30 Journaling Prompts for Anxiety, Sadness, and Introspection
Journaling is a great way to clear your mind, get curious about yourself, and work on your skills in between counseling sessions. That being said, staring at a blank page can be daunting. Sometimes it’s great to just start writing whatever comes to mind, but other times, it’s helpful to have a prompt to get us started. Here’s our list of our favorite journal prompts for anxiety, sadness, and introspection.
Journaling has incredible benefits for mental health and wellbeing, including:
Emotional expression and release.
Enhanced self-awareness.
Clarity in solving problems.
Stress reduction and relaxation.
Growth and self-discovery.
If you’re feeling stressed and anxious, try these prompts:
Brain dump: Write down everything that’s stressing you out and everything on your to-do list for the future. This way, you can feel safe putting down your worries - they’ll be ready for you to pick them back up tomorrow.
Reflect on a recent moment when you felt genuinely calm and comfortable. What were you doing, and what contributed to that feeling?
What did you love to do as a child? How can you bring more of that into your life?
Write a letter to your childhood self offering comfort and advice.
Imagine you are free from anxiety forever. How would you feel? What would you do?
What is one thing you wish other people knew about you?
What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself in the past year?
Reflect through the week and write about moments that made you happy.
What is something that was hard to do but you did it anyway?
Talk about the people, animals, plants, or things in your life that make you feel safe and loved.
Try these prompts to get to know yourself better:
When was the last time you truly gave yourself grace and forgave yourself for a mistake? What was the mistake?
When are you hardest on yourself? Where do you think this stems from?
When you really think about it, is there anything you’re currently in denial about and avoiding?
What was one time you can remember feeling wronged as a child? How did you react? How has this affected you in adulthood?
What are your core values as a human being? What’s more important to you? What are you morally passionate about?
What parts of your parents/caregivers do you see in yourself? When did this become apparent and how does it make you feel?
What is something you’ve always wanted to confront someone about, but didn’t? Why didn’t you confront them? How do you feel about that now?
What tends to trigger envy within you? Why do you think this is?
Do you ever find yourself acting ‘out of character’? When does this tend to occur the most?
Has anyone else ever pointed out areas that you need to improve? What were these? How did this make you feel?
If you’re feeling sadness, try responding to these prompts:
When things feel hard, something I want to always remember about myself is…
Write 3 reasons why you are a good friend, partner, family relative, worker, and citizen.
What are 10 things worth living for?
What are 3 examples of times I’ve shown strength and endurance?
What are my favorite qualities about myself and why?
If this feeling was an image, what would the image be? Be descriptive.
What do I need to let go of to experience more joy in life?
Imagine you wake up tomorrow and all your troubles are gone. What would you do? Be specific.
What do I need more of in my life? How can I work toward that?
Write a love letter to yourself, saying all the beautiful and comforting things you need to hear.
Journaling can be hard! We hope you find these prompts to be useful as you contemplate the blank page. Journaling can be incredible for mental health, but it isn’t a replacement for therapy or medication. Journaling may be enough for some people, and not for others - and that’s okay. If you’re struggling with your mental health, experienced and professional counseling care is available right here in Shelby Township, MI.
References
Gillette, H. (June 28, 2022). 41 journal prompts for depression. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral.com/depression/journal-prompts-for-depression
Griffiths, N. (n.d.) 100 Shadow Work Journal Prompts For Healing, Self-Awareness & Growth. Seeking Serotonin. https://seekingserotonin.com/shadow-work-journal-prompts/
Tewari, A. (n.d.). 70+ journal prompts for easing anxiety. Gratitude - the Life Blog. https://blog.gratefulness.me/journal-prompts-for-anxiety/
