don't lean, you just jump into it! Used to call them "diaries", but journal sounds more sophisticated.

[Hidden in reply to HearYou]

Calling it a "diary" is one of the reasons I stopped writing in one once I reached adulthood - it didn't sound like something I should keep doing once I hit 18, it felt too childish. It's a shame though, so much has happened in my life over the last 10 years, I wish I had been writing it down!

[claire0410 in reply to Hidden]

Call it whatever you like! I just use a spiral and write away. It can't hurt to try writing and see if it helps. I'm pretty much for trying something to help me feel clearer about what's going on in my head!

[Sprinkle1]

I like it, I have several books covering my depressions, it always makes me feel like I am doing something worth while, I call it journaling, some days are rough, and I get little breaks, I like it when I read back and see how I am progressing, it encourages me to fight this evil creature in my brain, the amygdala it has gone haywire and I want it to work properly. I have been sick for 10 months now, and I am so fed up with it, but I know it Will end. So give it a try it may help you find your way thru your suffering. I send you peace, love & a Big Hug. Sprinkle 1

[km147]

Hi,

I am actually afraid to record any of my thoughts on paper or on my computer in fear that someone will find it. I even use a private browser on my computer to come on to this site. I am very private about this website and no one in my life knows that I am using it. posting here feels safe enough to me so I feel that this is sort of my anxiety journal. I think it's great way to gather your thoughts. Sometimes I read my old posts and I am actually better able to self analyze. I feel that might be the case with your anxiety journal.

[tiredbbygirl]

yes! i have a journal that i write in when i get anxiety or a panic attack even if the sentences are short and broken off it helps to write out everything thats going on in my brain or how my body is feeling from the panic. it brings me back to earth so to speak.

[reinagrace]

Hi Hidden yes i do and in fact when i reply to people here i often advise them to do so also. it's in a document on my computer that i call "Tracking". It's separate from my regular journaling, which is another document. I keep track of my bad episodes, and my very few good ones, to see if i can find patterns and prevent triggers. Some things are very obvious- like pms- i always have worse anxiety and insomnia the week before my period- so i correlate the anxiety tracking document with calendar for periods. I see patterns come up, like for example if i watch too many crime shows or movies about serial killers that are too dark- those make my insomnia and nightmares worse. in bad episodes i write every single thing of that day, what i ate, smelled, saw, who i talked to etc, bc even smell can be a trigger. Also if i try a new supplement and suspect it made anxiety worse instead of better, i can look back to past episodes to see if the supplement was part of that bad day. plus it helps just to vent- like if i had some unpleasant debate with someone on a particular day on a heavy topic. i definitely learned that i have to avoid the news, period, for my sanity bc when people bring up bad events in the news- i look back at my anxiety tracking document and can see a link for sure with heavy news and worse anxiety. i pray for the major problems of the world daily, and donate when i can to causes like hunger and preventing sex trafficking of children- but aside from praying and donating, there's nothing i can do about world's problems so i don't need to be knowing what's going on in the news. to sum up yes tracking episodes helps, to find and avoid triggers, and also to see what can help bring more good episodes. Blessings

[misterericsir]

I have kept a journal ever since my last (and hopefully final!) hospitalization for depression and anxiety. I try to write in it faithfully every morning, recaps of yesterdays events, encouraging phrases I have learned (live moment by moment, now is not forever, etc). I sometimes write prayers for things I need like hope, strength, peace and relaxation. I even lie to myself, saying things like today I am so excited to go to work, I look forward to some event that I really don't even want to go to etc. I found that the old saying is true, if you tell yourself a lie long enough it becomes true to you. Without my journal I don't know how I would have made it thru the last 2 years; my wife moving out with my daughter and son, losing a part-time job, having to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet. But each day is a blessing (a lie? that I have come to believe because I have written it so many times). I would suggest starting a journal with nothing more than the intention to write something each day. Your mind and heart will eventually lead you to what you need to put on paper. Funny thing is I look back on the journal notes I wrote in the hospital and some of them are the exact same positive things I am writing now. The only difference is that now I believe the words I write.

[Hidden]

Thanks to all of your for your insightful posts! This has helped me out immensely and I really appreciate getting your perspectives on journaling!

[Gratis43 in reply to Hidden]

I read somewhere that it doesn’t matter if you write or not. Only write when you “ feel” like it! My counselor is also pushing my writing down my thoughts. Sometimes I do, and sometimes not. Either way it seems to help.