Cultivating Calm: An Anxiety Journal

by Brandi Matz

Create calm in your life―practical, evidence-based exercises for relieving anxiety

When it comes to reducing anxiety, journaling can be a valuable therapeutic outlet. Cultivating Calm: An Anxiety Journal is full of practical writing prompts, strategies, and meditations designed to minimize anxious thoughts and feelings so you can get back to feeling like your true self.

Journal your way to a calm mind with scientifically backed exercises tailored to specific anxiety triggers like clutter, finances, health, social situations, flying, and beyond. You’ll also find meditations for quieting your thoughts, getting restorative sleep, practising gratitude, and more. With this anxiety journal, you’ll be on the path to peace!

Cultivating Calm: An Anxiety Journal includes:

Evidence-based prompts―Discover exercises based on scientifically supported methods for relieving anxiety, including mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Thought-provoking quotes―Reflect on inspirational quotes from motivational figures like the Buddha, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and more.
Therapeutic journaling―Process your feelings, clarify the causes of your anxiety, and identify where your fears are coming from with this beautifully designed anxiety journal.

Identify, examine, and eliminate unwanted thoughts and feelings with Cultivating Calm: An Anxiety Journal.

Genres: Nonfiction

186 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph]

Cultivating Calm: an anxiety journal by Brandi Matz is not a journal for everyone, and it's not a journal for me. As a lot of others have mentioned in reviews already, the prompts comprising 2/3 of the book are oddly specific, and, perhaps less commonly mentioned, very very specific in demographic. If you're a cisgender white woman who moves in upper middle class circles, the kind who does yoga and champagne brunch with other financially stable white women on weekend mornings to complain about your families and your high paying jobs, this may be relatable. It was not for me. I don't have kids, so trying to imagine what I'd feel like in a specific scenario at their PTA meeting or soccer game, for example, and then trying to think how I would respond within that imaginary scenario, is a lot of mental gymnastics that slowed down/ distracted from the actual work the journal is trying to do. A lot of the scenarios would have been much more broadly effective, in my opinion, if they had been more broadly applicable. Feeling excluded at a social event or bullied by family is relatable for too many people, but these events are framed so specifically in this journal that they are going to exclude many potential readers.

Also, this may just be a "me" thing, but I felt like the way the scenarios were framed was very stressful/ anxiety triggering. So yes, I'm reading a journal to learn how to cultivate calm, and part of that is learning healthier responses to stressful scenarios. But I still got really stressed out reading these scenarios as I flipped through the book.

Because flipping through is all I did. There are some meditation examples in the last third of the book that seemed really helpful, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to fill out a journal that mostly does not apply to me, and stresses me out even more when it does. So while I appreciate Callisto Media and Rockridge Press sharing a free copy with me in exchange for an honest review, I'm going to pass my copy on to the library book sale, where hopefully it will be found by someone who will benefit from it, or at the very least the sale of the book will make a few dollars to support the library. Funding our local library helps reduce my stress, so at least this journal will have contributed to its mission indirectly eventually.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro)]

This book is divided into two sections: one with journal prompts and space to write, and one with meditations to try. Each page begins with an inspirational quote, and a short paragraph describing a situation or theme for you to journal or meditate about.

The themes include things like financial stress, being alone, being late, getting rid of clutter, taking an exam, family relationships, crowded spaces, conflict with others, housework, social media stress, fear of driving, fear of dying, and fear of public speaking, among many others.
Each of these are addressed, acknowledged, and then the reader is guided into a more productive and calm attitude, along with tips for dealing with each situation and handling anxiety in a healthy way.

I think the journal prompts are good to unpack your feelings and acknowledge your anxiety, but it also makes you focus on that anxiety or fear. In the journaling pages, it seems like the anxiety is emphasized a lot more than the calm. So it would be best to always follow up the journaling portion with one of the meditations in the back of the book. That is where the real calming and soothing happens.

My feelings about this book are half and half. I like the journaling prompts but I wish they emphasized more calm, and provided more guidance in how to manage tough emotions. There are some helpful and practical tips, but I was looking for more. The meditations are wonderful though!

I don't like how the book is organized. I think it would have been more helpful to mix the journaling with the meditations, instead of having them in separate sections. It would be a better experience to face your fear, unpack those feelings and journal about them, then immediately do a meditation on the next page as a way to calm down and find your balance after facing those tough emotions.

I do really like the quotes at the beginning of each page! They are encouraging and beautiful! I also really love the artwork and designs on the pages, with gentle drawings of rippling water, fish, plants, trees, clouds, and birds. The art is really soothing and every page is a soft color.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Kelly]

I received a complimentary print copy of this book from Callisto Publishing. My review of this arc book is voluntary and unbiased.

After an introduction, the journal is organized in user friendly manner which can be adapted for the user. Each section for journaling begins with a quote and some thoughts to prompt your writing. In the back of the book is a section with thoughts for quiet meditation.

A helpful journal to guide those with anxiety express their thoughts through mindful writing exercises.

[Lecy Beth]

This is a book full of journaling prompts to help you work through episodes of anxiety as well as prepare for future episodes. I liked that there were quite a few prompts that specifically dealt with social anxiety situations. There's lots of space to reflect and write on each of the prompts, and unlike an anxiety journal that I reviewed last month, this one did not have drawing prompts, which makes it much more useful, in my opinion. There is a short section in the back of the book with meditations that are anxiety-specific and include some quotes for each. The only downside to this journal was that some of the prompts were very situationally-detailed. They were not situations that everyone would find themselves in, but rather it was more about "imagine yourself in this situation - what would you do?" kind of prompt, which might not be helpful if you couldn't apply that scenario to your own life. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[brightredglow]

This is a guided journal. I like guided journals, in general, but I find that the more vague a guided journal is, the more I like it. The more specific it is, the less motivated I am to continue with it.

That's how it was with "Cultivating Calm". It was exactly as advertised. I can't knock it on that. And I think it is good for the audience it is meant for. It may have been too specific for me or I just had a mental block with some of the prompts like "why do I have think of a mother in law? I don't have a mother-in-law..." and "what? engaged? but you had me thinking of a mother in law?" and so on. Then I'd argue with myself and go "It is just a scenario! Write about your anxiety about the prompt. Just do it."

My "just do it" ended up being "Nah, this isn't for me."

Granted, I do have anxiety (obviously) but not quite the ones in the journal. Yet, that's me, and I think for another person, it'd be just fine and it'd work.

[Vicky]

This book is especially appropriate for now and has some really great prompts for working through different types of anxiety including flying, crowds, clutter, finances, and more. After the prompts and journaling, there is a section on meditating – finding relaxation through the day and with different challenges. And though the prompts and mediations are self-guided, the author also encourages people with strong issues to work through this book with a therapist—a good idea. I had a few minor issues with the book as you’ll see below, but overall, I found this to be a good basic book that may help you identify why you have anxiety about certain things.

What I liked: The prompts were thought-provoking and followed by tips that helped you understand why you might be feeling what you do. I believe they will help you focus on the fear or issue that is causing your anxiety. I also found the mediations interesting and will be trying some of them in my daily practice. I liked that the author pointed you toward a therapist if you are struggling with anxiety.

What I didn’t like: I would have liked to have seen more variety in the prompts, maybe a selection of two or three for each. For instance, the “Intrusive thoughts” one talks about your children. While I do have concerns about mine, they are adults and no longer live with me. My intrusive thoughts center around other concerns. And yes, I understand what the prompt is trying to get you to think about, but not everyone has children so a different choice would be nice. Also, I’d have liked to have seen a listing at the end of maybe places to go for further help. I also wished it focused more on the calming aspect. Yes, I know what my fears are and what causes them, but how do I find calm through that? I suggest that maybe having the focused meditations with the anxiety issues and not separated might be more beneficial.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher.

[Nora St Laurent]

Anxiety levels are at an all-time high as the Covid-19 virus sweeps over the globe and we follow the stay-home stay-safe guidelines. Many things that were natural to do have become foreign in just a few short weeks. Like going to the grocery store, gathering with family and friends online instead of in person. Life as we’ve known it is gone. This has everyone off balance.

This is a lovely journal to write your thoughts in about this time, how you are feeling, and coping. The book has prompts to help you get started along with some practical strategies for you to calm your nerves.

I’ve liked writing down my thoughts and thinking through situations. This is a beautiful book with quotes throughout from famous people like Albert Einstein who said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” If you like journaling you’ll love this notebook that has plenty of space for you to pour out your heart and be calmed by the prompts and tips inside these pages.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com

[Weslyn]

Overall, I think this is a great journal for anyone with mild-ish anxiety. I appreciated the meditations at the end of the journal and some of the writing prompts really resonated with me, but others fell flat and I wish they went a little deeper. I felt like some of the prompts presented in this journal dealt with surface level issues and I would have liked to see more from them. I will definitely be using this journal in the future, but it’s going to take more work on my part to get the prompts to fit my life a bit better.

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[christinemm]

I feel reviews on Amazon. In a nutshell I appreciate that this is written by a real therapist and it’s not just some feel good journal prompt book by a layperson. At the back is one chapter on different meditations one may choose to do.

[Cassandra]

I received a complimentary copy.

A good prompt, quotes and ample writing space to help you on each section. Great for reflection and calming moments.

[Georgette Quinn]

It wasn’t exactly what I thought it was. A lot of the journal prompts were very specific and didn’t apply to me. I still did them but it was hard when it didn’t apply to my life.