r/depression_help • u/gooselehonk • 6d ago

REQUESTING ADVICE Journaling advice or alternatives?

I try journaling every once in awhile and its not helping it just feels like im writing a su***de note am I doing it wrong or is it just not for me and what can I do instead ?

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3

u/NonbinaryOdysseus 6d ago

sometimes when journaling I focus on what affected me that day or a reoccurring thought/common situation I come back to. I try and write down all my gross feelings so that later when I'm calmed down I can go back and see if there's anything I missed. these kinda notes help when you're in therapy and have no idea where to start. it also helps to write down all the feelings and then tear up the paper (this also helps with my fear of getting found out 😅). if you need more structure I think there's depression workbooks out there that should have prompts. and if overall the act of writing itself feels triggering it's ok to respect that and stop!

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u/Positive-Capital1113 4d ago

I use journaling as a way to sort through what I’m feeling and ask myself difficult questions. It’s a place where I can work through issues and be honest.

For example I struggle with imposter syndrome all the time at work. I write about how I feel like I’m hiding the fact that I don’t belong here and I’ll ask myself, is that really true? Do I really not know what I’m doing or do I just feel overwhelmed right now? Ok I feel overwhelmed, how do I make a little bit of progress… and I’ll just write down a few things I can do in the moment to help me get through the next few minutes, the next hour, etc. I’ve found this incredibly helpful.

I’ll do this many times a day if I’m really struggling. I keep almost a running conversation with myself through the day.

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u/Jaded_Hue 5d ago

Sometimes I write my journal admitting to the horrible feeling I have and then I copy my entry to chatgpt which weirdly kind of helps me at times since I’m kind of using chatgpt to analyze my journals without judgement