Zen Journal

I'm a developer who learned something important: you can't journal your way out of exhaustion if you keep absorbing everyone else's stress.

My therapist recommended journaling for anxiety. I tried it. I wrote every morning. I felt lighter - for about an hour. Then I'd go to work, talk to people, and by afternoon, I was drained again. Heavy chest. Short breath. A weight I couldn't name.

I didn't understand why until I noticed a pattern: After certain conversations - even casual ones - I felt depleted. Not because the topics were heavy, but because I was unconsciously absorbing other people's emotional states.

I realized journaling alone wasn't enough. I needed something that helped me hold my energy boundary throughout the day, not just process feelings after they'd already invaded my space.

So I built Energy Shield - a simple visualization practice wrapped into Zen Journal. Every morning, you set your energetic boundary: a warm golden light around your body, like an egg shape. It doesn't block connection. It holds clarity. What's yours stays. What isn't passes through.

When I added a privacy policy to the app, I read other mental health apps' terms. "We may share your data with third parties for analytics and advertising."

I was shocked. Your inner world shouldn't be a product sold to the highest bidder.

So Zen Journal became two things:

• A tool to protect your energy in daily life (Energy Shield)
• A safe space where your thoughts stay yours (local encryption, zero tracking)

I'm a developer who wanted to hold my own center in a world that constantly pulls at it. This is my contribution to better mental health tech - one that protects your privacy as much as it supports your practice