Try These Lists in Your Mental Health Journal

When you’re in the planning stages of completing a task, what is the first thing you do? 
Some people jump headlong into tasks with the goal of completing them, while others 
are more methodical and comfortable with making lists and setting each stage to a 
schedule. People make grocery lists to remember items that they needed to include, so 
how much more important could it be when you are confronting issues with mental 
health? List making can be a massive help to those working towards mental health 
progress, and this article will be exploring how to incorporate them into your journal. 

Gratitude List 

When you are writing about things, what sorts of things is your mind drawn to recall 
first? Try this exercise - Instead of only writing about the thing that bother you, try writing 
about the things that you are grateful to have in your life. This could be about family, 
friends, pets, skills, and other positive things. Be sure to express yourself completely. 
The words that you choose will lay a healthy foundation on which to build the rest of 
your day. Did you see a beautiful moment of hope that inspired you to try something 
new? Definitely include those things. There are moments of beauty everywhere, it’s just 
up to everyone to be open to seeing them. 

Self-Care List 

What kinds of things do you need to do in order to feel fulfilled? Some people struggle 
with their daily functions of life. This is where it might be a really good idea to make a list 
of the things that you have a hard time getting to. When you are stuck in a loop it can be 
easy to skip over washing your face, brushing your teeth and other tasks that make life 
just a little bit more bearable. Maybe you need to listen to music and relax a few times a 
day - be sure to include it in your list and try to cross it off the list a few times a week. 
It’s important to keep yourself from becoming too isolated, but alone time is also key for 
realigning yourself. 

Month/Quarter/Year Goals

Where do you see yourself in a month? How about in 3 months? What about a year? 
Having a list of goals that are reasonable to accomplish can help you to make major 
progress throughout the year. When you look back and see where you started you 
might be shocked!








