Do the therapy!
My process
The survey
Suggested topics
My process
I won't lie to you... my process might not work for you. It fits in my life and schedule where I can dedicate a few focused days to this project each month. Mileage may vary.
Try to find a process that works for you. I do this all the time with tutorials and mental health advice and it works pretty well for me.
Do it once my way when you're setting your goals, and change the stuff you don't like about the way it flows with your life/creative energy. Then rinse and repeat; improve your own process over time by fixing the stuff that doesn't quite work.
By the end, your Zine Therapy process may look very different from mine! My hope is this can provide a jumping-off point for a creative self-care ritual even if you have to overhaul all of it.
The survey
Here is the survey that I used for Season 1 of Zine Therapy. It evolved throughout the course of my reflective practice.
Click here to save a Google doc, or copy/paste the below into your preferred doc editor and update/adjust as you see fit!
----------------BEGIN----------------
Instructions: Fill out the date, soundtrack, or any other information you want to collect every month over time. Fill out the survey top to bottom.
----------------
DATE
Soundtrack
Today/yesterday
- How are you feeling today, really? Physically and mentally
- What was your last full meal, and have you been drinking enough water?
- How have you been sleeping?
- What have you been doing to keep movement in your days?
- What is a high and a low from today so far?
- What is your personal weather status (cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks, etc)?
Lately
- What’s taking up most of your headspace right now?
- Share one thing that is going on in your life in these categories: (Personal, Professional, Creative, Home, Social, Cat)
- What have you learned recently (not about yourself)?
Upcoming
- What’s something you’re looking forward to in the next few days?
- What are you going to prioritize in the next few weeks/month?
----------------
Instructions: The rest of the survey you will fill out, then revisit later.
- Day 1: Just take notes and write down a quick summary.
- Day 2: Flesh out the points you want to explore further, including doing therapy about it.
----------------
Notes from the previous month/zine
- If it’s your first time, you can start to think about your goals for this project, but be as loose or structured with the idea of “goal setting” as you need.
- If you’ve done this before, read the previous month’s survey and zine and take notes on the stuff that you want to keep thinking about.
Therapy (introspect & reflect)
- Explore a few topics that came up since the last time you did zine therapy (I’m angry all the time, I’m super mean to people in my comments, I’ve been more/less creative, addictions, goal progress, health/home care, work issues, troubles with friends/family, etc.).
- The first day, get it all out, as much as you can. Subsequent days, try to find the top issues to explore this month. (You can always jot down the others to explore another month, if needed.)
- These may repeat month-to-month or they may vary widely. If it’s your first time doing Zine Therapy, you might have more than just a few.
Exploration Topics
- Reflect on up to 5 monthly topics that you want to explore in every zine. Month-to-month, you'll feel some way, but once the project is done you'll have a clear narrative of that topic.
In my zine I explored: Gender identity, shout outs, creative things, home/life projects, and seasonal reflection.
-----------------END---------------
Suggested topics
There is no possible way for me to suggest all the topics you have to explore to improve things in your life, but I can get you started by making a list of the stuff I explored.
Issue 1 (March 2023)
- Conflict about my job/career
- Impacts of ignoring my needs
Issue 2 (April 2023)
- Continued exploring work stuff
- Figured out some ideas to address/approach the issue
Issue 3 (May 2023)
- All the things I feel stuck on (ruts)
Issue 4 (June 2023)
- Burn out signs & fixes
Issue 5: Beach issue (July 2023)
- History around Outer Banks
- Anxiety about family
- Staying sober
- How I'm using apps to track/keep up with life
Issue 6 (August 2023)
- Birthday reflection
Joint issues 7/8 (Sept/Oct 2023)
- Drinking less
- Work reflection
- Social media addiction
- Dating/being on the apps
- Adjusting to having a cat
Joint issues 9/10 (Nov/Dec 2023)
- Name change
- Work reflection
- Recognizing how angry I've been lately
- Embracing old creative hobbies (making websites!)
Issue 11 (January 2024)
- Goal setting for the next few years
- Benefits of life tracking
- Pokemon Sleep