Hello, hello! Recently, I’ve been struggling with burnout and a lot of overwhelming emotions. And I feel pretty confident in saying that the majority of those who will be reading this will understand these feelings as well. We all have times in our lives when we simply feel down. I’m hoping that by providing these journal prompts for emotional healing we’ll all be able to heal our hearts that may be going through the wringer.
How do you start a self-healing journal?
This is a common question that gets asked as people want to start journaling in this way or for this reason. Journaling can, at first glance, seem redundant or not worth our time. However, I will be the first to advocate for it. It has changed my mindset in ways that I didn’t know were possible. It helps me to become more in tune with my mind. It calms me. There are ENDLESS benefits to this habit.
So, here are some of my favorite ways to begin a self-healing journal or just a journal in general!
First of all, it is important not to overthink what you are writing. This journal is for YOU and YOU only. Let your thoughts flow and don’t hold them back. This can be hard if you are just getting into journaling, but if you begin to prioritize it, it becomes easier and easier!
When I want to journal when I’m sad or depressed, I just love brain dumps. They make me feel so much lighter. There is no rhyme or reason in a brain dump. As I stated before, just let your thoughts dump onto the page. It can be excellent for letting out feelings that may have been suppressed or have gone unnoticed.
I also love to look over what I wrote in the journal entry and reflect on it. Although the brain dump feels like an amazing load off of your shoulders, growth is just as important. Learning from your thoughts and feelings will help you to approach situations in the future. You know what feels good for you and what doesn’t. Take this time to be mindful of yourself and your body.
It is incredibly important to remember that there is no “right” way to start this journal. I change the way I journal all the time. It is all dependent on what feels good for the journaler’s brain. This is time that you take out of your day for yourself, so utilizing it to the best of your abilities will change the game!
On that note, let’s get into the journaling prompts!
10 Journal Prompts for Emotional Healing
1. Name a situation or a place where you feel the most peaceful. What is it that makes it feel this way?
Our environment directly correlates with how we feel inside. A peaceful environment will reflect itself in peaceful feelings, while a dirty or corrupt environment will reflect itself in just the same way. For me, the place that makes me feel the most peaceful is the mountains, usually when I’m running. Another place is when I’m at my parent’s house with all of my family.
I like to reflect on these things so I can see just where my head and heart feel their best, so I can ultimately put myself in these situations more often than I do. If nature is what makes me feel my best but I’m only going outside a few times a month, I now know that I need to make some adjustments to my calendar.
There is ALWAYS time to put yourself in places that make you feel the most like yourself and the most at ease. Although it can be hard when you’re in the whirlwind of life, your internal environment should still be at the top of your priority list. So what place makes you feel the most YOU?
2. What habits make you sad, depressed, or lonely?
For this prompt, I would ultimately recommend creating a holistic list of all of your habits that you can think of. Then mark in whatever way you want which habits could possibly be destructive and leave you feeling worse. One of the hardest parts of change is the acknowledgment that something DOES need to change.
From here, it could be good to think of an alternative to this habit that you could practice. Ideally, a habit that you will enjoy doing. Obviously, habits are not formed overnight, but if you can replace destructive behavior with constructive behavior that you LOVE, it could make all the difference.
An example in my life would be that I tend to get on my phone right after my alarm goes off (yes, I should know better by now). However, after engaging in this activity, I only ever feel worse throughout my day. I know that on the days when I don’t check my phone in the morning, I am in a better mood. So, I could decide to change my habit of checking my phone by getting a glass of water and having a moment to myself before I start my day, or maybe just reading for 5-10 minutes before I hop out of bed.
Recognizing these behaviors is the first step in changing your days entirely!
3. What could you ask for help with in your life right now? Who could you ask for help?
Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help! I think it’s something that all of us have probably struggled with now and again in our lifetimes. For this journal prompt, it is great to reflect on the resources around you. Think about all of the people who would be willing to lend a hand if you just asked them.
Not only think of WHO you could ask for help but think of what exactly you may need help with. What would make your life just a little bit easier if you asked for assistance from someone? I’m sure there are at least one or two things we could all think of.
Of course, accepting help may seem vulnerable and hard, but there is nothing wrong with it. Accepting help can take you very far!
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What’s one thing you can do this week to work on these?
Reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses regularly can be a great tool to help you achieve your goals. If you can pinpoint what skills you have, then you will be able to utilize them in your day-to-day life. For example, if you’re really good at talking to people, find work or a hobby that will help you to promote this skill. Think about what may come naturally to you. Use this to the best of your ability.
As far as weaknesses go, it may be hard to think about. However, it’s important to remember that no one is perfect, despite what we may think. There is always going to be something that each of us could work on, and that’s the beauty of life! For example, I have a hard time reaching out to friends because I like my alone time, however, I LOVE the feeling I get when I finally see my friends and enjoy that quality time. Each week, I try to break out of my shell little by little, and it has helped so much! It just took the time to think about what I needed to do to make my life more FULL!
If you identify your strengths and weaknesses, you can easily devise a game plan for yourself and your life. So what are yours?
5. What negative feelings are holding you back today?
Expressing our emotions is so crucial to healing our internal environment. This allows all of us to release the tension and gives us the ability to move forward.
Negative feelings have the tendency to build up, so releasing them through journaling is a great way to get rid of them as soon as possible. It is 100% okay to not feel great, and this question itself is a tool to help us feel better during these times. So loot inside, and let go of these feelings and put them on to a page.
6. What feeling do you wish to experience today?
Taking a step back from the negative feelings to focus on the positive. I love to manifest what my day could feel like. Think of what you want to get done this day or think of how you want it to play out. Thinking of how you WANT to feel could very possibly be the first step into having that very experience throughout your day.
For example, if you’re feeling stressed out, maybe write down that you want to feel CALM, PEACEFUL, or AT EASE. Knowing how you would like to feel can help as you cultivate your own schedule. Focus your schedule around this feeling. Manifest it, baby!
7. Is there someone you need to forgive? Do you need to forgive yourself?
Now we’re really getting to the juicy questions, huh? I honestly don’t believe that this question is asked enough. It also goes along great with the question about negative feelings. Is there a grudge that you’re pushing to the back of your mind? Could this grudge be against yourself?
It’s easy to hold negative feelings towards someone without even noticing. It’s also easy to let these negative feelings affect how WE feel. So take a moment to dig deep. Be vulnerable with yourself. Have a “heart-to-heart” with yourself, as some may say, and ask yourself this tough question.
8. Describe 5 things you love about yourself.
For this prompt, forget being humble and just BRAG about yourself. It is not often that we get the chance to do this.
If you’ve ever listened to Mel Robbins talking about how she gives herself a high-five every morning in the mirror, I believe it’s the same principle. It’s all about learning to be your OWN biggest cheerleader. You go through your WHOLE life with no one else but yourself. Creating a relationship of love, compassion, and patience is SO necessary.
So what do you love about yourself? Is it your smile? Is it your kindness? Is it your drive? Any of the above is a beautiful and valid answer. BRAG, sis!
9. Practice gratitude
This is actually something I do each morning, and I consistently feel a shift in my mindset as I choose to focus on the positive aspects of my life.
I usually write a list of 3 things that I’m grateful for with a small description for why and how they make me feel. There are definitely repeats. I think I say I’m grateful for my mom and dad like 4 times a week, but that doesn’t make this moment of gratitude any less special.
Focus on the GOOD. Think of all the things and people that make your life better.
10. How can you let go of the things you cannot control?
This question requires a bit of thinking, but I love it. A lot of the time, our stresses and anxieties are rooted in the worry of things that are not even in our control!
Write down some things that are stressing you out. Which of these things are things you can’t change? If you can’t change it, how can you learn to move on? How can you grow?
It’s easy to let our heads become clouded, but if we are intentional with our thoughts, we can regain perspective and clarity.
This post was 10 journal prompts for emotional healing!
XO, Jaci Lynn
