Voice notes, prompts and morning rants: how I found my way back to journaling

By Kelsei Brianna

My mental health took such a beating last year that not even therapy could save me. 

After graduating from Northwestern University, I made quick yet sensible decisions — buying a car off the lot, taking my first entry-level job and moving further midwest. It was difficult going from consistency with my physical and mental health providers to a new state with no therapist (or trusted hairstylist) and no community. I connected with my coworkers, a couple friends who live near me and still found ways to be around my friends from Baton Rouge and Chicago. 

I felt alone and frankly stressed — I turned to the Apple journal app, which is my pick of the month. 

Apple Journal app home screen. (Courtesy of Mashable, Edited by Kelsei Brianna)

Last year, I was writing in my journal nearly daily. My therapist at the time recommended that I lean on this app to process my thoughts and feelings. 

The last few months I’ve gotten back into journaling more consistently. I find solace in documenting my reactions, thoughts, opinions and even food and event reviews in my journal app. My favorite feature is the voice notes. I’m not sure how or when I discovered that you can record voice notes into that app but I haven’t shut up since. Besides voice notes there’s prompts that I randomly follow or reply to when I feel like I should journal like:

“Write about a memorable location from your childhood and add its location to your entry.”

“What’s the kindest thing anyone has said about you recently?”

“Describe the best part of your week.”

These prompts plus the random morning rants and post-trips reviews keep me sane and consistently help me understand myself, life experiences and social interactions better.  

My mental health is much better since I journal daily and have found a sweet spot while I am still on the search for a new therapist. Journaling — whether on an app, a physical notebook or even a junk journal — is beneficial and I recommend it for anyone who is thinking of trying something different before enrolling in therapy or in addition to therapy.