How to Start Journaling for Stress Relief

Today, I’m going to share my favorite tool for mental relief. If you’re reading this right now, I’m gonna guess you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. Maybe you’ve got work stress, family chaos, that mental to-do list that literally never ends.

Stress is an inevitable part of life. Finding ways to deal with it is essential. Actually, there are various strategies for managing stress.

What I wanted to talk about today is journal writing. Keeping a journal is one of my favorite tools for mental health.

Before you click away thinking, “I don’t have time to write pages every day,” just hang with me for a minute! This isn’t about perfect penmanship or deep thoughts. This is about writing your thoughts and ideas on paper, and giving your brain a place to breathe.

Why Journaling Can Help Reduce Stress

Think about it: when you’ve got a million things swirling in your head, you feel scattered, can’t think straight and lose clarity.

If you get it all out on paper or screen, suddenly everything feels clearer. Your brain stops trying to hold onto everything at once and can actually relax.

There are so many benefits of journaling. According to Harvard Business Review, “expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity.”

When you journal, you calm your mind by writing down your thoughts and worries. It enhances emotional processing to identify feelings and stress triggers. It’s like having an honest conversation with yourself.

At the same time, you’re strengthening your self-awareness, which means you catch yourself before spiraling. This helps to manage stress and anxiety.

How to Start a Journaling Practice

Digital or paper? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. Choose whatever you like. If you’re always on your phone, using a journaling app can be a convenient option for you.

For me, I found paper journaling can feel more personal and help me gain clarity and resilience. And I love pretty notebooks as much as the next person, but you don’t need to spend money on that. Even a simple composition notebook can be a good starting point.

Some people even do both. Use the phone app for quick stress moments or a mood tracker. Write on paper for deeper reflection. The key is picking something that feels easy and accessible. Don’t overthink it.

When should you journal? There is no rule. Do it whenever it works best for you. If you’re a morning person, journal in the morning to set intentions for the day.

If you want a daily reflection and to clear your mind before bed, you’ll love journaling at night.

Some people have their journals with them throughout the day. They write whenever they feel the urge to record their feelings. They don’t stick to a schedule.

5 Easy Journaling Techniques for Stress Relief

1. Brain Dump Journaling: Release Overwhelming Thoughts
   This is my absolute go-to when I’m overwhelmed. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write EVERYTHING that’s in your head. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or making sense. Just dump it all out – every thought, every worry, every random thing that’s taking up mental space.
   Why does this work so well? Because all those swirling thoughts and worries are using up your mental energy. When you write them down, your brain can stop trying to hold onto all of it and actually focus on what matters. I do this when I can’t even figure out what I’m stressed about, and by the end of those 10 minutes, I usually have a much clearer picture of what’s really bothering me.
   Try it when: You wake up with anxiety, you can’t focus on work, or you’re spiraling before bed.
2. Gratitude Journaling: Rewire Your Stress Response
   Before you roll your eyes, this isn’t toxic positivity! When we’re stressed, our brains naturally focus on problems – it’s called negativity bias, and it actually kept our ancestors alive. But we can train our brains differently. Writing down three things you’re grateful for literally rewires your brain to notice good stuff too.
   Keep it simple and real: “I’m grateful for my coffee, my dog’s ridiculous face, and the fact that I remembered to wear matching socks today.” It doesn’t have to be deep or profound. It just has to be honest.
   Try this for two weeks and watch how your default mindset starts to shift. You’ll find yourself naturally noticing more positive things throughout your day.
   Bonus move: On really rough days, write down three things that didn’t go wrong. Sometimes acknowledging what you avoided or got through is just as powerful!
3. Worry Time Journaling: How to Stop Anxious Thoughts
   Here’s the deal – worrying doesn’t actually solve problems, but trying to suppress worry doesn’t work either. So here’s what you do: set aside 15 minutes for designated “worry time.” Write down everything you’re worried about. Then next to each worry, write whether it’s something you can actually do something about or not.
   For actionable worries, write one small step you can take. For non-actionable worries (like “what if something terrible happens”), acknowledge them and then literally write “I’m releasing this worry for today.”
   The magic part? When worries pop up during the day, you can tell yourself “I’ll write about that during worry time” and actually move on. Your brain learns that it will get to process these thoughts – just not right this second when you’re trying to focus on something else. This gives you permission to worry, but in a contained, intentional way.
4. Emotion Check-In Journaling: Track Your Mental Health
   This one is simple but so powerful. A few times throughout the day, just write down how you’re actually feeling. Not what you think you should be feeling, but what’s genuinely happening inside.
   “10 AM: Anxious about the presentation. 2 PM: Frustrated with that phone call. 6 PM: Relieved that today is almost over.”
   Over time, you’ll start to notice patterns. Maybe you always feel anxious on Mondays. Maybe you crash every afternoon at 3 PM. Maybe certain people or situations consistently stress you out. When you can see the patterns, you can start planning for them and being kinder to yourself.
   Level it up: Add what you need in that moment. “10 AM: Anxious about the presentation. I need to take three deep breaths and remember I’ve prepared for this.” This turns simple awareness into actual action.
5. Problem-Solution Journaling: Turn Stress Into Action
   When something’s really stressing you out, try this format: “I’m stressed about [situation]. This makes me feel [emotions]. Here are three things I could do: [solutions].”
   This technique turns that spinning, panicky feeling into concrete possibilities.
   Example: “I’m stressed about money this month. This makes me feel scared and embarrassed. Three things I could do: 1) Look at my actual budget and make a plan, 2) Talk to someone I trust about it, 3) Remind myself that one tough month doesn’t define my worth or my future.”
   Here’s the thing: even if you don’t immediately do any of those solutions, your brain feels better just knowing there ARE options. You’ve moved from feeling helpless to feeling empowered. That shift alone can reduce your stress significantly.

How to Journal Without Overthinking

Let me be real with you – sometimes journaling will feel forced, awkward, or like another thing on your to-do list. That’s completely normal! Here’s how to push through:
“I Don’t Have Time” – I see you, busy human. Try micro-journaling. Three bullet points while you’re waiting in the pickup line. Voice memo your thoughts during your commute (yes, talking absolutely counts as journaling!). Even two minutes makes a difference. Remember: you’re not adding another task – you’re preventing the mental breakdown that’s definitely going to take way longer to recover from.
“I Don’t Know What to Write” – Start with “Right now I’m feeling…” and see where it takes you. Or keep these prompts handy: What made me smile today? What challenged me? What do I need right now? What would I tell my best friend if they were in my situation? What’s one thing I can control today? What am I carrying that isn’t mine to carry?
“This Feels Stupid” – Yeah, talking to yourself on paper can feel weird at first. But you know what’s actually weird? Living with constant stress and anxiety and never giving yourself a chance to process those emotions. Give yourself permission to feel awkward while you’re learning a new skill. Also, literally no one else has to see this. Write “this is dumb and I feel ridiculous” if you need to, and then keep going anyway.
“I Started Strong But Fell Off” – This is literally the most common experience! Life gets busy, things get in the way, and suddenly you haven’t written in three weeks. Here’s the beautiful part: you can start again right this second. No judgment, no guilt, no needing to “catch up” on missed entries. Just open to today’s date and begin fresh.
“I’m Not Seeing Results” – Some people feel relief immediately, others need a few weeks to notice changes. Look for subtle shifts: Are you sleeping slightly better? Catching yourself before you spiral? Feeling like you have more mental clarity? Sometimes the wins are quiet. Trust the process and give it time.

How to Make Journaling a Daily Habit

The secret to any habit that lasts is making it fit your real life, not some ideal version of your life. Start small – seriously, even two sentences counts. Aim for consistency over perfection. Some days you’ll write three pages, some days you’ll write “today was hard.” Both are equally valuable.
Think about creating some gentle accountability. Maybe you have a friend who’s also journaling and you check in weekly. Maybe you put a little sticker on your calendar for days you write. Find what motivates you without making you feel bad about yourself.
Review your entries once a month if you want, but don’t make it another obligation. Sometimes just the act of writing things down is enough. But when you do look back, you’ll often be surprised by how much you’ve grown or how problems that felt massive have resolved themselves.
And here’s what I wish someone had told me early on: this practice is going to evolve and change, and that’s totally normal. Maybe you start with worry journaling and eventually move to gratitude. Maybe you journal every single day for six months, then take a break and come back to it when life gets overwhelming again. There’s no “right” way to do this long-term.

Keeping Your Journal Private

If you’re worried about someone finding and reading your journal, keep it somewhere private, use a password-protected app, or write in your own shorthand (like using initials instead of full names). Some people find it healing to look back at old entries and see how much they’ve grown. Other people prefer to write and then delete or destroy entries. Both approaches are completely valid – do what feels right for you.

Final Thoughts

Here’s what I want you to do right this second – not tomorrow, not when you buy the perfect journal, not when your life calms down. Right now.
Grab whatever you can write on and finish this sentence: “Right now, I’m feeling…”
Write for two minutes about whatever comes up. Don’t edit it, don’t make it pretty or profound. Just write.
That’s it. You just started journaling for stress relief.
You don’t need to have your whole life figured out to take care of your mental health. You don’t need the perfect system or the perfect timing. You just need to start somewhere, and that somewhere can be messy and imperfect and still be exactly what you need.
Just like any skill, journaling gets easier with practice. The first few times might feel awkward and forced. Give it time. Be patient with yourself. And remember that even imperfect journaling is better than no journaling at all.
Now go write something down, friend. You’ve got this! 💕
P.S. If journaling brings up difficult emotions or memories that feel too big to handle on your own, please reach out to a mental health professional. Journaling is a powerful tool, but sometimes we need additional support, and that’s not just okay – it’s actually really wise and brave.