Diary

[dantheman9001]

I am going to start to keep a diary and see if i can notice where and when my anxiety is worse. Anyone else do this?

Also a question... I find that if i nap for a couple of hours on an evening my anxiety is sometimes worse when i wake up, does anyone agree?

Thanks
Dan

[CarJim75]

Hey Dan, my therapist suggested it and does help. One thing I noticed is that I was writing down more negative thoughts than positive ones. Keeping a diary/journal will help in helping you realize when anxiety is triggered.
I also get anxiety when I wake up, try meditation when you wake up, it helps you relax.

[Buttercup]

My therapist also recommended it. However I really struggled with it at first. I bought a lovely leather bound journal and it sat on my coffee table for a good couple of weeks, I would open it, stare at the blank pages and have no idea what to write! I started by just dooddling in the pages becauses my mind was blank! I already knew where and when my anxiety was triggered and I did not want to write a diary of what I did each day so instead I used it for note taking after I had seen my therapist. I would jot down what we had discussed at first and eventually I would start making lists which I found helpful. I would list my negative thoughts and "what if" questions and then list positive statements and also worst case scenarios, the chance of that actually happening and so on. I also used it to write down things I would like to do but can't because my anxiety was in the way and looked at how I could do these things using baby steps etc. It feels good now looking back and seeing how my thinking has changed and what I have achieved since starting the journal.