I tried the viral 'shadow-work' journal touted as a substitute for therapy. It was so bad that I couldn't finish.

• "The Shadow-Work Journal" is a self-published workbook that's hugely popular on social media.
• It's full of prompts and advice designed to explore and heal your emotional wounds.
• I found it simplistic and ineffective, especially compared to other workbooks and actual therapy.

According to social media there's a new, cheaper alternative to therapy, and it comes in the form of a little black book.

The "Shadow-Work Journal" is a self-published workbook full of prompts and advice for exploring your emotional wounds — and it's been on Amazon's bestsellers list for weeks.

The author of the book, Keila Shaheen, is not a licensed therapist. But she has clearly touched a nerve, and TikTok is flooded with fans of her book.

Many people who use the journal have never previously heard of shadow work, which became popular in the '80s based on the work of psychologist Connie Zweig. (Zweig previously told Insider that she thinks the book oversimplifies what shadow work is).

As someone who's gone to therapy and tried mental health-related workbooks before, I wanted to test this one out for myself. While many people online praise it as a more accessible alternative to therapy, it made me realize there are no quick fixes or shortcuts to improving your mental health.

Most of the prompts were broad and simplistic

The book consists of simple prompts like fill-in-the-blank exercises, a gratitude list, a letter to yourself, and many blank pages to answer questions like "What are your biggest dreams in life?"

I genuinely struggled with all of them, but not because I can't be vulnerable. They just felt way too simple.

One question was about what my worst nightmare, and I honestly answered what I think is pretty standard: death, or my loved ones being harmed. I have no idea what this has to do with emotional wounds, however, and the journal didn't help me make that connection.

The journal also suggested that a person's childhood or parents was the reason for any psychological pain. While I believe emotionally immature parents and unhealthy family dynamics do strongly impact us, I think there can be other factors, too.

For example, people with ADHD can experience heightened feelings of rejection and emotional dysregulation that may have more to do with how their brain processes feelings, not necessarily with how their parents treated them. If you take this journal at face value, you might be looking for solutions in the wrong places.

It includes way too much advice to process at once

The book started off with explanations of what shadow work is, very brief definitions of "mind traps," or mental biases that can influence our thinking, and vague self-care tips like tapping on pressure points on your face.

While it felt like good advice, the way it was organized felt like an overload of quick, breezy psychology definitions. I don't know how anyone would realistically retain all of this information.

Sprinkled throughout the rest of the book are short exercises like creating a one-time gratitude list or reading through "inner child affirmations."

While reading the journal I thought it was clear that Shaheen is neither a therapist nor experienced in teaching. There's little consideration for how so many of these habits require slow, steady work over years. Phrases like "do a gratitude meditation" are trite, meaningless advice; doing it one time won't benefit you much at all, but there was no guidance on how to commit to the practice.

And for all its tips, the journal never encouraged actual therapy.

Even though the journal was short, I ended up not being able to finish

The main reason I couldn't finish the journal, however, was because it felt tedious and repetitive.

For example, there are five or six fill-in-the-blank prompts followed by around 30 one-question pages to write long letters to yourself. I completed a few of each before quitting, because I felt like I was nudged to hammer the same point home over and over again.

What was also missing from this book, in my opinion, was how to juggle the things you want for yourself with your relationships. A reader might come away with discovering a few dormant desires, but without guidance on how to honor them, I have to wonder how useful that knowledge actually is.

The journal could be a nice introduction to better mental health resources

Many fans of the book credit it as a gateway to learning more about themselves. While I don't think it can compare to therapy, I do think that one benefit of the journal is that it seems to be normalizing mental health self-exploration and can be an approachable first step for some people.

But there are still better workbooks for mental health, in my opinion.

I recently finished a much longer workbook for women with ADHD, co-written by a licensed therapist. It was filled with highly specific prompts and relatable stories from clients, all organized to help me challenge assumptions about myself and find my strengths.

If a person struggles with being kinder to themselves, I really love "Self-Compassion," which explains how to do it without being self-centered. For people struggling to set boundaries with parents, "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents" teaches you how to stick up for yourself without necessarily vilifying your parents.

The shadow work journal was much thinner and simpler than any of these. It's also why I couldn't finish it: When it comes to personal growth, I've learned that there are no shortcuts.