What Is the CBT Journal and How Can It Improve Your Mental Health?

What Is the CBT Journal?

The CBT Journal combines two of the most effective psychological tools we have

Journaling so you can develop more awareness of your mind, through developing a self-reflective practice.

Cognitive behavioural therapy so you can learn how to alter unhelpful patterns of thinking so you reduce stress, anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. The CBT Journal will help you understand your mind and feel in control of your mind rather than your mind being in control of you.

It’s a digital download designed to be used as a four-week project to help you understand your mind. Alternatively, it can form part of an ongoing daily wellbeing routine.

The Journal is divided into two sections. First, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the principles of CBT and learn how to apply them to your journaling practice. Structured journaling sheets bring your awareness to the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that shape your daily life. There’s also space for daily gratitude to provide balance and build emotional resilience.

Additional worksheets are provided to help you alter unhelpful thinking patterns, process emotions and change behaviours.

Why Should You Make Mental Health a Priority?

Your mind is one of your most precious assets. Within it, you experience every moment of life. Good mental health is closely linked to physical wellbeing and it’s also fundamental to feeling happy and content.

Our minds are busy, and our lives are demanding. Many of us struggle with stress, anxiety and overwhelm. The brain is like a muscle and you can train it to be emotionally resilient, strong and to have a calm, settled mind where you feel in control,  it just takes practice and journaling is the perfect reflective tool. Why is building emotional resilience important you might ask? Have a read here to find out more you can also download a free guide to get you started How to build emotional resilience

How Does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Work?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT is an effective form of therapy that encourages you to become more aware of your individual patterns of thinking, feeling and doing. It also gives you the tools you need to change these patterns and improve your mental health.

When you start CBT, we begin by creating awareness of your mind. This awareness gives you more choice over how you think, feel and behave.

What’s Journaling Got to Do with It?

A regular journaling practise is a great way to process what happens to us each day and assess our patterns of thinking over time. It helps you become more aware of the thoughts you’re having, and it helps you engage with them from a curious standpoint rather than a place of overwhelm.

Just like talking, writing things down – getting them out of your head and down on paper – can be both freeing and healing. Venting in this way helps you make sense of things. Thoughts lose their power when we release them, so the intensity of difficult emotions is often reduced. Ultimately, writing helps us create clarity and become more objective about what’s going on inside our heads. You can read more about the benefits of journaling here The benefits of Journaling

How Does It Do That?

Writing is a left-brain activity. This side of the brain likes thinking in words. It’s logical and analytical. Journaling fully engages the left-brain, freeing up the right-brain to deal with non-verbal cues, to intuit, and to tune into feelings. Both parts of the brain get to do what they’re best at, and they get to do it in tandem, allowing you to better understand what you’re thinking and feeling.

If you think something and don’t write it down, you’re only engaging the right-brain. The mere act of putting those thoughts down on paper means your left-brain is on-board too. The power of this whole-brain activity is that it taps into the subconscious mind, allowing you to see things differently and feel more confident about the steps you need to take to achieve the change you want in your life.

Is The CBT Journal for You?

Do you look at your life and see things that should make you happy, yet find yourself feeling sad and discontent? Is your mind always in overdrive with worry? Do you feel out of control and anxious? Are you constantly trying to fix things but getting nowhere? Or do you just want to be the best version of yourself that you can be?

A few years ago, adding a regular journaling practice to my self-care routine helped me work through similar feelings. Because of this, I went on to create the CBT Journal. It’s designed to help anyone who’s keen to understand their mind more. Maybe you’re currently experiencing mental health problems or have struggled in the past. Perhaps you’re simply curious about your current patterns of thinking, feeling, and doing.

Buy The CBT Journal Now

Investing just 20 minutes a day will significantly impact your life, making you feel more content, fulfilled and happy, both in yourself and for everyone around you.

You can find out more and purchase the CBT Journal here:        The CBT Journal

 

The CBT Journal Sarah D Rees

Other useful links

Download your free guide to Building Emotional Resilience

How to Choose a CBT therapist

Podcast – Ep 47 – What is CBT and how does it work?

Why choose CBT

What is the CBT Journal and how can it improve your mental health

What is the link between CBT and Journaling

Everything you need to know about online therapy

Getting the most out of CBT

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Sarah Rees

Sarah is a fully accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and mental health writer delivering Modern Mental Health for you and with you in Mind. Sarah is the author of ‘The CBT Journal’ which helps you write for your wellbeing incorporating CBT techniques. For more information and to keep in touch have a look at sarahdrees.co.uk.