Intro:

Have you ever had a journal before? If so, what journaling have you done in the past? Maybe a childhood diary? These are some examples of journal prompts for coping with depression.  The American Psychological Association classifies depression as “extreme sadness or despair that lasts more than days. It interferes with the activities of daily life and can cause physical symptoms such as pain, weight loss or gain, sleeping pattern disruptions, or lack of energy and is the most common mental disorder”. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Many people, especially college students experience depression at one point or another. It’s a wide range of a spectrum. You may have some bad days where you feel low and sad, but then start to feel better when you’re done with your classes. Or depression may run in the family in your DNA, so it’s important if you feel comfortable talking to your family about your medical records if you want or need to know. Depending on your family and your culture, they may or may not provide you with the support you need with mental health. It is possible you may have been taught in your culture that depression doesn’t exist. Whatever your culture’s beliefs and values are, you deserve to feel safe and be safe. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved. And you deserve to live a full life. 

 If you are feeling so low that you are having thoughts of self-harm or suicidal thoughts, please call 911 or the mental health hotlines that I’m going to link at the bottom. Or at least please talk to a family member, friend, or someone close to you that you can trust to help keep you from hurting yourself and/or others and keep you safe. I know it can feel like life is no longer worth living, but it is. Imagine what you would miss? What would you never get to experience?

• For immediate support during a mental health crisis, including depression, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat online at 988lifeline.org. 

• If you're looking for a hotline where kids offer positive advice and pep talks, dial 707-998-8410 (or 707-8PEPTOC) to reach the Peptoc Hotline, created by students at West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California.

First take some deep breaths, breath in and out. These are some optional journaling prompts for students that are experiencing depression. You can use these as a guide. Journaling is very personal and unique for each person. Feel free to tweak or completely change any question you like that’s not speaking to you. You can journal any way that feels good to you and helps you express your emotions in a healthy way. Healing takes time, and this is an amazing first step. I’m already so proud of you! It may seem silly, but reminding yourself that you are proud of yourself for how far you’ve come is important. Even the little things you do to help your mental health matter. Remember you matter.

In both articles I researched in the Journal of American College Health and the Journal of Counseling Psychology which were titled, “Evaluating the effects of gratitude interventions on college student well-being” and “Intraindividual relations between the intensity and disclosure of daily emotional events: The moderating role of depressive symptoms” they included how important journaling is to help with depression, especially gratitude journaling because it helps us reframe our mindset to also remember the positives in life and not just the negatives. When you are depressed, it can be extremely hard to pull yourself out of it and not obsess on only the bad parts of our lives. Trying to at least remember some of the things we are grateful for can remind us why life is worth living. I created this worksheet because there aren’t a lot of resources when it comes to journaling prompts that are focused on depression with college students that also talk about the cultural influences that are involved with depression. Depression is also connected to many societal factors that are influenced by different cultures, especially regarding issues with family, religion, school, race, gender, sexuality, etc. They’re all connected but need to be addressed when talking about depression. Exploring these topics can help many people, especially students, try to uncover why they’re depressed and look for ways to help themselves heal from their traumas through self-care practices like journaling. Not everyone can afford therapy and see a therapist or psychologist because the sessions can be expensive and there may be issues with healthcare. Creating more free resources for those experiencing depression, especially college students,  is important and necessary in order to help more people and encourage them to reach out to those who can offer them support, and/or give them tools on how to give themselves the support they need in order to heal on their own.

References:

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Depression. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/depression

Tolcher, K., Cauble, M., & Downs, A. (2022). Evaluating the effects of gratitude interventions on college student well-being. Journal of American College Health, 72(5), 1321–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2076096

Garrison, A. M., & Kahn, J. H. (2010). Intraindividual relations between the intensity and disclosure of daily emotional events: The moderating role of depressive symptoms. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(2), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018386