Use the Journal for Recovery
 
An amazing way you can use journaling is for recovery. This can be recovery for 
anything in your life that you are working through, whether it is from a mental illness, 
physical injury, or substance abuse recovery.

It also might be more simple than that, where you are recovering from a breakup or 
something that was affecting your mental state for a while. Perhaps you were struggling 
financially, and just now coming around to getting your life back.

Whatever it is you feel that you are recovering from, writing in a journal can help 
tremendously.

What Type of Recovery?

Don’t stress too much about the type of recovery. Everyone has something they are 
trying to work through. The journal is really going to help you get to that next step, but 
also have a place to vent and discuss what you are going through in private, in the 
meantime.

Ways to Use the Journal for Recovery

There are many ways you can utilize a journal to help with the recover process. Here 
are just a few options available to you:

Keep a Daily Journal – The simplest way is to write in your journal every day, whether it 
is about your recover or not. Chances are, aspects of the recovery are going to come 
up. This is a good way to stay on track and also look back at choices you made to figure 
out how you ended up where you are.

Make Sketches and Drawings – A journal does not just have to be words on a page. 
Many people benefit greatly from sketches, doodles, or drawings. The entire journal 
entry one day can be nothing but drawings and art, while other days it might be in the 
margins. Art reflects so much of how you feel, even it if you don’t realize it.

Document the Process – Similar to a daily journal, you can instead make the entire 
journal about your recovery. This is when you are documenting the recovery process 
each day, talking about the ups and downs, struggles and triumphs, successes and 
failures, and everything in between.

Try a Gratitude Journal – Another way to approach a recovery journal is to start a 
gratitude journal. Instead of dwelling on how hard the recovery process is or constantly 
talking about the challenges, you instead shift your mindset to what you are most 
grateful for each day.

Set Goals – It is a great idea to add your goals, both short and long-term, to your 
recovery journal. A short goal might be following your diet if you are recovering from an 
eating disorder, while a long-term goal could be going back to school when you are 
done with substance abuse or another type of recovery.

