One very helpful way to improve your mental health is journaling for your mental health and self-love. The technique of journaling using prompts can help you if you are not used to the process of journaling.
These journal prompts give you a starting point and a guide to help you get in the habit of journaling the right way.
You can incorporate journaling as a great part of your daily self-care regimen.
Learning to love yourself is hard. And who doesn’t struggle with this every now and then?
It is hard when you find yourself doubting yourself and your worth every day.
If you are stuck daily in a cycle of questioning your gifts, your abilities, your looks, and forever unable to advance yourself because the negative things you tell yourself are so very crippling, journaling can help. Journaling will illuminate patterns so you see and figure out where change is needed.
It is time to take the reins of your life and direct it forward with power and vision through journaling for mental health.
While some people can write freely at any time, sometimes, it is good to have a guide to help you pick areas you would like to write about and get the process, an angle that sort of points the way.
So journal prompts are great to guide the journal writing process. So grab a sweet smooth notebook, prompt, and put thought on paper. I love this one. It makes writing, smooth and enjoyable.
And without any further ado, here are some journal prompts to, will prompt you to prob get you ready to let go, and to find answers, and peace.
Ask yourself these questions to promote your mind to think of certain areas of your life.
Why journaling for mental health works
If you are wondering whether journaling can help to improve your mental health, the truth is it really can. Research actually shows that writing in a journal helps in many ways. A 2018 study published in JMIR Mental Health found that journaling improved mental distress, and general well-being, and reduced anxiety and depression.
According to the study, anxiety and depression were much improved after a month of sustained journaling and participants developed increased resilience after months 1-2 of sustained journaling.
When you practice journaling you will have a vision for your life driven by self-love.
There is a good reason why journaling has been around for so long and it has power.
- Journaling can help you have a perspective on things that are bothering you.
- It can assist you in letting go of things you’re holding on to.
- when you journal you ease and relieve your mind of mental burdens.
- Journaling can provide clarity.
- And is a great way to confide your thoughts without really telling anyone.
However, all that said, it is still good to speak to a real live person, like a therapist if you are having mental health issues.
There is a real need for seeing a mental health counselor because as I said mental health care requires a diverse approach for real impact.
Don’t keep troubling things to yourself. Mental health requires several modalities so as to achieve real wellness. Mental issues such as depression and anxiety require an integrated approach to healing.
And this integrated approach includes healthy nutrition, healthy sleep habits, and healthy self-care-a broad term which in essence is everything required for balanced mental health.
So as you can see journaling is a great part of that holistic approach to mental health balance.
How to get started with a Journaling practice
The great thing about journaling for mental health is that you can choose to do whatever feels write for you. First, choose the best time when you have a few undisturbed moments to write in your journal.
You may decide to journal around bedtime as part of your bedtime routine, or in the morning as part of your morning routine. You can even do both and just focus on different things at both times.
At night you can write in the journal to reflect on your day. You may set things in perspective. This can help you rest your mind about issues.
Journaling at night is also great for calming your mind and unloading those cycling thoughts that tend to keep you awake when you are trying to go to sleep. When you write your thought down you get them out of your mind and it’s therapeutic. It relieves your mind like talking to a trusted friend.
Alternatively, you can choose to journal whenever you feel overwhelmed as well as the dedicate time when you write in your journal. The dedicated time allows you to form a journaling habit which is really helpful for mental health.
Many people have their preferred method for journaling. You can do bullet journaling, and in fact, many people love this as it is very artistic. You can get as creative as you want. You can use cute stickers, and different colors for your bullet lists and just have fun with it. Bullet journaling is an art form.
Or you can simply brain dump in a notebook. You can get a cute dedicated journal for that.
Another form of journaling is following a guided journal with prompts. These can be gratitude journal prompts or a mixture of prompts focussing on various elements of balanced mental health. So yeah, there are many journaling choices you can explore to see which one feels right for you.
38 Journal Prompts for mental health and self-love.
Reflect on and answer the following Journal prompts to guide the journaling process.
1. What is one thing you need to forgive yourself for?
2. Is there someone you need to forgive? Write about why you need to forgive them.
3. What is the best compliment you have ever received? How did you feel?
4. Write about a time you helped someone and how it made you feel
5. If you could do anything, what is the one thing you feel would be your biggest accomplishment?
6. Write about your proudest moment
7. What are some of your best qualities? What do you love about yourself?
8. What three things are you most grateful for?
9. When are you most happy?
10. What do you feel are your weaknesses? Now see yourself as being the opposite of those weaknesses.
11. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go, and why?
12. What are you afraid of? Now visualize yourself as no longer afraid of those things. How do you feel when you are no longer afraid of those things?
13. What limiting beliefs are holding you back? See yourself now as no longer having those linning beliefs. What would you accomplish?
14. Describe your perfect day.
15. What things do you really want to do that can make you happy? freely write about things that bring you joy.
16. What is the best book you have ever read and why do you love it so much?
17. Visualize yourself accepting yourself, including your “flaws.”
18. If you could live your best most vibrant abundant life, what would it look like?
19. What do you worry about? And is one or two things you can do to work towards worrying about this issue?
20. What was the happiest day of your life? Write about what happened and why you were so happy.
21. When do you feel most at peace? What can you do to feel this more?
22. Are there people or someone in your life you need to set boundaries with or distance yourself from? Write why and how you can do that.
23. What are the habits that are holding you back? How can you change that, and visualize life without those habits?
24. What good habits do you want to start? What will you feel when you have started these good habits?
25. What do you need to forgive yourself for?
26. According to you, what really, is happiness?
27. What are some goals you have to improve your life?
28. Where and how do you see yourself 10 years from now?
29. If you could be any animal what would you be? Why?
30. Who is the one person in the world you admire most? You admire this person because—————
31. Who is your best friend and what are some things you like and admire about them?
32. You are living your dream life? How is it? Describe in detail.
33. Do you feel that the people in your life know you well? What do they know about you, and what do they not know, or understand?
34. If you could explain your struggles to those in your life what would you say?
35. List some books you have read this year and what you liked about them? Which books would you like to read?
36. Write a letter to the one person who is your go-to person when you have problems.
37. What have you overcome so far in your life?
38. Today I am thankful for?——————- Write at least 5 things you are grateful for.
I do hope these prompts will provide you with some self-introspection, clarity, and self-awareness. And I hope that as you journal, this will lead to greater self-love peace of mind, and better mental health.
Please remember, if you need mental health care, you should seek the help of certified health or mental health practitioner.
Be awesome and PIN ME
Great tips, will use some of these for sure! I need to make journaling more of a regular occurrence.
Christina, that’s is a good idea. Making journaling a part of daily self-care can really boost your mental health.
Really good journaling prompts. I try to work daily with a self-coaching journal and practice gratitude journaling, but it’s so hard to always find time to do it. Your ideas made me excited to try something new tomorrow. Thanks Jane!
Kat! You are so welcome. Journaling for mental health is great at giving one clarity, and a way to move forward. let things go, and find calm. Good to hear that you will try these ideas.