By now, you know that bullet journaling (shorthanded as “bujo” oftentimes) is a combination of a planner, diary/journal, and a to-do-list. Each individual bullet journal is just that: individual. No two are exactly the same because each person who does a bullet journal will add their own flare to their creation.
Given that bullet journals are personal items, there are several people out there who use them to track their mental health, and that can give people not only a concrete visual of how their mood or health is doing, but they can also take charge and represent it in a way that may make sense to them. Such as a person with anxiety depicting their hopelessness as a dark cave and hope represented as a dragon whose fire lights the way; where as others may see the dragon as the monster. Clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior, PhD, believes that the act of bullet-journaling can be really meaningful, especially if you’re experiencing a difficult time in your life: "When your life and emotions feel so out of control or chaotic, there is something immensely therapeutic about organizing it into a systematic structure like a bullet journal. You lay things out in an aesthetically pleasing way and already it feels more manageable. Like you can really tackle it and make it through. It feels luxurious, too. It’s like saying, ‘I’m worth it. I’m worth this notebook and the time it takes to turn it into something beautiful.’” |
The question is, what kinds of things can you do within your bullet journal for your mental health?
The biggest way to track how you are doing with your mental health is to track it on your monthly tracker. While some monthly trackers take up a page or less depending on how much is being tracked, you can make them larger to take up a full spread (two pages.) This allows you to track the things that you want to work on in your life, while also taking daily note of your symptoms, if you took your medications (if you are prescribed any), and to monitor other things that may give some insight into how you are doing.
For example, Jane Doe knows her medications are starting to weaken and she is become more symptomatic when she begins to stop her positive coping skills of walking her dog, limiting her television intake, and when she starts to not care for her hygiene. She notices in her journal she has not taken Fido out for a walk for the past three days and has spent most of those days binge watching Netflix. She also notices that she has started to leave large gaps in her journal where she does not complete her daily tasks or even write them out. Jane takes this info and she makes an appointment with her doctor and calls a person she trusts who supports her to help her take the steps to get back on the path she has been on when she feels at her best.
Along with tracking things of this nature, you can also track your feelings and moods and then elaborate on them on later pages. Tracking your mood is important because you can then see what influences your mood at different times. Are you getting enough sleep? Does being around certain groups of people (ie people who use substances when you are trying not to) cause you to feel differently? These can help provide some insight, but just recognizing your mood and acknowledging how you are feeling can be a powerful tool in that moment. These small things do not need to be limited to your monthly tracker, though. You may implement them into your daily tracking or task pages as well. You can see daily how things are going and see if there are some patterns you can pick up on.
One of the main parts of a bullet journal is the “To-Do” portion of the book. For some people, this can be a motivating factor to get them to get up and work on their health and progress in the direction they want to go. However, this may be seen as too intimidating for people, especially those who are in a very deep depression and who are lacking in their self-care as they isolate. In this instance, what can be helpful is a “Done” list. These are the things that you did during the day and they can be powerful to see all lined up; even if someone else sees it only as mundane. For example, sometimes just getting dressed is a big accomplishment.
Another thing that can help is to give yourself a place to write down what you are feeling and how it is impacting you right now. Do you feel cheated out of a promotion? Maybe even cheated out of the last piece of cake! The ‘severity’ of the situation does not matter; what matters is that is upset you and you should have the ability to express yourself in a safe way and get those feelings out. One way of doing this is known as a “Brain Dump.” This is a page where you give yourself the space to write out the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can write in different directions, different colors, messy, clean, it does not matter. Remember, that this journal is for you and you do not have to make it look a certain way for anyone else.
Some people want the option to burn or otherwise destroy the negative brain-dumps they do. You can, but it is recommended that you do that on another page and not rip a portion out of your journal because it might make other pages fall out or ruin some of the numbering of the pages.
Therapy is a way in which some people get help for their mental health. It can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be difficult to go through. Another page that may help if you are taking that path can be seen to the left. Give yourself a space to talk about what was discussed, things to remember, what issues were hard to talk about or deal with, and then a space to take not on what to work on for the next session.
These have been some specifically ‘different’ things that people implement into their bujos to help them manage their mental health, but remember that anything you do within it (such as drawings) can help to bring you to a place of focus and tranquility as well. Happy creating!
The biggest way to track how you are doing with your mental health is to track it on your monthly tracker. While some monthly trackers take up a page or less depending on how much is being tracked, you can make them larger to take up a full spread (two pages.) This allows you to track the things that you want to work on in your life, while also taking daily note of your symptoms, if you took your medications (if you are prescribed any), and to monitor other things that may give some insight into how you are doing.
For example, Jane Doe knows her medications are starting to weaken and she is become more symptomatic when she begins to stop her positive coping skills of walking her dog, limiting her television intake, and when she starts to not care for her hygiene. She notices in her journal she has not taken Fido out for a walk for the past three days and has spent most of those days binge watching Netflix. She also notices that she has started to leave large gaps in her journal where she does not complete her daily tasks or even write them out. Jane takes this info and she makes an appointment with her doctor and calls a person she trusts who supports her to help her take the steps to get back on the path she has been on when she feels at her best.
Along with tracking things of this nature, you can also track your feelings and moods and then elaborate on them on later pages. Tracking your mood is important because you can then see what influences your mood at different times. Are you getting enough sleep? Does being around certain groups of people (ie people who use substances when you are trying not to) cause you to feel differently? These can help provide some insight, but just recognizing your mood and acknowledging how you are feeling can be a powerful tool in that moment. These small things do not need to be limited to your monthly tracker, though. You may implement them into your daily tracking or task pages as well. You can see daily how things are going and see if there are some patterns you can pick up on.
One of the main parts of a bullet journal is the “To-Do” portion of the book. For some people, this can be a motivating factor to get them to get up and work on their health and progress in the direction they want to go. However, this may be seen as too intimidating for people, especially those who are in a very deep depression and who are lacking in their self-care as they isolate. In this instance, what can be helpful is a “Done” list. These are the things that you did during the day and they can be powerful to see all lined up; even if someone else sees it only as mundane. For example, sometimes just getting dressed is a big accomplishment.
Another thing that can help is to give yourself a place to write down what you are feeling and how it is impacting you right now. Do you feel cheated out of a promotion? Maybe even cheated out of the last piece of cake! The ‘severity’ of the situation does not matter; what matters is that is upset you and you should have the ability to express yourself in a safe way and get those feelings out. One way of doing this is known as a “Brain Dump.” This is a page where you give yourself the space to write out the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can write in different directions, different colors, messy, clean, it does not matter. Remember, that this journal is for you and you do not have to make it look a certain way for anyone else.
Some people want the option to burn or otherwise destroy the negative brain-dumps they do. You can, but it is recommended that you do that on another page and not rip a portion out of your journal because it might make other pages fall out or ruin some of the numbering of the pages.
Therapy is a way in which some people get help for their mental health. It can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be difficult to go through. Another page that may help if you are taking that path can be seen to the left. Give yourself a space to talk about what was discussed, things to remember, what issues were hard to talk about or deal with, and then a space to take not on what to work on for the next session.
These have been some specifically ‘different’ things that people implement into their bujos to help them manage their mental health, but remember that anything you do within it (such as drawings) can help to bring you to a place of focus and tranquility as well. Happy creating!