system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how does keeping a journal help people with depression, food disorders etc.

ive heard that this helps with things like that but my question is how? or is this wrong?
gpt
Journaling can be useful in a few different ways. It can help providers track behaviors (with regard to food disorders or even things like headaches) to help nail a diagnosis or find a spot where one treatment or another will help the patient the most.

Another way is that journaling can be a helpful coping strategy. When life’s stresses bother us, it is important to channel those feelings towards something that isn’t self harming. In this sense, journaling can be something that a therapist recommends to their patient to write down their feelings. The patient can talk about those feelings with their providers if they feel comfortable doing that.