My Top Writing Instruments for Journaling

So, I am obsessed with pens. This has been going on long before I started journaling. I have enough pens in my glovebox to never use the same one twice in a month. It only seemed right that I feature my favorite journaling instruments.

Micron Pigma Pens

Why I love these:

• They are archival ink so they don't fade. 
• They come in multiple thicknesses

Some downsides:

• The thicker the pen, the longer they take to dry. 
• Sometimes they smear. 

Also pictured is a pen that came with my Happy Planner kit. It writes really well and I wish I knew where I can get more.


Zebra Midliners

Why I love these:

• What's not to love?? They are dual ended highlighters! I can use them as actual highlighters or fine points. 

Downsides:

• None! 
• Just kidding. 
• Sometimes they make the paper feel weird. Almost like they were scrubbed into the paper. Maybe it's just me. 

Staedtler Triplus Fineliners

My friend got me these for my birthday and I. Am. In. Love. They are smooth and so bright. I use them for basically everything, even adult coloring.

The downside:

• If you're using them on thinner paper, like my moleskine, you can have some ghosting. (In case you're wondering, ghosting is when the ink shows through the back of the page.)

I will show off my other journaling supplies soon!

What are your favorite writing utensils? Leave me a comment below!

Journaling and Mental Health

So, I spent all week trying to decide what my first post would be. I made lists, I had brainstorming sessions with my husband, I researched until my anxiety was through the roof. That's when I figured it out. I'd write about my bullet journal and my journal is all focused around my mental health.

I don't know about you, but my journal is everything. It holds all of my schedules, my lists, even my journal entries. More importantly than that, it holds my self care pages.



My first page is a sort of "check in" list. It's a list of goals to keep me feeling a little human, even if I don't feel like myself.

My next spread is actually for other people. My Personal Emergency Guide is inspired by epbot.com's PEG. I have a special paper clip and specific washi tape noting its location in my journal for my husband. Sometimes I'm overly emotional and it's good for him to have an idea on how to help me.

Now let's get down to the things I use daily:

This is my daily mood and symptom tracker. I rate everything on a scale from 0-10, and I have a space for notes at the bottom to see if anything impacted my mood swings.

The mood mandala is new this month and inspired by Boho Berry. I absolutely love her spreads and printables. Anyway, this mandala will allow me to assign an overall feeling to each day, and I get to be creative with it.

This page is huge for me. Every day I have to find things to be grateful for. Since starting this, I've had less depression days overall.

What pages help you the most?