I was at the Manchester Christmas markets last year with my best friend L. It’s somewhere we go almost every year and we went to our favourite stall. It sells incense sticks, cones, holders and gorgeous handmade journal type books. So I bought a journal that ‘winked’ at me. It was too beautiful for me to not buy!

I took it home and was just in love with my new book! I knew I had to save it for something special. It was too pretty and mystical just be used for plain old notes and lists.

I had this book for weeks before I figured out what to use it for and then boom! Light bulb idea!! I was going to wait till the start of 2018 and use it as a positive journal! Only positive thoughts, feelings and happenings of the day were being written in it. That way, when I was having a down day, I could look through my journal and remind myself how positive my life is and how far I’ve come! Towards the end of 2017 I knew 2018 was gonna make or break me, and I was determined to be my better self and this journal was the start of it.

In my following counselling session I mentioned it to my counsellor and she said it was a brilliant idea. Apparently many therapists recommend it to their clients who have PTSD or depression.

Mentally it helped me a lot, especially with my depression. Depression is hard to deal with and it can make your whole life seem pointless, miserable and dark so when I started this journal it allowed me to reflect on each day (sometimes I think reflecting on the positives of your life in general can be too much for depression and it doesn’t make much of a positive impact on you, but reflecting on each day created a build up of positivity within me). Even writing about the little things actually made me feel better about myself, because those little things actually matter to me. In life, it’s a hell of a lot easier to notice and focus on the negatives rather than the positives. This journal made me notice everything that made me smile or feel good on that day. It gave me the opportunity to write little pick me ups for myself and words of encouragement. I could write as little or as much as I wanted. The book gave me the encouragement that I needed to keep me going.

When you have depression, its hard to get just one thing done in your day. And if you have anxiety to, that can make getting that task done 10 times harder. So whenever I got even a little task done, that would go in my journal. A memory for me to keep and be proud of. With me, I didn’t really talk to friends/family about my issues, so they never really knew when I was struggling or how I was struggling. My journal gave me the well done I needed. Yes I knew it was coming from myself, but on that one day, I was feeling on top of the world and when you have mental issues, it’s hard to stay on top. You sometimes need all the encouragement and support you can get. At the end of the day you are your biggest fan.

Below are a few snippets of what I wrote in my journal. Please do excuse my awful hand writing (my hands are shaky 24/7) and any spelling/grammar mistakes.

If you haven’t already started or got something similar to this I would highly recommend it! It’s something little and simple but can have the biggest impact on you. Does it cause anybody any harm?! God no! So whats the harm in just even trying something like it? Especially if it might give you that confidence boost.

Sending you all lots of positive vibes!😘

Take care of yourselves,

Love you lots,

Emma xo