Pen to Peace: 5 Journaling Prompts For Anxiety Relief
What I ask myself so I start writing when journaling
Everybody keeps talking about the benefits of journaling, and you have tried. But once you sit down with a pen and a piece of paper, you just don’t know where to begin. I’ve got you. Keep reading…
I have mentioned it before. I have been journaling since I was 13. My journaling has evolved a lot since then though.
There is one thing that has never changed though. I write without shame, without judgment, without second guesses.
I guess because I know it is all for myself, and only for myself.
I can’t say that these are all my ideas. I have been creating my ideal prompts from reading others. Test, and trial.
But especially if I’m on an intense panic attack, these 5 prompts never fail to calm me down on the spot.
1. What happened?
This is the most obvious. First and foremost, I need to write down the objective bare facts on the situation that’s bringing me to needing to sit and frantically write.
No emotions here, just FACTS.
2. What am I telling myself about this situation?
Here is where emotions are allowed. Here’s where I can plainly and honestly explain how this situation is making me feel, and why.
I need to be brutally honest about what my internal language is. Especially, about the “terrible assumptions” that my brain is making about the situation.
What are “terrible assumptions”? Well, that’s a topic for another day. But basically are those chains of events that we picture will happen if something we fear were to happen.
Spoiler alert. It is never as bad as we picture them in our heads.
3. What would my friend tell me about my reading of the situation?
Imagine your best friend comes and tells you what you are telling yourself. They ask you to have a realistic assessment.
What would you tell them?
Maybe you’d see that you probably misread the intentions of that email your boss sent that made you feel vulnerable. That you should ask calmly for clarification.
Maybe they’ll tell you that you are making the situation worse in your head than it actually is and that if that thing that you fear were to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
4. What is a realistic assessment of the situation?
Here’s where I usually let go of my fears unless I managed to do so while trying to think like my best friend would.
After assessing everything I have written to this point, I usually can see a realistic picture, de-escalate the situation, and find the silver-lining.
BONUS PROMPT:
What’s the worst that can happen if your fears come to life?
Ask yourself, realistically, what is the worst that can happen, and whether you’d be able to find a fulfilling life in that scenario. You probably would.
Luckily, there are only a handful of things in life that mean that this is the end. And even then, we could probably find ways to stay at peace, with the right mindset.
Now, I’m not perfect. And even with this powerful tool, I sometimes let my anxiety go way too far.
But I can’t count the number of times that these 4 prompts (+ BONUS) have helped me in the past.
What about you? Do you have some particular journaling prompts? Let me know in the comments!
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I always write my diary notes as they come, without a clear intention. And I leave them like that. This is what I did when I started journaling at age 13, and this will be the signature of these posts.
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