If you have suffered from an anxiety disorder, you can understand the magnitude of the impact it has on a person’s well-being. For some, it can look like constant racing thoughts, a feeling of impending doom that won’t dissipate or a tightness or weight on your chest. Anxiety makes functioning in life incredibly hard for those who experience it and often, suffer with it quietly. While there are several treatment options for anxiety; medication management, talk therapy, exercise, etc., it can be difficult to find the right balance of treatment options to best suit your individual needs. One of the many positive methods to alleviate symptoms of anxiety is journaling. It can be hard to imagine that something so simple as writing can be so beneficial, but journaling has several powerful benefits for the anxious mind. Keep reading to learn more about how to use journaling with anxiety and some tips for maximizing this tool in your treatment tool belt.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are an incredibly common, and incredibly difficult mental health struggle to face. Unfortunately, anxiety plagues 18.3% of the population above the age of 18 – but this does not include the population of children and youth who are also impacted by anxiety. It is commonly misunderstood that anxiety is simply a feeling of general overwhelm or stress that everyone feels from time to time, but anxiety disorders go much deeper than that. While some anxiety is isolated to a specific event and a finite amount of time, that is not the case for most people with an anxiety disorder. If you have yet to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but are concerned that you may be experiencing one, it’s in your best interest to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health specialist to receive the proper diagnosis and care.

It is always best to be aware of your mental health and acknowledge any signs or symptoms you may feel that aren’t within your range of “normal”.

Some symptoms of anxiety include:

• Tense or unable to relax

• Constant sense of dread

• Always fearing the worst-case scenario

• Out of touch with reality

• Restlessness or inability to sit still

• Sweating or hot flashes

• Rapid heart rate

• Fast breathing

• Sleep disturbances

• Light-headedness

• Upset or “nervous” stomach

If you are experiencing any or all of those symptoms on a consistent basis, there may be more occurring than situational anxiety. Receiving the best care and treatment for mental illness is the best course of action and will help you to find a place of mental wellness as quickly as possible.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is the most common form of anxiety and impacts a great majority of the anxiety demographic. A person with GAD will experience the symptoms listed above on a consistent and ongoing basis. GAD can make it extremely difficult to function effectively in one’s day to day life, but there are also people who have what is called high-functioning anxiety. Those with high-functioning anxiety tolerate a moderate to severe level of constant anxiety symptoms, but typical suffer silently, working harder every day just to operate in a normal reality.

Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common of all anxiety types, but additionally there are several types of anxiety.

The most common types of anxiety include:

• Social anxiety

• Panic Disorder

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Phobias

• Separation Anxiety

The Purpose of Journaling in Anxiety

Part of facing a life with anxiety, is finding coping techniques to help make your life easier and your disorder more manageable. That typically isn’t a singular option, and those with anxiety tend to find a myriad of methods to use in their daily life to alleviate their symptoms. Journaling is one of those methods. It’s important to keep in mind that journaling does not serve as a substitute for professional medical help but should rather be looked at as a supplemental treatment method. Journaling looks different for different people and of course the type of journaling varies greatly – but the principles of journaling remain consistent.

There are several ways that journaling can help support your mind and body through struggles with anxiety. It may seem like a small or insignificant solution, but it carries with it a heavy impact. So much of managing high levels of anxiety is learning how to cope with the high stress and constant alarm of the symptoms. Whether that coping method be exercise or meditation, a person with anxiety establishes a special set of tools that help them cope with their constant anxiety symptoms. When someone chooses to journal for anxiety, there are many ways their mental health can benefit – but there are also many ways to choose to journal.

Many people assume that journaling can only mean one thing; sitting down and spilling your deepest thoughts, feelings and even your biggest secrets. But in actuality, journaling can be extremely intentional and constructive. And with the act of journaling becoming as so emphasized as it has recently as a means of aiding in mental health, the structure and methods behind have developed.

Some of the most popular types of journaling for anxiety include:

Bullet journaling – a more structured and organized type of journaling involving lists, bullet points, graphs and diagrams, as well as schedules and planning.

Expressive writing journaling – writing about your specific worries, stresses, traumas or specific experiences that are causing anxiety. Writing about those experiences and how they are impacting you from within is helpful in processing and resolving them.

Gratitude journaling – making a list, either simple or long-winded, of the things you are thankful for that day or in that moment.

Free writing journaling – involves writing all of your thoughts, emotions, ideas and experiences down in your set amount of time, with no structure or even really thought or direction. The idea is to get it all out on paper, without any hesitance.

How journaling can support someone with anxiety

1. It quiets the anxious mind.

When you sit down with your pen and paper, you immediately are placed in the present moment. You go from thinking about your surroundings, the never-ending list of things to do, and for those with anxiety, endless worries and fears about the future. When you suffer with anxiety, the most prominent symptom is a racing mind and constant fears and worries, both rational and irrational. Anxiety turns anything from the future into a catastrophe and often puts every thought and feeling through a pair of fear-filtered glasses. The beauty of journaling, is that it requires all of you. It demands your focus and, if you let it, allows the other worries you have fall into the background even if only for a short while. Getting your mind elsewhere and receiving a brief reprieve from your symptoms can benefit your anxiety significantly, and the benefits can last beyond just the journaling exercise.

2. Reduces stress.

Anxiety is your mind and body’s response to stress and stress is what occurs when there is a perceived threat. Those with anxiety feel an exponentially higher level of stress, as their mind and body see almost everything, both past and future, as a threat on their well-being. The stress that is driven by anxiety of any kind can build, accumulate and manifest physically, mentally and emotionally - stress takes an incredible toll on a person’s entire system. Journaling has been proven to relieve and reduce some of the stress that comes as a result of an anxiety disorder, which offers relief in many other areas of your life.

If a person turns to writing in their journal as a stress management technique when they are experiencing anxiety and stress, they are using a tool that will help them to address and process their perceived threats in a healthier and more productive way, which in turn will reduce the stress on their mind and body. Practicing and perfecting this skill makes a huge difference in anxiety disorders.

3. Supports body and immune function.

Like mentioned above, stress takes a huge toll on the health of your body. Consistently high cortisol levels (the stress hormone), depletes your system and makes you more susceptible to illness. When you journal for anxiety and in turn reduce stress, your body is better able to cope, take care of itself and rest in the lower levels of cortisol; therefore, giving it the ability to fight off illness and keep you safe. Journaling has been proven to improve immune function, as well as other organ function including your liver, kidneys, heart and lungs. So next time you are considering journaling as a means of therapy, think of all the ways it will help you on the inside as well.

4. Improves overall well-being. 

Writing in your journal is beneficial to your symptoms of anxiety, your physical health and also just good for the soul. Establishing healthy habits like journaling, fills your day and life with positivity and better health; which we should all strive for whether there is an anxiety disorder present or not. Journaling helps to process trauma and other challenges, freeing you of the heavy burden of carrying them in your day-to-day life, while it also gives you a really helpful and impactful coping mechanism that can support you through so much more than stress and anxiety.

If you begin a journaling routine in your life, you will notice huge improvements in many areas.

Journaling Tips

When you choose to start journaling, it can be difficult to know where to begin or how to get the most out of it. If you aren’t a regular or passionate writer, the act of journaling can feel foreign and unfamiliar. Refer to these tips to get started in an easier and more productive way.

 Use prompts.

As with many things in life and in mental health treatment, the hardest part can be just getting started. It helps to use prompts. Write down a topic, question or idea that you think of – and then spend the journaling time answering or elaborating on it. There are also amazing journals that have prompts in each page for you, which makes it that much easier to just sit down and write.

Establish a routine.

Make journaling a part of your every day. Have a time in the day that feels the best for writing and create a routine around that. It helps to have other habits surrounding the journaling such as making coffee or another daily task! Set a good stage for your journaling and make your surroundings appealing and comfortable to write in. All of these things will make journaling easier to integrate into your daily life.

Write unfiltered.

It’s common to feel like you need to censor yourself or write in a way that is appropriate for the eyes of readers. But the reality is that your writing is for you. The best and most impactful way to write is unabashed. When you write without thought, restriction or inhibition, you are more likely to actually reap the benefits of journaling.

Keep it simple. 

Try not to over complicate the process. It’s easy to overthink journaling and focus too much on what you should be doing or what you need to do in order to really see the positive impact. But truly, the simpler you can remain in your journaling, the more effective it will be. Instead of focusing on the big picture and what you want to accomplish, sit down and write about your struggles as simply and as gradually as feels comfortable to you. The end result will be the same or greater if you handle the process with care and write at your own, realistic pace. 

If you are facing an anxiety disorder, the first thing you should do is seek the help of a therapist or psychiatric specialist. They will be able to correctly assess your symptoms, diagnose you and then collaborate with you on finding the best course of treatment. Treatment can mean different things for different people and could include talk therapy, medication and other forms of home techniques to cope with your anxiety disorder.

Regardless of your course of treatment, integrating journaling for anxiety is an impactful and immensely beneficial way to support yourself in coping with your anxiety disorder.