Creating a Gratitude Journal & How it Can Help Promote Mental Health Wellness

Photo by Finde Zukunft on Unsplash

To learn more about Gratitude Journals and how they can help with mental health wellness, you must first know what gratitude means. The definition of gratitude is, “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation and return kindness.” Gratitude is focusing on the positive and good things in our lives, and being thankful for what we already have.  

A gratitude journal can be a little journal or notebook where you can jot down things that you are grateful for, something that made you happy during the day, or even positive affirmations for yourself for the day. You can even create a gratitude journal on your phone or by using a word document on your computer. There are even some apps that you can download on your phone that are for creating gratitude journals.

Here is an example of how I used to set up my gratitude journal (I always filled mine out at night, but the morning also works for people too):

I used to write down three to five things for each Category;

• I would write down things or people that I am grateful for such as my family, my best friend since I was 12-years-old, and my ability to be creative.

• I would write positive things that have happened which could be something like, I got a promotion, I got a pay raise, or I got to catch up with an old friend.

• Then, I would add a list of goals for myself no matter how small or large they seemed such as I will shower tomorrow, I will clean my office tomorrow, or I will write two articles tomorrow.

• And, lastly, I would write positive affirmations that I would say to myself throughout out following day. Things like, I am happy, I am beautiful, and I am loved.

Keep in mind, you can create and design your gratitude journal what ever way you want and with what ever other positive lists you would like to create. You can doodle on the pages if you’d like, add photos, or even magazine clippings to it. You should make it a point to write in your chosen gratitude journal on a daily basis.

If you are wondering what mental health benefits there are for keep a daily gratitude journal, read this: According to NPR.org, “Studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships.” And what is helpful for mental health wellness? Well, all of the above!

Think about it, when you sleep better the better your mood can be the following day. It can make your mental health symptoms easier to deal with when you sleep better. It can make you feel less anxious, nervous, and on edge. And it can help you perform better at work or school. There’s tons of benefits to sleeping better! Plus, you could wake up feeling happier instead of dreading the day on a horrible nights sleep because you’re just so exhausted still.

Less stress is something that the entire U.S. population could use these days. Lowering your stress levels is always something that helps promote mental health wellbeing. When you are less stressed you are less likely to be triggered so much by the little things that used to set you off. You are also much more happier when you don’t feel as stressed out.

Let’s not forget that you could also develop happier and healthier interpersonal relationships as well as close relationships. You might start to gain more appreciation for friends, family, and other loved ones. You could start to see that you are kinder and more generous than you used to be.

Plus, there’s one more benefit. Writing in a daily gratitude journal can also help with depression and depression symptoms. Living with depression of any kind isn’t fun at all. And by keeping track of what you’re grateful for can really help you see that there are positive aspects to life and you can read back to everything you wrote down.

There’s no harm to come from trying to create a gratitude journal. So, why not give it a try?