Positive Psychology reported: “Journaling requires the application of the analytical, rational left side of the brain; while your left hemisphere is occupied, your right hemisphere (the creative, touchy-feely side) is given the freedom to wander and play (Grothaus, 2015)! Allowing your creativity to flourish and expand can be cathartic and make a big difference in your daily well-being.” Normal journaling is a great way to brain dump and get your feelings out of your head while bullet journaling can keep your daily events and moods categorized. Interactive journaling with prompts can help you pinpoint specific parts of your day and can even be more therapeutic if you have chronic stress. As a busy mom, it is more difficult for me to journal normally so here are three books that I have personally tried and love.
Present the Workbook
Written by Kerri Hill, Present the Workbook, is a 365 day journey to keep you in the now of things. Each day you have a prompt that takes anywhere from five to ten minutes. The journal also includes affirmations at the bottom of each page or separating the other prompts. It is currently sold out, but you can purchase it here. This journal has personally helped me get through the first few months of pregnancy and helped me get out of my own head and focus on the things I have in my life now. I highly suggest this journal if you do not have a lot of time on your hands and you aren’t sure where to start in your journey of writing down your memories and feelings.
Wreck This Journal
This journal has been around since 2012 and is still popular to this day. Written by Keri Smith, this is for someone who loves art and being creative. This immersive, silly, but therapeutic journal creates a unique experience for anyone who wants to experience a new way of writing. We recently covered the benefits of coloring in adults so this is a great way to do both! You can purchase this book here!
3000 Questions About Me
This is a prompt driven journal with a simplistic design to keep you on task for the questions being asked. Published by Piccadilly Publishing, this is a great way to self-reflect and to get to know yourself better than you ever have before. This is a great way to spend time with your friends or significant others as well as you read them aloud if you are comfortable doing that as bonding time. One of the reasons why I like this journal the most was because it was simple, easy to follow, and it asked questions that you wouldn’t normally be asked by other people or even yourself. You can purchase this journal here.
What Journals Do You Like?
There are a lot of journals that can be purchased all across the book world, but not every journal is for everyone. Take your time to do the appropriate research to see which journal is best for you and your needs. There are specific journals for mental illnesses, chronic stress, students, adults, adolescents and more. Don’t be afraid To try different journals at once because I tried to at once and it was actually very therapeutic to go back-and-forth and not stay stuck on one journal for a period of weeks to months. Let us know if there’s any journal that you would like to see us try and review for the sake of mental health!
