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Keep A Journal For Mental Health

SUCCESS OVER STRESS

Keeping a journal can benefit your mental health. Anyone dealing with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or just day-to-day stress may find journaling to be a useful self-care tool.

There are no right or wrong ways to keep a mental health journal. Use the journal in whatever way is beneficial to you. Remember that a journal is a great tool, but it’s not meant to replace other forms of mental health treatment.

Getting started

1. Decide if you want to keep a paper or digital journal.

2. Set aside time to write each day. As little as five minutes a day can help, but write longer if you want or need to.

3. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. Your journal is a private outlet to express yourself. How it looks or sounds shouldn’t distract from the process of writing.

4. Let your journal be judgment-free. Journaling is a safe space to say whatever you feel you need to say without judgment, even from yourself.

Finding the benefits

Try these steps to get the most out of the journaling process:

1. Take time to write whatever is on your mind and any thoughts or feelings you are experiencing.

2. Look back over what you’ve written and reflect without judgment.

3. Consider what you might tell a loved one if they shared the same thoughts or feelings with you.

4. Reflect on how you could have reacted or responded differently.

Making a change

Journaling can be a powerful tool to create positive change in your thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Try these tips:

* Set goals or intentions and use your journal to record your progress or challenges.

* Track the types of stressors you encounter and watch for triggers or patterns.

* Challenge negative thoughts about yourself. Write down your good qualities and celebrate when you make positive choices.

* Write pros and cons lists to help you make decisions.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Good Cheer For Holiday Dieting 2

Weight Control

Big holiday coming up? Don’t panic. With a good game plan and strategic planning you and your diet can not only survive holidays but you can actually thrive on them. Holidays do not have to be a time of feast or famine-you can strike a happy balance between gorging and self-sacrifice.

* Review your eating habits from the previous year’s celebration. Does food take center stage at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, and other big holidays? Do you genuinely enjoy foods like fruitcake, for example, or do you just eat them out of custom and tradition?

* Decide which customary holiday food habits you could easily change. (If you like to cook out for the Fourth of July, for example, consider barbecued chicken without skin instead of hot dogs.)

* Before digging in at a big holiday feast, imagine how you will feel after eating it. Visualize the bloated, uncomfortable, and guilty feelings you’ve experienced on past occasions.

* Forget about being “perfect” on holidays. Stringent dieting may be unrealistic and you could sabotage your efforts by setting standards that are too high. Don’t set yourself up for failure by only thinking of what you can’t have. Concentrate instead on what is available on your diet plan.

* Learn to be festive without depending on alcohol. A drink here, a toast there-the calories of alcohol can add up. Substitute club soda or mineral water for alcohol.

* If you’re invited to someone’s home for dinner, ask if you can contribute a dish, then make it low-calorie. (And be sure to make plenty. Low-calorie foods are usually very popular.)

* Remember that the major purpose of the holidays is to enjoy family and friends. Food and alcohol are secondary factors.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Keep Track

Healthylife® QuitWell™

Part 3

Use a notebook, or a note in your phone. You can also find a sample scorecard at the end of this program.

Each time that you use tobacco or nicotine, mark down the time. If you have space to write more, jot down the trigger or what you were doing right beforehand. At the end of each day, add up your total for the day.

Do this for a few days to get an average. You many not use the same amount every day. Get your average for working days and days you have off. You will likely have different tobacco habits.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Good Cheer For Holiday Dieting

HEALTHY EATING

Big holiday coming up? Don’t panic. With a good game plan and strategic planning you and your diet can not only survive holidays but you can actually thrive on them. Holidays do not have to be a time of feast or famine-you can strike a happy balance between gorging and self-sacrifice.

* Review your eating habits from the previous year’s celebration. Does food take center stage during the holidays? Do you genuinely enjoy foods like fruitcake, for example, or do you just eat them out of custom and tradition?

* Before digging in at a big holiday feast, imagine how you will feel after eating it. Visualize the bloated, uncomfortable, and guilty feelings you’ve experienced on past occasions.

* Forget about being “perfect” on holidays. Stringent dieting may be unrealistic and you could sabotage your efforts by setting standards that are too high. Don’t set yourself up for failure by only thinking of what you can’t have. Concentrate instead on healthy options such as fruit baskets.

* Learn to be festive without depending on alcohol. A drink here, a toast there-the calories of alcohol can add up. Substitute club soda or mineral water for alcohol.

* If you’re invited to someone’s home for dinner, ask if you can bring a dish, then make it low-calorie. (And be sure to make plenty. Low-calorie foods are usually very popular.)

* Remember that the major purpose of the holidays is to enjoy family and friends. Food and alcohol are secondary factors.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026