A Month’s Worth Of Journal Prompts To Soothe Stress And Annihilate Anxiety

Journalling is one of many things you can do to help understand your anxiety, and to relieve it.

It’s a bit like writing a diary, but a journal is for more than simply a list of what you did each day – it’s for recording your thoughts, feelings, emotions, what went well and what didn’t go so well, and so much more.

Benefits Of Journalling

And the reason it can be so beneficial for people who are anxious or stressed is because it can help you:

• Understand how you feel about your anxiety.
• Focus on what’s important to you.
• Document the obstacles you faced and how you dealt with them.
• Appreciate what happened during the day that made you smile.
• Record the progress you are making in dealing with your anxiety.
• Boost your mood.
• Enhance your overall sense of well-being.
• Reduce symptoms of stress.
• Improve your working / short-term memory.
• Clear your mind.
• Release pent-up emotions.
• Improve your self-awareness (e.g. what triggers you).

Handwriting vs. Typing

One of the first things you will need to decide is whether to maintain a written journal, on good old paper, or use a computer, tablet or even a smart phone and create your journal digitally.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages, of course.

Handwriting:

• Is slower, in most cases, which is better when it comes to writing down the types of things you would record in a journal, because it allows you time to think carefully about exactly what you want to say.
• Reduces the chances of being distracted (e.g. by social media).
• Does not rely on anything more than pen and paper (i.e. you don’t need any electronic equipment, an Internet connection, electricity, nor do you need to worry about your battery levels on your phone, for example).
• The very act of handwriting has been shown in studies to be beneficial for both your motor and memory skills, and it increases brain activity, leading to better problem-solving capabilities.

On the other hand, typing into some form of electronic document:

• Is faster in many cases, especially if you can touch type (which is a skill worth learning in today’s digital age).
• Can make your journal safer from prying eyes, if you protect your document with a secret password. After all, your journal is likely to contain some highly personal information, about you and maybe even others.
• Makes your journal easier to edit and revise later on, if you need to.
• Allows you to format your journal (e.g. bold, italics, highlighting, bulleted / numbered lists), making it easier to read later. (Note though, that when journalling, you should focus on what you’re writing and not how it appears on screen, which you can do later after you’ve captured your important thoughts.)

Ultimately, of course, it’s up to you to decide what works best for you, given your preferences, time, and situation.

Personally, I have always disliked writing by hand intensely – I went to school in the days when they still used “dip pens”, and being a left-handed meant my writing was often smudged, and I had a permanent ink stain on my hand.

I also find it too slow – much slower than my thoughts – which I know is part of the benefits of writing things down by hand.

Anyway, choose what works best for you, but don’t spend too much time on this – pick a way to create your journal and get started, because that’s where the real benefits are.

The Journalling Prompts

OK, so here is the crux of this report – over a month’s worth of prompts to help you create your journal entries.

They are not listed in any specific order, so you can either go down the list, picking the next entry each day, or you can choose one that seems especially relevant to you at the time.

Some of these prompts are more appropriate if you journal at the start of the day, while others are retrospective, to be used at the end of the day.

1. Write down the words that you need to hear right now.
2. Describe something that you forgive yourself for.
3. List all of your qualities you like most.
4. Dear Inner Critic: You always focus on everything I’m doing wrong, but I know I’m doing a lot of things right, including…
5. What are some of the major challenges or obstacles you’ve successfully overcome in life?
6. Write out your emotions like a grocery list.
7. What part of today did you find most challenging, and what did you do to get through it?
8. List five things that help you feel better when things are difficult.
9. When life seems tough, I want to remember…
10. Write a letter to someone and never actually send it.
11. Imagine your anxiety is a monster and then write a story about it.
12. What positive changes have you made or experienced during the previous 12 months?
13. Write down three major changes you need to make in your life right now.
14. Start your journal with the phrase “I remember feeling…”
15. Write down a list of 15 songs that can help change your mood. (My go-to song, when I need cheering up, is Alright by Supergrass.)
16. Write about your victories this week.
17. Use colorful markers or pens to write down all the things that make you feel happy.
18. Write down all of the people who love you for who you truly are.
19. Write about what you love about life.
20. Imagine your favorite fictional character has the same problems as you and then figure out how they would solve them.
21. Describe one thing that you look forward to every day.
22. List the people who are closest to you (i.e. who they are and their relationship to you), and exactly why they are so important to you.
23. Write about your week so far. What are some good and bad things that have happened?
24. Write about some of the kindest things that you can do for yourself when you are in physical or emotional pain.
25. Describe one of your favorite memories.
26. What do you feel most anxious about at this very moment?
27. List all the ways you’ve changed for the better.
28. What are the most useful things your parents taught you about living life?
29. List the elements that would define your perfect day.
30. I acknowledge that I don’t need to have all the answers right now. Today, I give myself permission not to know…
31. Interview your past self and future self.
32. Today, I choose to let go of the things I cannot control, including…
33. List five things that you would do if you weren’t afraid.
34. List 20 things that bring a smile to your face.
35. I know I’m strong enough to handle whatever life throws at me, because I’ve already survived a lot, including…
36. Describe how your life would be different if you didn’t suffer from anxiety.
37. Think about the happiest moments in your life, and describe what happened and why they were so great.
38. List some things you are really good at.
39. List some of the accomplishments you’d like to achieve during the coming year, and then write down what’s preventing you from reaching those goals, and what you can do to overcome those obstacles and succeed.
40. Instead of worrying about making the “wrong” choices, I trust that regardless of what I choose…
41. Write about ten things that you are grateful for.
42. Write down five kind things to say to yourself every day.
43. Think back to a time as a child when you felt hurt of scared, then describe that moment. Next, write down what your adult self would say to comfort your younger self in that moment.
44. Choose one thing that triggers anxiety or depression, and then describe a few ways you can combat this trigger.
45. List a few things you would like to be remembered for.

Conclusion

While you mind journalling a bit of a drag at first, it really is a great habit to get into, and many people end up finding it one of the most enjoyable parts of their day.

And, of course, you can create your own writing prompts whenever you like – the above are merely suggestions to get you going.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. A Great Selection Of Journals
2. Writing Through The Darkness