Have you thought about starting a Blog, journal and writing to help your mental health? I’m sure many of us have! I’ve compiled a few of my thoughts on why writing could be helpful for you.

Before we delve into this, first and foremost — there will be no affiliated links or selling of any sort on this post. I’m also not a doctor so please do shufty over to your doctor/call 111/if it’s an emergency – 999, if you’re struggling.

If you’re not sure what an affiliate link is, GoDaddy has written a thorough article about it which breaks it all down. As a reader of blogs, I’d recommend you taking a quick browse of it so you can identify them and make informed choices. Read it here.

My little blog here on a tiny corner of the web wasn’t created to make money. I just enjoy writing about mental health and knowing that I’m making a bit of a difference to a smidgen of people, if at all.

Of course I’d love to blog full time as my career, but I’m also realistic. Suspected/undiagnosed ADHDer over here means I know that I need structure, need to leave the house often, and a full-time-work-from-home-type setup isn’t healthy for me.

I also love teaching, am a massive geography nerd, and need human interaction to avoid falling into a depressive pit of doom and dispair. COVID-19 and the lockdowns taught me that the hard way.

If you’ve been in the blogging game long enough, you’ll know that there are probably millions of blog posts and career bloggers that try to hook you into their sales funnel, then hard sell blogging courses, ebooks, £1 personality quizzes, free coaching sessions leading to £3k coaching blocks, etc. etc.

All the while promising a six figure online business as a result for only 2 hours a week of work.

It’s hard not to be drawn into the idealistic lives that may have been portrayed or sold to you. I, myself, was drawn into them, many years back. So, I get it.

However, that is not the point of this post.

What I’d like to talk about today is the benefits of blogging/writing/journaling for your mental health. Starting a blog is a possible route.

Us humans have been journaling and diarising from as early as 2400 BC via written word on papyrus. Lord Byron, a major Romantic poet from my stomping grounds of Nottinghamshire, was known to journal.

You don’t even need to start a blog to feel the benefits from writing for your mental health.

It could just be notes on your phone, a physical pen and notebook, or even verbal voice notes to make to yourself privately. Eventually you could convert your voice notes to text.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of pen and paper! Must be the millennial in me.

So, why should you start a blog/write/journal for your mental health?

Let’s first look at why writing your thoughts out can help your mental health:

1. Writing allows you to express thoughts and emotions you may not necessarily be able to do verbally – writing is especially helpful if you don’t have anyone you can talk to, or trust enough to express your thoughts and feelings to
2. Writing can be therapeutic and cathartic during times of distress – writing can act as a form of therapy if you’re not able to access counselling services quickly or when needed
3. Writing can help with self-expression and self-awareness – the act itself forces you to reflect before, during and after you write
4. Writing can ease loneliness, especially if it’s a blog – sharing thoughts (anonymously or not) can help you feel more connected, even if it’s with people you don’t know.

I could write so much more on the benefits around writing for your mental health, but I’ll stop there. I’m sure that’s another post for another day!

Further reading around the topic if interested:

– Poetry and COVID-19: the benefit of poetry to mental health and wellbeing (Caleshu, A., Waterman, R., & Kemp, S. (2024). Journal of Poetry Therapy, 37(3), 198–218)

– How creative writing can boost wellbeing: Scottish Book Trust (2026)

– How reading and writing can improve wellbeing – Action Mental Health (2026)

– Writing as therapy: Five reasons why you should pick up a pen and paper for your wellbeing – BBC Radio 4: Women’s Hour (2026)

– Writing for Wellbeing – NHS Lanarkshire (2022)

So.

Let’s take a deeper look into the specifics that you might want to take away!

The modern-day journal/diary

Firstly, I’d just quickly address a few terms since some are used interchangeably, especially in the UK.

Diary: For me, this was like a journal. It could also mean a planner to some

Journal: A space to write your personal thoughts and feelings

Planner: Somewhere to write appointments, important dates, tasks, etc. This could be daily, weekly or monthly

Moving on…

Many moons ago and as a teenager, I’d start each page with ‘Dear Diary’, and I’d spew my thoughts and feelings from that day. I didn’t know who else to address it to, so ‘Dear Diary’ worked for me. Astonishingly, I was able to carry this on every day for (I think) about a year at the time. Looking back, I think I started this journal because it was tough at the time, and definitely couldn’t dream of saying my true thoughts and feelings to anyone, even friends.

I also know now that the ADHD was the reason I couldn’t keep it going. Hindsight is wonderful, isn’t it?

Anyway!

The traditional journal would usually comprise of a physical notebook and a pen, and was (for me, anyway) quite a private thing.

I still do enjoy writing with a pen and paper, especially when it comes to planners. Electronic ones definitely don’t work for me. Maybe you, my lovely reader, feel otherwise. That’s totally okay, too.

It’s important to note that not all of us are inclined to want to write, even less so enjoy the act itself. The same could be said about reading — I think that most of us are either avid readers and/or writers, or we are reading/writing adverse. I’ve honestly never met someone that sits in between – those that are indifferent – and that is tremendously okay too.

In addition, by me recommending writing/blogging for your mental health, I’m not suggesting that you write a Lord of the Rings-esque epic trilogy novel set.

Both you and I would probably run for the hills in an instant.

So, why do people journal, and should you consider it?

Psychology Today explains that regular writing is known to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and it can be used as a form of stress and emotional regulation (Bennett, K., 2023, 10 good reasons to keep a journal).

How exactly do you start a journal/diary?

First off, just start! I know it might feel a bit embarrassing or silly initially. But, just remember that no one is going to read your words, they are private to you and your notebook won’t judge you.

Definitely have a read of this great Guardian article on journals and how to start.

If you’re not sure where or how to get going, I’ve made this quick guide to help further:

Brain dumping

As a teacher, I’ve researched and trained a tonne on working memory and cognitive load. Although geared more towards children, the same still applies to us adults.

There’s a difference between working memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. If you fancy delving deeper into the differences, this journal article covers it extensively.

Without adding another fifty thousand words to this post, I’ll focus on working memory only.

Most of us can only cope with five to 7 items in our working memory at any one time. This means we can remember a small number of bits of info at any one time, until it transfers to our long term memory.

Examples might be when working out maths additions like adding up shopping at the supermarket when budgeting. Or, completing sentences whilst remembering the question being asked/the sentence starter.

Brain dumping helps you to offload things you’re trying to remember onto paper, therefore releasing them from your working memory.

The less in our working memory = lower cognitive load = less stress, worry or anxiety.

Also, similarly to my first point, brain dumping helps you to rationalise thoughts and feelings. Seeing your thoughts on paper can help you to logicalise and rationalise them.

I made this if you need a bit of help to get started:

If possible, try making links between your bubbles like I did above.

Don’t worry if you can’t, but the process of thinking about possible connections can help to group your thoughts together. Killing two birds with 1 stone can’t be a bad thing!

Finally, as I mentioned above, there’s no-one here to judge, criticise or pressure you. You’re free to dump as much or as little brain as you wish. You’re also free to come back to it if you want.

Expressing unsaid thoughts

When my dad passed away last year, I was a complete mess the first week. It was tremendously sudden, and I’d gone no contact with him for the past two years prior to this. This was purely to preserve my own sanity, mental health and life at the time (more on that at some point). I’d only spoken to his care home the week before when they rang me (I was his only next of kin). He was being forcibly removed from the care home due to his verbal abuse and false accusations towards staff, and overall severe misconduct.

My Auntie suggested almost immediately that I should write a letter to him. I had so much unsaid anger, resentment and feelings that I never got to say to him.

I wrote three pages in quick succession and eventually had to stop. I never finished that letter, I’m sure one day I’ll carry on with it.

Sob story over, my point is is that expressing unsaid thoughts can be extremely cathartic.

It could be for someone who is no longer here like mine was, or it could be for someone you eventually plan to talk to.

Here are a few of my thoughts that might help you:

• Write down everything you wish you could say but maybe can’t right now. It could be to family, friends, your manager, anyone really.
• Remember you can always come back to it if needed. It doesn’t need to be complete – it might span days, weeks, months and even years.
• Allow yourself to feel the emotions you feel whilst writing. When I wrote the letter to my dad I was ugly crying – I remember my tears falling on the paper as I was writing, making it have that wrinkle effect that water has on paper. And that’s totally okay and not to be ashamed of.
• If these unsaid thoughts are in preparation for a difficult conversation in the future, use this to help organise your thoughts. It’ll only help when the time comes.
• Once complete, you could burn it, throw it away, destroy, etc. as a form of closure. You don’t have to, but some people may benefit from this symbolic action. I won’t do this with my dad’s letter, but you might feel differently.
• If you’re struggling to get started (I find this is the hardest part!), here are some ideas that may help:
  • You made me feel…
  • I want you to know…
  • I wish you had…
  • What I needed most was…
  • I want you to understand that…
• Set a timer so you can manage your emotions and feelings with boundaries. I could have written for hours to my dad at the time. But, eventually, I was so exhausted from it all I knew I needed to park it. Ten or 15 minutes would be reasonable.
• Remember to be kind to yourself. If you have unspoken thoughts, they’re no doubt weighing on you heavily. It’s okay to feel whatever emotions are bubbling away for you.

Finally, brain dumps can be helpful to release unspoken thoughts on your terms. Regaining some control over someone who may have been manipulative or worse can be so so helpful.

Possible tracking of your mood and to physically see progress

My last point around the benefits of blogging/journaling/writing is that it can help you track your moods and progress.

If you’re like me, I can be quite hard on myself. I forget sometimes how far I’ve come and how different a person I am now compared with maybe five years ago.

Thinking back to my point around working memory, we tend to forget the good things we have done, or the ups and downs we experience.

Having a tangible record of your emotions (whether you choose to share publicly or not) allows you to possibly spotting patterns or triggers, and reflect on them. There may not even be patterns or triggers for you. Just reading back over your words might remind you that you do have good days; that you’ve made it through every bad day so far.

In conclusion

Writing/blogging/journaling can have some real benefits for our mental health. In fact, the benefits aren’t confined to our mental health either.

Whether it’s private or public, day-to-day thoughts and/or emotions, or heavy emotional unloading, writing is an excellent form of therapy that doesn’t judge you.

I hope you’ve found this useful! As always, do let me know thoughts and comments if you feel inclined to!

Much love,

Jess xoxo