Have you heard, self care journal prompts can help you to combat stress? One thing is sure, no one escapes the clutches of stress. It impacts every one of us at some point in our lives.
There are so many causes of stress and whatever the source of yours is, the good thing is that you’ve identified it and you intend to address the situation and change things up.
Journal prompts are very useful to have in your self care tool kit. They can help you to look back at the past and put your feelings on paper, analyze the situation and help you to find healing.
What Are Journal Prompts?
Journal prompts are just pure, direct, straightforward questions or statements aimed at stirring and stimulating you with a thought or point to speak about, giving your thoughts on them.
Sometimes you might have no idea where to get started and that’s where the journal prompts come into the picture. These can be considered and used as your jumping-off point.
Here’s the thing these writing prompts can help to trigger and encourage you to examine your inner thoughts and your actions and give you some clarity.
Why Are Journal Prompts Helpful?
When you’re journaling, sometimes you might not feel too eager or motivated and have to put in the extra effort to write in your journal. While on others days you’re loaded with excitement and ready to put your pen to paper.
On those days when you’re not feeling it, that’s when these writing prompts come in handy.
Journal prompts can be very effective. This is because they urge you to write and can help you to tackle, drill down and get to the heart of the matter on a specific area or a particular problem.
This gives you the opportunity to hone in on areas and issues you’ve never thought of working on.
How To Use Journal Prompts?
One way to make sure that journaling practice is effective is to do so on a constant basis. When you make journaling a regular part of your routine it will help to give you a clearer understanding of your own life.
This is because it helps you to look back and flush out what happened in your past and what is currently happening in your life. In so doing you can then address them and find answers and as well as make decisions.
Here are some tips to help you use journal prompts and make journaling a habit.
- Keep it simple – Get tools that are easily available and affordable to you. You don’t have to use a particular journal or a particular type of pen if you don’t want to. A regular notebook is just fine.
2. Pick a time that works for you – Choose the best time that works for you. Whether it’s in the morning or before you go to sleep. It’s all up to you. You choose.
3. Settle into a quiet, peaceful spot – You’ll be better able to get your thoughts together if you’re relaxed and comfortable. And, while you’re at it grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine, water or even a snack so that you’ll not be distracted.
4. Round up and organise your prompts ahead of time – Don’t wait until you’re ready to write in your journal to find journal prompts. Instead, get your list of prompts beforehand so that you’re not running round in circles trying to find the perfect prompt.
Related article: How to create a basic journal practice
How To Write Journal Prompts?
A writing prompt may be done by using key questions or statements. Even though they might be simple questions or statements, your answers can be eye-opening and open the door for you to work on major issues that you might have.
When writing a journal prompt determine what situation or topic you want to tackle.
These prompts should be written in such a way that it provokes your thoughts and motivates you to respond and bare your heart and speak what’s on your mind and not shrink back in fear.
Benefits Of Journal Prompts
Journal prompts are beneficial in so many ways. For you to make it a habit you have to be consistent.
Some benefits of journal prompts are:
- Can help you to flush out ideas pertaining to your goals.
- Help you to work through your emotions.
- Get out of your own head.
- Brainstorm ideas.
- Keep you focused on a particular issue.
- Work through mental issues.
- Break down what’s bothering you.
- Identify and detail what’s happening to you now.
- Get to the bottom of a problem.
- Helps you deal with stress.
Journal Prompts Can Help With Mental Health Issues
Journaling is a great tool to help ease your mental health challenges. You can actually address a particular issue that you’re struggling with.
It will contribute to you making a decision as to the kind of journal you want to keep and can serve to help hammer out your concerns.
Some of the benefits of journal prompts for your mental well-being are:
- It can help to improve your mood – Incorporating journal prompts that helps you be thankful and think positively and will help to improve your mood.
2. Reduces stress – Whenever you feel stressed out, write down how you feel and what causes you to feel that way. And, that way you can better identify your stressor and know how to handle it.
3. Improve your sense of well-being – As you put your thoughts on paper, you’ll be better able to see things from a different perspective. This is because you’re opening yourself up to get to the bottom of it and that way you feel stronger to deal with it.
4. Decreases withdrawn behaviour- When you have mental health issues you might avoid places or situations. For instance, avoiding social events. Or not tackling things you need to because of the way it makes you feel. Writing it down helps you to get your feelings out and then go ahead do whatever it is you were trying to avoid.
5. Better sleep – Using your journal helps you to blow off some steam and let it all out. Once you’ve released that weight from your shoulders it frees up your mind leaving you more calm and relaxed.
6. Drives you to be more empathetic – As you work through your situations, examining your personal mental state and what makes you tick in your journal will undoubtedly make you kinder to others. When you leave all judgments behind for yourself helps you to be more considerate of others.
Self Care Journal Prompts
Your journal should be a part of your self-care toolkit as it helps you to confront and cope with things that happen to you. Using writing prompts can help you to find yourself, love yourself and assist you in your personal growth.
Here are some self-care journal prompts to combat r stress.
Mental Health Journal Prompts
1. How is your mental health right now?
2. How has your mental health changed since the beginning of the year?
3. What are you doing to improve your mental health?
4. What severity is your mental health on a scale of 1 to 10?
5. Do you believe childhood trauma has impacted your current mental health?
6. What mental illnesses do you struggle with?
7. How old were you when you knew you had mental health issues?
8. How has your mental health changed over the years?
9. What types of medical treatments have you tried for your mental health?
10. Have you been to therapy or counseling for your mental health?
11. What natural remedies do you use for your mental health?
12. Have lifestyle changes made an impact on your mental state?
13. What are some daily habits or routines that help your mental health?
14. Describe your mental health morning routine.
15. Describe your mental health nighttime routine.
16. What are some things people get wrong about mental health?
17. What do you wish you could explain to people about mental health?
18. What misconceptions about mental health did you learn about?
19. What has been your experience with stress?
20. How has stress impacted your life?
21. What are some of your stress-relieving methods?
22. What is your experience with anxiety?
23. Have you been officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?
24. What do you do on a daily basis to help with your anxiety?
25. What anxiety triggers do you have?
26. Have you given anything up to help with your anxiety?
27. Do you have people you can talk to about your anxiety?
28. Do you suffer from depression?
29. Has your depression been officially diagnosed?
30. What severity is your depression?
31. What are some of your depression triggers?
32. Does journaling your feelings help with your mental health?
33. Have you found a specific form of journaling that helps the most?
34. Start a gratitude journal and write 5-10 things you are grateful for.
35. Do you find journaling your daily feelings and thoughts is helpful?
36. Does writing about a specific topic in your journal help you?
37. Write something creative in your journal today, such as a poem or short story.
38. How are you feeling today?
39. What is something that made you feel happy recently?
40. What is something that made you feel sad recently?
41. What is something new you tried recently?
42. Focus on gratitude today. What are you most grateful for?
43. How is your mental health different when you spend more time alone?
44. How often do you reach out to other people?
45. How do you feel about other people reaching out to you?
46. What kind of self-care practices are part of your routine?
47. Do you practice self-love?
48. How do you feel about self-help for your mental health?
49. What can you do TODAY to improve your mental health?
50. What is something you are currently nervous about?
51. Who are 5 people who can count on you for help? Why?
52. What is a new habit that can help you be healthier?
53. What is a change you made that had the largest impact on your life?
54. Choose any childhood memory and write about it.
55. What is something you look forward to each holiday season.
56. What is a holiday tradition from your childhood that you miss.
57. What is a moment from this year that you don’t want to forget?
58. Write about the first thing that comes to mind.
59. What are you grateful for this year?
60. Write a letter to your high school self.
61. What is something you are proud of?
62. What is your ideal life? How can you achieve it?
63. What is going well in your life right now?
64. Describe in detail what you want your life to be like 5 years from now.
65. Are holding grudges? Write them down and let them go.
66. What makes you feel the most confident?
67. Write a thank you letter to your biggest supporter.
68. What do you wish more people knew about you and why?
69. What was your most embarrassing moment and why?
70. If you could change anything about yourself what would it be and why?
71. What was your most embarrassing moment and why?
Deep Journal Prompts
72. What are your New Years’ resolutions?
73. Do you have plans for the first quarter?
74. What is your new 10-year plan?
75. What are some things on your bucket list? Why?
76. What would you prefer the mountains, desert, or ocean? why?
77. What is the biggest lesson you have learned in your life so far?
78. Name some moments that have impacted your life.
79. What is a big lesson you have learned this year?
80. Explain how journaling has changed your life
81. What areas of your life do you feel need the most improvement?
82. If there was a fire in your house and you had time to grab 3 things, what would they be?
83. What are your 3 biggest strengths?
84. What is your favorite thing about the holiday season.
85. What are 10 things you are looking forward to next year?
86. Detail how your year went.
87. What are your New Years’ Resolutions for next year?
89. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
90. If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
91. Are you living to your full potential? If not, why?
92. Describe your biggest accomplishment and why it means so much to you.
93. How would you describe yourself to a stranger?
94. If you could achieve anything in your life what would it be?
Self Reflection Journal Prompts
95. What are some habits you want to implement?
96. When it comes to self-improvement, what are your biggest priorities?
97. What are some things you love to do on your day off from work?
98 How would you spend your ideal weekend?
99. What is a date you went on that you will never forget?
100. What is your favorite creative outlet?
101. Make a list of what you love about journaling.
102. What are some long-term personal goals?
103. List the 3 most important things to get done this week
104. What are your long-term business goals?
105. If you could have any do-over this year, what would it be?
106. What is something you always wanted to do, but haven’t yet?
107. Do you have any hidden talents?
108. What are 3 skills you want to learn?
109. List 5 things you want to get done this month.
110. How has this year been for you so far?
111. What is something fun to do with your kids this week?
112. How is your year going so far?
113. What is a goal you have made progress on?
114. What is something you want to do before the year is over?
115. What was your biggest learning moment this week?
Conclusion on Self Care Journal Prompts
Using journal prompts is a great way to check-in with yourself to probe and figure out what you want out of life. It can help with reducing stress, self-discovery, self-reflection and can also serve as inspiration and motivation, and provides healing.
There’s no right or wrong way and there’s no need to worry about criticisms or judgments. it’s just you, your thoughts, your journal, and a judgment-free space.
If you have negative or confused thoughts to go through with a fine-tooth comb or you’re just unsure what you want to write about, then concentrate on venting and releasing your emotions can combat stress
Do you use self care journal prompts? How have they helped you? Comment below!
