4 Alternatives to Journalling For Your Mental Wellbeing

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Life can quickly become overwhelming, from work responsibilities, managing a busy home or dealing with the kids’ school routines. With so much to balance every day, it can be difficult to switch off and truly relax, which can take its toll on your mental wellbeing. But while journalling is often cited as the go-to for your mental health and self-care, it’s not for everyone. 

Journalling certainly offers many benefits for calming a racing mind, seeing problems from a new perspective and getting creative. But if you’re not a natural writer or you prefer to stretch your creative muscles in a different way, it can be hard to make journalling part of your routine. Luckily, you can redefine what journalling looks like for you based on your own interests, so you can still experience the mental health benefits. 

Why are creative activities so beneficial for our mental health?

Hobbies provide you with time in your schedule that’s just for you. It’s responsibility-free to reduce stress, take your mind off work and household chores, and it’s the perfect way to unwind when you’re feeling overwhelmed, to help you recharge your batteries, and that’s essential for your mental health. 

There’s no denying that when your mental health is low, and you’re struggling with the likes of depression or anxiety, medical intervention such as prescription medication or talking with a therapist or someone you trust can be incredibly effective. But doctors are increasingly turning to social prescribing for their patients too, because it can be an effective way to boost your mood and promote relaxation. 

Hobbies and creative tasks put you in a soothing state of flow where you become engrossed in what you’re doing, which takes your mind off stress and worries, so you aren’t ruminating on the past or fearing what’s to come in the future. It gives your mind a break and provides you with a sense of control, as well as building your confidence and your skillset. If journalling isn’t an activity you can get on board with, or creative writing doesn’t come naturally to you, there are alternatives that offer similar benefits but don’t require a pen and paper. 

Photography

Many experts now recommend mindfulness as a way to improve brain and body health, and at its core, it involves paying attention to how you feel and what’s going on around you in the moment. Meditation is often cited as one of the ways to reap the rewards of mindfulness, but picking up your camera can offer the same benefits while also allowing you to get creative in the process. 

Photography gets you out of your head and your home, and it’s an opportunity to meet other people, explore new places and preserve memories. All you need is a camera to get started and you can dive into the basics of composition, lighting and more. It’s an activity you can really delve into and experiment with, which is great for creativity and mindfulness. Similar to journalling, you could even take a photo each day to capture the moment and your mood to look back on. 

Voice notes

Writing your feelings down may not be an option, but what about speaking? Speaking out loud forces you to really process how you’re feeling and engages different areas of the brain, and with voice or audio notes on your phone or computer, you can talk to yourself out loud whenever a thought strikes or an emotion overwhelms you. 

You can even use journalling prompts to guide your ‘conversations’, such as something you want to let go of, things you’re grateful for in your life and challenges you’re facing at that point in time. Voice notes shouldn’t just be for negative emotions though. Use them as a platform for positive self-talk and affirmations to boost your self-esteem and mood. 

Art journals

Painting and drawing can be a healthy distraction from negative thoughts, and it provides a sense of accomplishment too. You can use an art journal to collate your creative works and memories, whether painting is your artistic medium of choice, sketches or collage. Your art journal could even be a form of scrapbooking where you keep mementos, photos and quotes in addition to your own sketches and paintings. 

Remember, just as a journal is meant as a judgement-free space where you can offload your inner thoughts, your art journal should also serve as the same, so don’t create pressure for yourself for everything to be perfect. If you’re someone with high functioning anxiety, in particular, there can sometimes be this need for everything to be perfect which in itself exacerbates the anxiety. Use your journal as a place to experiment, create without overthinking and just enjoy the process of drawing or painting for yourself. 

Music

Music has a huge impact on our mood and our mental health, whether it’s listening to music or playing. It can help to reduce stress and anxiety, and evoke happy memories while simultaneously helping us enjoy the present moment. Playing music can help to improve your mood, gives you a sense of accomplishment and is soothing to the mind, making it a great way to improve your mental wellbeing. 

You could even create music based on different periods of your life or different moods, in a similar way to how you would journal to reflect challenges and successes in your life, day by day. If you’re not already skilled in music playing, why not take classes to learn an instrument that interests you, such as the piano or guitar? It can transform an activity into a solo endeavour into a social one, where you can learn a skill, improve your mood and meet new people. 

Journalling is beneficial for your mental wellbeing, but it’s not the only way to calm a racing mind and enjoy the present moment. From capturing photos of the world around you to putting your thoughts into audio form, think outside the box and find a creative outlet that reduces stress and encourages mindfulness. 

This is a collaborative post.

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