How Journaling Helps With My Anxiety

If you’ve ever dealt with anxiety, you know how intrusive those thoughts can be. They circle, they repeat, and they get louder the more you try to quiet them. Well, that’s how it is for me — and honestly, there are still days when it feels like my brain just won’t stop.

One thing that’s made a huge difference for me, though, is journaling. When I first started, I didn’t even know what to write. It took me awhile to get into the habit. Eventually I just started dumping my thoughts—everything I was worried about, annoyed with, or scared of. And you know what? It actually helped.

On paper, my worries looked… smaller. Less powerful. What felt huge in my head was just a few lines of words. It was like giving my brain a chance to breathe.

Why It Works (At Least for Me)

• It clears mental clutter. My mind is like a browser with 50 tabs open. Journaling is like hitting the little “x” on some of them.

• It gives perspective. I started noticing that a lot of my worries were the same ones on repeat—and most of them never actually happened.

• It’s a safe outlet. Sometimes I don’t want to vent to anyone. My journal doesn’t judge. It just listens.

• It’s grounding. I love making it part of my daily routine. A few minutes with my journal feels like pressing “pause” on all the noise.

If You Want to Try

Here’s what worked for me (and maybe it’ll help you too):

• Don’t overthink it. Seriously, just start writing. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Some days I draw, some days I use stickers. Some days I write about what I did. It can be whatever you want it to be.

• Use prompts if you’re stuck, like: “What’s stressing me out right now?” or “One thing I can control today is…”

• Keep it short. Even 5 minutes is enough.

• Go back and read old entries sometimes—it’s a great reminder of how far you’ve come.

Journaling hasn’t magically cured my anxiety, but it’s made living with it so much easier. It’s become my go-to when my thoughts feel heavy and a great way to preserve memories.