As someone who was diagnosed with epilepsy at eight years old, from an early age, I was told that stress can be a seizure trigger. I’d be asked after every seizure, at every appointment, and by friends and family, “Is there anything that’s stressing you out?”
It’s easy to feel like you’re going in an endless cycle, trying to find that one perfect way to offload the chaos that everyday life can bring. There are many things people can do to relieve stress that you can find on Mental Health and Wellbeing space on The Channel, but the one thing that really stood out to me was journaling.
What is journaling?
To put it simply, journaling is writing down how you’re feeling on a page. Much like a diary, this can be daily, weekly or just when you feel like it. There are also many styles of journaling. Some people write a small paragraph about their day; some people make lists of pros and cons of how their day has gone; some people colour-code their day in the calendar or write a keyword – you can personalise it however you like!
The most common form of journaling is to follow prompts.
These can be things like:
- What went well today?
- What three things am I most grateful for?
- What’s something that I’m looking forward to?
You can also use it to write down stresses so you’re not left with them on your mind.
These can be things like:
- Has anything happened today that’s weighing me down?
- Is there anything I can do about it?
- What goals do I want to set for tomorrow?
Benefits of journaling
I have tried journaling in the past and have found it really beneficial. Not only did it help me offload stress, but I added it to my bedtime routine, meaning I had that extra time to reflect, away from a screen. I also found it helped me relieve anxiety from the day and worry less about what I had to do tomorrow, knowing I already had it listed out as a reminder.
Journaling can also help you notice possible patterns in how you feel, such as when stress, poor sleep or changes to your routine happen alongside seizures. You may find it useful to share anything you notice with your epilepsy team, but a journal should not replace any seizure records they have asked you to keep.
It was also nice to have a document of all my days. As someone with epilepsy, my memory can be quite bad, so being able to read back and remember what I had been up to was really uplifting for me. It was also motivating to reflect on how far I’ve come, as something that was a worry to me a few months ago had now become an achievement!
"Journaling helps to settle my mind. If I feel panicked or overwhelmed, I can write my thoughts down and look back on it to understand what was worrying me.”
- Ree, member of our Youth Content Creator team
“Journaling has given me a safe space to slow down and understand my thoughts. It helps me process my emotions and recognise my growth.”
- Blake, member of our Youth Content Creator team
How to add journaling to your routine
The only thing that made me break the journaling cycle was, as is common with people with epilepsy, my memory. Despite it being part of my routine, if I had a seizure in the evening or if I was away from home, I would completely forget.
Because of this, my number one tip to remember to journal is to use alarms or reminders. You might have heard it before but setting an alarm for the time you want to start your bedtime routine could help you get into the rhythm of it every day. For example, if you set an alarm for 7pm, you could shower, brush your teeth and fill in your daily journal all by 8pm!
If you’d like to try it out:
Give journaling a try for yourself!
