[Journal Reviews] Guided Journals for Depression and Anxiety

When you are struggling with depression or anxiety, it can often feel heavy. Overwhelming. Hopeless.

The worries and fears you carry around can impact every aspect of your life. The sadness can overshadow every other thing around you.

I know, because I’ve been there. Have you?

And in addition to counseling or coaching or seeing a doctor, journaling has also proven quite beneficial for those experiencing depression or anxiety. There’s just something about getting things down on paper that allows you to express what’s stirring inside of you, to release some of the heaviness, or to adopt a more playful or curious attitude about something that feels very serious and heavy.

So today, I want to review five guided journals designed specifically for those experiencing depression and anxiety. I’ll share more about each one and how it is created so you can discern if it might be a good fit for you or a friend of yours.

This episode is brought to you by my book, Courageous Care: Helping Others Even When You’re Afraid. If you’ve got a friend or loved one who is going through a difficult season like grief, illness, or depression, and you are unsure of how to best support them, this is the book for you. You can find it on Amazon by using the link lovedoesthat.org/care.

#1 – Depression Relief Journal, by Maggie C. Vaughan

The first journal I want to share with you is called the Depression Relief Journal (Amazon affiliate link). It was created by Maggie C. Vaughan, a licensed marriage and family therapist.

The journal itself measures 7.5” by 9.25” and is a paperback book. It has 148 pages and it’s actually printed in color because it features various exercises and prompts for you to work through.

That’s one thing you’ll want to think about if you buy a guided journal of any sort: do you want the same prompts every day or every week so you can track your progress, or do you want different prompts throughout the entire book?

The Depression Relief Journal has different prompts, so you’re not answering the same questions all the time.

The journal starts with an introduction explaining why she created the book and how it is designed to be used. One thing she writes is, “Please approach it with an open mind, at your own pace, and in your own way.” And I love that. There is no set structure or pacing.

That’s something we focus on a lot in Journal Gently. You go at the pace that is right for you, no matter how slow or how small it feels.

So there is no pressure to finish the journal in 4 weeks or 8 weeks or even 12 weeks. You take your time and work through it as needed. And if you need to work through it quickly, if that’s helpful to you, you can do that.

The journal features four types of mindfulness practices: writing prompts, creative prompts, mindfulness-based practices, and affirmations.

Again, each page is different, so you’re not repeating practices. And, per her instructions, you could even flip through and work on the ones that resonate most with you at the moment instead of going from front to back through the book.

For example, there’s a page where you can craft your own recipe for happiness, listing the ingredients that help you find joy and contentment. And on another, there is a place to write sticky notes to yourself.

I love that there are a variety of prompts in the Depression Relief Journal, including creative ones. I’ve found that sometimes the creative, artful prompts are great for days when I don’t have a lot of words, and they offer a playful approach to something that often feels heavy or overwhelming.

#2 – No Worries, from Bella Mente Press

The second journal I want to mention is No Worries, from Bella Mente Press (Amazon affiliate link). This one is of similar size, about 6” x 9”, and has 239 pages.

Whereas the Depression Relief Journal has different prompts throughout the entire book, No Worries has repeated prompts for daily and weekly reflection. So this one is great if you want to track your progress over time or continue to check in with yourself on a regular basis.

It starts, however, with some introductory pages that serve as a sort of baseline to get started. These pages give you space to explore self-care practices, name people and activities to support you when you are struggling, identify your triggers, and learn ways to practice mindfulness.

Then we move into the daily and weekly prompts.

Each day, you have space to indicate your mood, record what you’ve been thinking about, and reflect on any triggers you experienced and how you responded to them. There are also checklists for self-care practices, gratitude, and things to celebrate.

Then at the end of seven days, you have a weekly reflection. This page walks you through some journaling prompts regarding some things you are worried about, and then there is also a page for habit tracking.

Again, the No Worries journal is great if you want to track your progress to see how you are doing over a period of 12 weeks, as well as how life and different situations are impacting your anxiety. If you like that kind of structure, you should definitely try it.

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#3 – My Anxiety Journal, by Sophia Joyce

The third journal is also designed for those experiencing anxiety and it’s called My Anxiety Journal, by Sophia Joyce (Amazon affiliate link).

This one measures 7” x 9” and has 189 pages. The cover is very colorful, with lots of lines and shapes on it, kind of a geometric feel. But the inside pages are on a grayscale, with black print and shaded boxes.

And inside, you’ll find many similar types of prompts and exercises as we saw in the No Worries journal. The front section includes pages for identifying your symptoms and triggers, exploring your worry patterns and how you might be able to break those, creating a survival plan for coping with anxiety, setting boundaries, and more. It also has some mindfulness exercises that you can practice as needed.

After the front pages, you begin a series of weekly and daily pages. The weekly pages help you prepare for the week ahead by identifying specific things you are worried about that week and then also doing some positive journaling. The daily pages offer you a space to check in with how you are feeling and identifying the things that might be bothering you.

At the very end are some lined pages for notes, and throughout the book are different quotes about anxiety and worry.

My one caveat with this journal is that there is a little icon at the top of many pages that is a hand with some stars and moon dangling from it. And while I don’t mind the nature aspect of it, it does look like some sort of astrological sign, or maybe even a wiccan sign or something, which I’m definitely not a big fan of. So maybe if you decide to use this journal, I would recommend placing some stickers or something over that icon each time it appears. But looking through it, I don’t see anything else that seems off kilter.

So again, the My Anxiety Journal has pages where you can create a plan and explore self-care strategies, but most of it consists of daily and weekly pages. This would also be a great journal for tracking progress over a period of time.

#4 – Put Your Worries Here, by Lisa Schab

The fourth journal we’re going through today is called Put Your Worries Here, and it’s created by Lisa Schab (Amazon affiliate link). This is actually a creative journal specifically designed for teens, though I honestly think you could use it at any age.

This one measures about 5.5” by 8” and has 224 pages. The beginning pages have some information about anxiety and encouragement for those who are struggling with it. Then she shares some tips about going through the book, such as, “It’s yours to do in your way. So you can do exactly what a prompt suggests, or you can do something that feels better to you.” She also shares that you can repeat prompts or skip them altogether.

I especially love this comment: “If a prompt raises your anxiety, just notice that and then move on. You may or may not want to revisit it later at another time. You decide.” That comment is right in line with what I teach in Journal Gently, that you get to choose what to focus on, and if a prompt or writing exercises feels like too much for you, you just let it go and either do something else or wait until the next week. I feel that’s really important for teens—and adults—to know.

The Put Your Worries Here journal features 100 different prompts to express any worries or anxieties you have, as well as ways to release that tension through creative prompts, drawing, physical movement, and more.

If you’re familiar with Create This Book or Wreck This Journal (Amazon affiliate links), then know that this one has a very similar feel to it. And though I’m a big fan of writing journals, I’m also a big fan of creative ones. Again, they offer a playfulness and looseness to them that we don’t always experience when we’re writing.

For example, there’s a page with a bunch of words on it, and the prompt is to cut out the words you need and carry them with you. There’s another page where the prompt is to take a walk outside and then preserve something from nature on that page of the journal. There are just so many good prompts.

I would highly recommend this one if you are of the more creative type or if you have a hard time finding the words to describe what is going on inside of you.

#5 – 21-Day Prayer Journal for Anxiety and Depression, by Dr. Garrett Nogan

And finally, the last journal we’re going to cover today is the 21-Day Prayer Journal for Anxiety and Depression, from Dr. Garrett Nogan (Amazon affiliate link).

Now, this is the only one I’ve listed so far that is specifically a Christian journal for those experiencing anxiety and depression. In the introduction, Dr. Nogan writes, “It is my hope and my prayer that this 21-day prayer journal encourages you, comforts you, and shows you that God is near to the broken and He’s fighting for you.” I love that. We need those reminders, don’t we?

The 21-Day Prayer Journal for Anxiety and Depression measures 4.25” x 6.75” and has only 48 pages, yet this journal features space for Scripture, prayer, declarations of faith, and gratitude.

Its tiny size is great for daily use and being able to carry it around, but even more importantly, its content is great for keeping our minds centered on God and His promises, even when life is hard.

In fact, one of the things I appreciate most about this journal is that each day, there’s a Bible verse, and then at the end of that day, there’s a declaration written based on that verse. For example, on Day 1, we read Psalm 94:19, “When anxiety was great within me, Your comfort brought me joy.” And then the declaration for Day 1 is, “When my anxiety, worry, depression or fear increases today, I will turn to You. Your comfort and Your presence brings peace and joy.”

I can easily see these verses or declarations being turned into breath prayers to use throughout the day. For example, “When anxiety is great / Your comfort brings me joy.”

So if you are looking for a guided journal that is easy to carry with you or even tuck into your Bible, or one that is more Christian in focus, keep you centered on God and His Word, this would be the journal I would recommend you grab.

Other Journals?

So I have a question for you: Do you know of other journals designed for those experiencing anxiety or depression? Or is there another journal you’d like me to review? I’m planning other episodes that will feature grief journals and Bible study journals.

If you’ve got an idea, or if you have a journal of your own that you’ve published, I’d love it if you could send it my way. You can email me at kari@lovedoesthat.org, and remember that my name is spelled K-A-R-I.

Journal Prompt:

So we’ve covered five different journals designed for either anxiety or depression, or both. For your journal prompt this week, I want you to think about what type of journaling might work best for you when you are in a difficult season.

• Do you crave structure or creativity?
• Would you want to journal every day or just when you feel like it?
• Do you like to write or be more artistic or both?
• Does the size of the journal matter to you? And if so, do you prefer large or small?

Take some time to explore that. And if you don’t know, try it out! See what type of journaling works well for you, think about what you need when you are struggling, and have a rough plan in place should you find yourself needing extra support.

Anxiety Journal Prompts

If you struggle with anxiety and want some prompts you can journal through in your regular notebook, I’d love for you to grab my free Five-Minute Journaling Session for Anxiety by going to lovedoesthat.org/anxietyjournal. I walk you through that journaling session in episode 122 of the podcast, so if you need help understanding the prompts, be sure to listen to that, okay?

Prayer

God, Your Word tells us that we can cast our cares and worries onto You, because You care about us. Help us to remember the love and affection You have for us, especially when life is hard and overwhelming. Keep our eyes focused on You instead of the circumstances surrounding us, and grant to us Your comfort and peace. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

(Amazon affiliate links)

• Depression Relief Journal, by Maggie C. Vaughan
• No Worries, from Bella Mente Press
• My Anxiety Journal, by Sophia Joyce
• Put Your Worries Here, by Lisa Schab
• 21-Day Prayer Journal for Anxiety and Depression, by Dr. Garrett Nogan

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 122: Feeling Anxious? Try This 5-Minute Journaling Session
• Episode 123: A Conversation with Marla Beech: Journaling as a Daily Practice
• Episode 135: Identifying Signs You’re Not Doing Well (And What You Can Do About It)
• Episode 142: [Journal Reviews] Guided Journals and Devotionals for Advent
• Episode 147: The Flip-Out Rule in Journaling

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