Introduction

Improving your overall emotional well-being does not have to be a daunting task. With a little research and dedication to bettering yourself, journaling can fit into your schedule with ease. The artist created a self-paced guided journal, led a one-time workshop, and spent one month journaling daily. The general finding of the workshop was that college students enjoyed journaling and felt relaxed from the experience. 

Literature Review

Creating a habit of accepting mental experiences is linked with greater psychological health (Sutton). It has also been found that repeated prolonged expression of stressful events can lead to a reduction of harmful thoughts (Sutton). Successful journaling occurs with consistency and practice. As far as how to journal, experts suggest setting aside a few minutes every day, keeping paper and pen handy to make it easy, and allowing yourself to write or draw whatever feels comfortable (University of Rochester Medical Center). Research has found that drawing or coloring for 20 minutes reduces stress levels because it decreases cortisol levels (Loeuy). Another study in 2021 concluded that coloring can be a form of meditation, the benefits include reducing anxiety and increasing relaxation (Harja 4363). 

The Five Minute Journal by UJ Ramdas was a primary influence and inspiration for this project. This book got the artist into journaling as a form of self-care. It has prompts specifically designated for morning and night with over 1.8 million copies sold to date (Ramdas).

Methods

Canva was used to create the journal which was then printed and bound at the BookLab. The BookLab provided resources to complete the binding using a coptic stitch technique. 

The workshop was held in the Cambridge Community Center, had six total participants and lasted one hour. It started with a pre-activity survey and brief overview of types and benefits of journaling. For the activity, two options were provided, printed out journal pages and open ended prompts for participants to choose from. After completing the activity, participants filled out a post activity survey with more experience based questions. Lastly, there was a discussion about how participants felt from the exercise.

Audience & Impact

This project is for college students interested in how journaling works as a form of self-help. This project demonstrates a short term pause in daily stressors and will ultimately lead to audience members including journaling in their daily routine for long term wellbeing.

Four out of six workshop participants reported feeling more relaxed as they completed the journal entries. Pre-activity stress levels ranged from 3-10 with an average of 6.6. Whereas post-activity ranged from 1-7 and averaged 4.1. There was a lot of variation in what was most effective which is why the final journal has a variety of pages. 

Completing the journal allowed the artist to sharpen journaling habits and continue to journal as a form of self-help moving forward. The journal will also be available to purchase on Etsy in a pdf format thus expanding its reach and impact.

References

Hajra, Bibi, and Tamkeen Saleem. "The Use of Islamic Patterned Art Therapy: Healing of Psychological Problems Among University Students." Journal of Religion and Health, vol. 60, no. 6, 2021, pp. 4361-4386, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01240-7. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

 “Journaling for Emotional Wellness.” Journaling for Emotional Wellness - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center, www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTypeID=1. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023. 

Loeuy, Katauna Jade. “Art for Self-Care and Mental Health.” The Whole U, University of Washington, 11 Apr. 2022, thewholeu.uw.edu/2022/04/11/art-for-self-care-and-mental-health/. 

Ramdas, UJ, The Five Minute Journal, 2013

Sutton, Jeremy. “5 Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health.” PositivePsychology.Com, Positive Psychology, 4 Oct. 2023, positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/. 

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my faculty advisor and directors, Heather Bremenstul and Harold Burgess. Also, all my fellow Art Scholars for their continuous feedback and support throughout the process, as well as those who attended my workshop. Lastly, I would like to thank the interns at the BookLab for their guidance in the book binding process.