NatureBETTER. Journal MENTAL. HEALTH.TM © 2021 Recovery International No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in the USA. All photos courtesy of The Conservation Foundation. Drawings courtesy of Recovery International. Text excerpts and cognitive-behavioral tools from Mental Health Through Will-Training by Dr. Abraham Low © 2019 Recovery International. This publication is a joint project of: The Conservation Foundation improves the health of our communities by preserving and restoring natural areas and open space, protecting rivers and watersheds, and promoting stewardship of our environment. Simply put, we save land and rivers. Founded in 1972, The Conservation Foundation is one of the region’s oldest and largest not-for-profit land and watershed conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the environment in northeastern Illinois. www.theconservationfoundation.org BETTER. MENTAL. HEALTH. TM For more than 80 years, Recovery International has helped people achieve better mental health using a peer-led, cognitive behavioral four-step method and tools developed by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Abraham Low. With offices in Chicago and San Diego, and volunteers throughout the US and abroad, Recovery offers hundreds of support group meetings each week, helping people lead more peaceful and productive lives. www.recoveryinternational.org Welcome! This is a book for fun & feeling good! Use it for journaling or doodling— write how the phrases on the page have helped you, color in a picture, make up a poem or create your own design. This edition includes beautiful images of nature from The Conservation Foundation in Illinois, a reminder that taking a walk in the woods, relaxing in the backyard, listening to birds, or watching wildlife can be very beneficial to our mental health. The phrases on each page are tools or “spots” designed to help reduce stress. If you wish to follow our four step-method to mental well-being, jot down the following: 1. Describe an incident 2. Describe your symptoms 3. List the “spots” or tools you used to address the matter 4. Describe how you would have reacted before learning these tools. These four steps are part of the Recovery Method created by Dr. Abraham Low to help his patients manage symptoms of anxiety, anger and depression— it is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy that can help all of us deal with daily stressors. It takes practice to learn to use these tools instinctively, but using this journal once a day can change our way of thinking and reacting, helping us achieve better mental health. 4 Have the modesty and humility to know that you don’t know. 5 Poor habits can be acquired in a fraction of a second, good habits only through long, protracted training. 6 7 Changing habits takes practice. Keep trying. 8 9 We hope you enjoyed using this sample journal. To purchase a full journal, visit https://recoveryinternational.org/store/.