Starting a Therapy Journal
(I tried to paint a lotus on the cover, but it turned out looking more like a demonic clown)
There are a lot of different therapy journals out there. Some involve art, post-counseling reflections, meditation reflections, poetry, etc. Therapy journals aren't just for people who are in counseling or rehab. In my opinion, everybody should have a therapy journal. Having a therapy journal is one of the ways that you can focus on self-care. It can be a space where you go to get rid of frustrations or use your creativity to free you from living all day in the left side of your brain. It is a wonderful opportunity that can help increase your mood and health.
When I first looked into the idea of starting a therapy journal, I hit the books (and by "the books" I mean "the Pinterest"). There were so many different options. Immediately the left side of my brain took over. I started thinking of how many different notebooks I would need to buy in order to properly organize my therapy. Organize my therapy. Do you see the problem? If not, don't worry; I didn't either. For awhile I couldn't even start a therapy journal, because the perfectionist in me wanted to plan out the entire thing and edit it before I touched my pen to its precious pages. After-all, paper doesn't grow on trees.
I also searched for different step-by-step instructions on how to make a therapy journal. However, using my new skills of mindfulness, I realized that approaching my therapy journal like that was NOT helping. In fact, it was causing me more stress. When you are starting your own therapy journal, remember that there is only one wrong way to do a therapy journal. If your therapy journal is causing you more grief than relief, you are doing it wrong. Other than that, you can do whatever you like.
For my therapy journal I decided to let myself have complete freedom in it. In that space, I can write whatever I like. I do my best not to edit myself; my therapy journal is my judge-free zone. I allow myself to acknowledge my emotions and deal with them in a healthy way. Some pages I took a lot of time on and made them look cute, while others I just scribbled some words or some lines and called it good. I did whatever I needed to on that day to take care of myself. In the end, that is what it is all about: taking care of yourself.
Here are some of the pages in my therapy journal, just to give you an idea of what my therapy journal is like. This first one was just a space for me to draw my anger and frustration.
I also will just put quotes that really speak to me in my journal.
On this page, I drew myself as confident and conquering. I would really recommend drawing yourself as a powerful figure, or drawing yourself as successful. It really boosts the self-esteem. Drawing yourself in a positive light also helps you focus on all of your favorite qualities within yourself.
I will also include pages where I write ways I can love myself better, my goals, things that I love about myself, things that I can accomplish, things that I have accomplished, and any other list that helps me focus on things that are good about me. I enjoy that time where I give myself undivided attention, and I always come away feeling better.
I really like this page. I just doodled a calming image. Now, whenever I look at this page, I just feel peace.
Having a therapy journal can help with anything. Mine is catered towards body image, anger, anxiety, and depression, but yours can be catered towards whatever you feel would benefit you the most. It will probably be completely different from mine, and that is wonderful!
Take care of yourself and love yourself. You deserve to find happiness, and you are worth spending time on.
Stay posted for my first workout video that I will (hopefully) be putting up sometime within the next week.