How journalling and gratitude are helping me on my own recovery journey
Chiara here, your Wellbeing College student support!
As many of you will know, 2025 hasn’t been the easiest year for me. But in true College style, I would like to share two strategies that have helped me when I was at my lowest, and that are still helping me now as I navigate the tortuous recovery road ahead.
Daily journalling
I enjoyed writing about my day when I was younger, but as life got busier in adulthood, this habit got lost. As I found myself struggling with a noisy, confused brain, a therapist encouraged me to pick it up again. I found the blank pages of yet another forgotten notebook quite daunting… and so, she introduced me to Donna Ainsworth’s Words to live by, with little prompts, poems, quotes, and seasonal reflections to help direct me as I wrote.
I focused on tiny bits of my day I was grateful for, and forced myself to practice this gratitude no matter how difficult it felt.
Sometimes I wrote in Italian, my mother tongue; others, in English, depending on how I felt. Finding glimmers became easier and easier, and now it comes naturally.
What has helped me the most is looking back at how lost I was feeling in the Spring, and how I’m feeling now as we near the end of October. I can be my biggest enemy, as I’m sure many of our students and College friends are too – but being able to reflect back on my achievements, written by myself, can’t be argued against.
Practicing gratitude
One day I got a parcel from Italy. It was two trays of homemade biscuits sent by my sister. I cried when I opened them, not only she sent me a lovely surprise that tasted of home, I couldn’t believe they were all intact!
That evening, I wrote on my journal “Today I am grateful for my sister, the beautiful biscuits she surprised me with, and the fact that not even one got broken in the process”.
I encourage you to try it! Even if it’s a few words every day before bed. And if like me, you need a bit of guidance, there are plenty of journals like the one I’m using; just go online and type “Guided journalling”.
Happy writing!
Chiara
