Feeling a little down or off lately? Check out these free printable mental health bullet journal spreads, based on clinical research to help you stay balanced.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure for more information.
I’m proud to live in a time when mental health is making its way to the front pages. Not long ago, mental health was a taboo topic.
No one wanted to admit that they were feeling depressed or anxious, and no one wanted to hear about it, either.
Today, there are over 800 million results on Google when you search for how to improve mental health.
And while there are still naysayers and those that doubt the severity of mood disorders and mental health disorders, there are way more people who are encouraging and supportive of those who live with these conditions.
As someone who suffered terrible postpartum depression and didn’t figure out what I was going through until much later, I am among the supporters and those wanting to help.
I have witnessed those closest to me struggle with depression and anxiety. And I have watched these conditions wreak havoc on their lives.
My heart is with every person living with these invisible disorders.
As part of my passion to help people and spread joy and love, alongside my passion for bullet journaling, I brought the two together.
For over two years, I have consistently thought about how to incorporate self-care, mindfulness, and mental health into bullet journaling. These topics are dear to me.
But, I know that there are so many more people looking for answers. Looking for possible solutions and trying to regain freedom from their condition.
I hope that with this post and the free printable mental health bullet journal spreads I can help you to recognize your symptoms, be more mindful of your thoughts, keep track of daily habits that will work to improve your mental health, recognize and track your triggers, and learn coping methods.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. If your symptoms are severe or your symptoms have lasted an extended length of time, I encourage you to see a professional. There is no shame in asking for help, especially when it comes to your mental health.
Also, be sure to check out this post on Bullet Journal Mental Health Spreads to Combat Depression and Anxiety. This is one of my most popular posts with tens of thousands of people visiting it since it’s publication.
Mental Health Bullet Journal Spreads
Before I hand over the free printable, I want to dive into each one with how I intended for it to be used and why it’s beneficial.
Please know that you do not need to use all of these pages. Some might not work for you and may not benefit your situation.
Also, adapt them to fit your life. I try to generalize these printables, but you are always welcome to create an adaptation or use it differently than I describe. Each situation is very unique and if something in one of these trackers doesn’t work for you, please change it to fit your needs.
Bullet Journal Mental Health Symptom Tracker
I left this spread without a header, but it is a mental health symptom tracker. However, I wanted each person to be able to use and label it in a way that felt comfortable to them.
This tracker includes two different categories of symptoms, both emotional and physical. Again, I generalized these symptoms. If these are not your typical symptoms and would like to change some of them, you have a couple options.
- White Gel Pen: You can use a white gel pen, such as the Uniball Signo pen to color over any of the symptoms that are not relevant to you. Then, you can write in your ones that are.
- White Washi Tape: Another option is to snag some white washi tape and use it to cover what isn’t relevant to your life. And again, then you can write directly over the washi tape.
- A piece of paper: One last option is to cut out a small piece of paper and paste it over any of the symptoms that you don’t need in your tracker.
Symptoms on the Tracker
In the emotional category:
- Sad
- Hopeless
- Irritable
- Feeling inadequate
- Isolation
- Lack of interest in hobbies
- Anxious
- Crying
In the physical category:
- Change in appetite
- Insomnia
- Hypersomnia
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Abdominal Pain
- Hazy Vision
How to Use This Tracker
This tracker is lightly inspired by The Bech-Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale. But, instead of including all of the symptoms on the scale, I included a few that, through research, appeared to be just as prevalent.
This tracker is 31-days so that it can work for any given month. You can download it and then print it out as you need it each month or use it for reference to create your own.
To fill in this tracker and get the most out of it, use the key below each of the symptom trackers. There are four rating for each set of symptoms. Severe, Moderate, Minor, None.
Pick four different colors (I like to use Tombow markers for color coding). Then, each day rate your symptoms given the scale provided.
Rather than just marking off which symptoms are present, this gives you an idea of the severity. It can also help you see a pattern of improvement or decline.
How to Use the Other Boxes
You’ll notice there are three additional boxes on the far right hand side of the spread. These boxes are titled ‘What’s Going Well?’, ‘What’s Bothering Me?’, and ‘What Can I do About It?’.
While daily data is great, these boxes serve as a deeper look into your symptoms and feelings.
Whenever you have a moment or day where you feel things are going well and working in your favor, write in date and what that thing is in the top box. This will help keep you grateful and knowing that there are good days.
The next box serves as a way to get your fears, anxieties, and frustrations out of your head and on paper. Again, be sure to write the date next to your entry so that you can compare it with your tracker data.
The last box ties into the previous box. Based on what’s bothering you, is it something you can control or something out of your control. Think of possible solutions and write them in.
Trigger Tracker
This printable mental health bullet journal spread was designed for those who live with anxiety and want to narrow down their triggers and reactions to certain events.
This is two-page spread. The first page includes the mini trigger trackers as well as boxes to keep track of triggering situation, things that help, and what you have learned about yourself.
Individual Anxiety Attack Trigger Tracker Boxes
On the first page, there are a total of four trigger tracker boxes. On the second, there are eight and it can be printed time and time again.
These boxes are best used for individual anxiety attacks. When you experience an attack, this tracker may help you to dissect what happened and why it happened. This can give you insight into situations and events that commonly trigger anxiety attacks.
Starting at the top, there is a space for the date and the time that the attack occured.
Moving down, there is a bulleted section for events that lead up to the attack. Here, think of what happened earlier in the day or hours leading up to the anxiety attack. What sticks out?
Some examples here might be:
- Skipped Breakfast
- Drank 3 cups of coffee
- Had a business meeting
- Had an exam
- Bad traffic
In the space below, write what your reaction was. This is meant to be brief and objectively state what happened as a result of the events listed above.
Finally, use the right hand column to write in the emotions you are feeling or were feeling during the given attack. Did you feel fear, anger, confusion, doom?
Using these boxes each time you have an anxiety attack will help you to analyze the situations you have been in and what most notably triggers these anxiety attacks to come one.
Tip: Highlight events and emotions that stick out to you most.
From here, you can write those events and situations in the ‘Triggering Sitatuions’ box on the first page.
The next step is to figure out what helps you in these situations. Do you need to be alone for a while, listen to music, drink some tea, do intentional breathing, etc.
Once you have some methods to help you get through these situations, write them in the ‘Things that Help’ box.
Finally, you can use the ‘What I’ve Learned About Myself’ box to write in any analyses you have made from your trackers.
Daily Goals and Annual Tracker
The last two pages in this mental health bullet journal printable are Daily Goals and a Daily Goals Annual Tracker.
The idea behind this spread is to create a small, achievable goal for yourself every single day. Accomplishing these little things when you are faced with depression or anxiety can be just enough motivation to get you on track to achieve your bigger goals.
Setting goals when you have depression can feel very defeating and almost self-destructive. That’s why it’s crucial to take baby steps and start with very small goals.
Some example daily goals might include:
- Brush teeth in the morning
- Get dressed
- Eat breakfast
- Walk to the mailbox
- Make bed
Make a goal for each day. This doesn’t guarantee you will be perfect, but once you can gain momentum and start achieving these little goals each day, you can start incorporating larger goals, like exercising for 20 minutes.
The key is to not set yourself up for failure. The daily win of saying you’ll do something and following through is huge. So, starting small and realistic will increase your odds of winning that day.
How to Use The Daily Goals Page
Each evening or morning, write in one realistic, achievable goal that you can do. Try to keep these in line with your current activity level. You want to be challenging yourself, but not so much that it will be too overwhelming and not get done.
Write in the date that this goal is relevant in the space provided. Then, follow up by writing in an affirmation for the day.
If you are confused about affirmations, check out this post on how to build confidence and achieve your goals with affirmations.
Start your affirmations with “I am”. This statement is very powerful and as you write it out on paper, there is a connection made in your brain to that statement.
For example:
If your daily goal is to walk to the mailbox, you might write “I am happy to go and get the mail today.”
Or if your daily goal is to make your bed, you might write “I am loving how clean my room is.”
While these statements might seem silly or completely opposite of how you feel in the moment, writing them out and reading them back to yourself can change your perspective and be the driving force that helps you achieve your daily goal.
Finally, once you have achieved your goal for the day, color in the star on the right hand side of the box to recognize and appreciate your achievement.
The ultimate goal is to get a streak going. After you have completed three or four days in a row, you won’t want to break your streak and you will be more likely to continue achieving your daily goals.
This is where the next page comes into play.
How to Use the Annual Tracker
The annual tracker is the ultimate in streak keeping. As you continue to set and achieve daily goals for yourself, fill in the corresponding days on the tracker.
At the end of the year you can look back at all of the progress you made and how many goals you achieved. This is a way to reflect on your achievements and feel proud.
Often times, people look at the big picture when setting goals and look at the little picture when reflecting on achievements. This is ass-backwards, in my opinion.
Instead, these two pages work together to flip that mindset. Start with small goals and then look at achievement over a larger period of time. This will help put your efforts and progress into a positive perspective.
Download Your Mental Health Bullet Journal Printables
Now, you can finally stop reading my amass of words and download your printable. But, first… more words.
This download is a ZIP file containing 2 PDF files, so be sure you have a PDF reader on your computer. You can download Adobe Reader 100% free from this link.
If you need instructions on unzipping a folder, check out this link for Windows and this link for Mac.
The two files included are the same, but one has a dot grid and one is blank. Both versions come with light gray cut lines to easily cut and add this to your bullet journal.
This printable is
There are a couple different ways to add these mental health bullet journal spreads to your journal.
- Adhesive Tape: In my opinion, this is one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods. You can get
double-sided adhesive tape, like this one from Tombow, and then run it along the edges of the backside of your paper before carefully pressing it into your journal. - Sticker Paper: This is my personal favorite method, although it’s a bit more costly up front. You can buy US Letter sized sticker paper, this one is my favorite, and then print your spreads directly onto the sticker paper. From here, simply cut them to fit your journal and then peel the backing off and stick them into your journal.
- Glue Stick: If you have a glue stick lying around, this may be the most realistic option for you. However, know that glue sticks are not extremely adhesive and can peel and lift over time. I definitely recommend one of the above options as an investment if you like using printables.
Subscribe to my mailing list below and you will be directed to an instant download of this file. Afterwards, you will also have access to my VIP Resource Library with all of my free printables.
I hope that these printables can help you and that you will get lots of use out of them. If you have any questions or think any changes should be made, please let me know in the comments below.
