Time to Fire Your Therapist? Here’s Why You Should Ask AI to Keep a Mental Health Journal

Here’s Why You Should Ask AI to Keep a Mental Health Journal

For years, people have been struggling with traditional journaling methods. It can be daunting — staring into a blank page and putting the first few words on paper. Luckily, there’s a way to circumnavigate the writing block, and it has to do with AI. But the key to success is to ask AI the right questions — here’s how.

How to ask AI to help you start an emotional journal

Writing about your feelings in a traditional journal can feel like shouting into the air. You write “I’m stressed,” look at the page, and then what?

Most people stop journaling because they don’t know how to explore their thoughts more deeply on their own. They end up writing simple, surface-level recaps of events, like “Had a meeting, felt bad.” This doesn’t accomplish anything, because the emotions that lie underneath remain hidden.

Emotional journaling is a way to express your feelings. It involves a set of techniques designed to help you understand yourself better. Here are the most common ones:

• The emotion wheel method is a way to identify emotions. It starts with basic feelings like sad or mad. Then, it gets more specific. For example, you might feel disappointed or betrayed. You might also feel helpless.

• Somatic scanning is a technique where you talk about physical sensations to find hidden emotions.

• Cognitive reframing is a way to examine your thought process to understand your emotions.

Unfortunately, these techniques are very hard to self-administer. These exercises are usually done with a therapist, and doing them on your own is like trying to perform surgery on yourself.

Here’s where Overchat AI comes in — it allows you to ask an AI chatbot the questions you would usually ask a therapist or journaling coach. Here’s how to have a productive journalist session:

1. Start by sharing your feelings. Open Overchat AI and type out whatever is bothering you.

2. Connect your feelings to physical sensations. When you mention an emotion, ask the AI to help you understand how it shows up in the body. This approach often helps you understand emotions you’re not aware of.

3. Figure out what the problem patterns look like. Write: Please explain what happened right before I felt this way.

4. End with actionable insights. Ask Overchat AI to explain what you’ve learned and suggest one small change you could make tomorrow.

This method has many advantages.

That’s because when you write alone, you might not see the full picture because of your personal biases and defense mechanisms. Or unconsciously avoid painful topics or get stuck in a cycle of thinking. Overchat AI, however, encourages you to keep going when you might feel stuck, asks the questions you might not have thought to ask yourself, and provides a framework that makes journaling therapeutic, instead of traumatic.

Why AI can help you talk about things you’re afraid to talk about

Men who have been taught to hide their emotions, have trouble knowing what they’re feeling. They often respond “fine” even when in pain. But aI can help you express your feelings without having to tell another person that you don’t know how you feel.

That’s because when it comes to journaling, AI is a great ice-breaker — instead of staring at an empty journal page, you can ask it anything without worrying about being judged.

For example, if you type “I feel weird about my promotion at work,” the AI won’t question why you feel that way. Instead, it might ask what exactly feels weird. For example, do you feel like an imposter, or do you feel guilty about colleagues who didn’t get promoted? This aspect of talking to a chatbot can feel very liberating.

Even more interesting is the fact that the chatbot becomes a better emotional support the more you use it. Each question helps you learn more and get ready for a better therapy session.

But how do you get started? Try this: describe your physical sensations to an AI. “My chest feels tight. I can’t focus. I keep checking my phone.” Let it help you understand your emotions. Are you worried? Are you angry? Are you sad? The best part is that you can say things you’re not ready to say to another person.

Bottom Line

If you’re not sure, start small. Five minutes before bed, tell an AI about your day. Don’t think about the things that happened to you that day. Think about how you felt. If you ever feel weird doing this, remember that you’re not being judged or watched.

Over time, you’ll develop a habit that will help you understand yourself better. You’ll notice patterns before they turn into emergencies. Most importantly, you’ll have a space where you can be completely yourself without feeling like you have to be perfect. In a world that always expects us to present ourselves in a way that is appealing to others, this could be the most extreme act of self-care.