A Gentle Guide to Journaling
A simple approach to connecting with your thoughts and emotions through writing
Journaling can be a helpful way to pause, reflect, and connect with your thoughts and emotions. It isn't about writing perfectly or having profound insights every day. It's simply about making space to listen inward.
This little guide offers simple prompts and sentence starters to help you begin especially if journaling is new to you. There's no right way to journal.
You can write a sentence, a rant, a list, a scribble, all of it counts.
Some Things to Keep in Mind
- You don't have to do this every day.
- You don't have to make sense.
- You don't have to share it with anyone.
- You don't have to be deep.
- Journaling does not have to be done daily to be helpful. You can pause and return to it as needed.
- There's no pressure to write well, this is just for you. You just need to start.
Prompts to Help You Begin
Reflection Prompts
- • What's been sitting heavy on my mind lately?
- • What feeling keeps showing up for me these days?
- • What emotions have I been avoiding the most? What are they protecting me from feeling underneath?
- • What do I wish I would remember on a bad day?
- • What 3 ordinary things bring me the most joy?
- • Something that used to be very difficult that has become easier?
- • What are my superpowers?
- • Whose validation feels unusually important to me? Why?
- • If my anxiety could speak, what would it fear losing control over?
- • When I judge someone harshly, what part of me am I rejecting?
Deeper Questions
- • Do I trust myself to follow through on the things I want? Why/why not?
- • What do I keep postponing, what's actually stopping me?
- • Who triggers me most? What part of me might they reflect?
- • Which identity feels safest to me? Does it reflect who I aspire to be?
- • What have I been avoiding and what might be underneath that?
- • What does rest mean to me lately?
- • Who makes me feel like I'm "too much" or "not enough"?
- • Who in my life do I over-give to? Is there a need I am trying to meet through that?
- • What do I envy in others? What internal desire might that reveal?
- • Where in my life am I choosing comfort over growth?
Additional Prompts
- • Is there a version of myself I'm scared to show people? What do I think they'll do if they see it?
- • Who am I grateful for?
- • What ritual always feels good for my nervous system? How can I make it non-negotiable?
- • Today, I need more of _____ and less of _____.
Sentence Starters
These can help if you're unsure how to begin writing:
- • Right now, I'm feeling…
- • I keep thinking about…
- • I don't really want to admit this but…
- • I'm scared that…
- • Something I'm proud of…
- • I'm trying really hard to…
- • I feel most like myself when…
- • I wish someone understood…
- • If I met my younger self right now, I'd tell them…
- • Lately, I've been trying to…
- • I'm tired of pretending…
- • I feel safest when…
- • My mind feels like _____. My body feels like _____.
- • I need more of…
- • I hope that one day…
- • I want to make peace with…
- • If my emotions could speak, they'd probably say…
- • Something I wish I could say out loud…
- • I'm holding onto _____ and I think I'm ready to let it go.
- • If no one was going to read this, I'd write…
- • One thing I want to carry forward from this season of life…
Alternative Approaches
You could try these instead if you're not in the mood to write a lot:
Make a List
- • Things taking up space in my head
- • Things that bring me comfort
- • Things I miss
- • Things I am grateful for
- • Things I have outgrown
- • Patterns I have been noticing
Write a Letter
(You don't have to send it)
- • To your past self
- • To a part of you that feels stuck
- • To someone who hurt you
- • To the version of you you're becoming
Final Note
If journaling feels weird at first, that's okay. Start where you are. Be honest with yourself because you deserve that space. Some days it'll pour out. Some days it won't. Both are fine.
Take what works for you, leave what doesn't. Come back whenever you need.
There's no pressure here. Just a gentle check-in from you, to you.
You've got this,
Ridhima Gupta
Counselling psychologist
Mann Santulan