Journalling for anxiety or stress can be incredibly transformative.

But the idea of “journaling” can be polarizing – people either swear by it, they loathe it, or they beat themselves up for never doing it.

Sure there’s studies that prove it can decrease depression, PDSD, anxiety and more… yet not everyone wants to sit down and write.

That’s why I didn’t do it for a very long time.

I had no idea what keeping a journal actually entailed.

Journaling is a tool of self-awareness and discovery in order to heal, grow and better connect with ourselves. It is one of several techniques you might use to discover your true thoughts, feelings, or desires.

However, you are not required to write your responses down. You can speak them, think about them, or even scribe it into Evernote. Whatever works for you.

The point here is to pause and give time and space for self-reflection and self-inquiry. It’s about quieting the chatter in your mind to hear what the rest of you has to say.

The Benefits of Journaling For Anxiety

Strong emotions often consume us. They distort what we see. They compel us to act in ways that go against our moral principles. And let’s face it, they occasionally just make us feel terrible.

Our thoughts appear physically and energetically as our emotions. They are the means by which we perceive our mental experiences physically.

It might be challenging to discern the true motivations behind emotions when they are so loud and intense. When we use prompts in our journals, it is easier to cut through our intense emotions and uncover the truth or the genesis behind our feelings and motivations.

It makes it easier for us to get everything out of our heads and up to the surface so we don’t have to keep working ourselves into a frenzy trying to control the chaos. (Interesting fact: thinking expends energy and burns calories!)

Furthermore, a lot of the time, the thoughts that are making us feel stressed, anxious, depressed, and self-critical are churning around in our subconscious, just below the surface. There isn’t much we can do with them once they are down there. In order to see, question, challenge, or modify them, we must raise them to the surface.

What Prevented Me from Journaling the Most

To be really honest, I didn’t feel like journaling most of the time. Writing seemed like more effort than I was willing to expend.

When I did sit down and write, those moments were incredibly cathartic and powerful. After some investigation, I was able to identify the self-limiting beliefs I had been holding onto. Sometimes I couldn’t help but laugh when I put them down on paper, looked them in the eye, and saw some of the things I was thinking in black and white.

But even so, I found that the writing portion generally bored me. So I started “mental journaling” more frequently for myself.

“Mental Journalling” in action

A former coworker of mine recently shared something on Facebook that was similar to something I had recently posted. Our former boss, whom I greatly admire, “liked” her post rather than mine. I fell headfirst into the thought, “Does he like her more than me? ”

So I planned to post again and see if he liked my new post.

That’s when I noticed the rabbit hole I was going down.

I was able to recognize that I felt inferior to my coworker since he “liked” her post by pausing and “writing in my head “mental journalling”. I actually laughed aloud when I realized what was bothering me.

I then reminded myself that a Facebook “like” does not decide my value. But if I hadn’t stopped and done the effort, I wouldn’t have been able to get there nearly as quickly, and I may have gone through with posting just for the “like” which is inauthentic and not how I want to represent myself.

Even if you don’t enjoy writing, you can learn a lot from these questions.

I want you to remember that: You don’t have to put pen to paper or fingers to a keyboard to get something.

Both writing and thinking exercises can be done with these prompts. Yes, if you put it all on paper, you might learn more from it. You don’t have to do it that way, though. If writing isn’t your thing, try first just reflecting on these prompts.

You might start writing someday, but it isn’t necessary for you to start today if you don’t want to.

Three Different Types of Prompts to Use when Journaling for Anxiety

#1 Lists:

  1. Three things you did right this week.
  2. Two flaws you can forgive yourself for.
  3. Five things you are good at.
  4. Three times I was courageous.
  5. Picture someone who you feel judged by and what you feel that person has judged about you. Then write down all the reasons that your opinion of you is wrong.
  6. What are two things you need to let go of? (Then picture how you will feel when you let go.)
  7. What are five things your past self would love about your current self?

#2 Open-ended questions and prompts:

  1. Write yourself a permission slip to be imperfect.
  2. Write down something you think you failed at, and what you learned from it.
  3. Write down something your inner critic has said to you and ask, “What is the positive intent behind this?”
  4. What is one thing you want to stop doing, and what is one thing you can do to take a step in that direction?
  5. What is something you are procrastinating on, and how would you motivate yourself if you were a cheerleader?
  6. What is one way you’re being mean to or unfair to yourself, and what would you say to motivate and support yourself with kindness instead?
  7. What is a compliment you received and brushed off because you didn’t feel you deserved it? Now practice fully accepting and appreciating the compliment.

#3 Fill in the blank “Even though” statements:

  1. Even though I feel ________, I choose to keep working toward feeling by ________.
  2. Even though (person’s name) was ________ to me, I choose to love and accept myself and can show it in action by ________.
  3. Even though ________ seems hard or scary, I know I can do hard things. For example, I’ve ________.
  4. Even though I don’t like ________ about myself, I appreciate how I ________.
  5. Even though I have a hard time accepting ________, I choose to keep working toward acceptance by ________.
  6. Even though I didn’t do ________ perfectly, I choose to learn and grow from the experience. I’ve learned that ________.


The bottom line:

  • Self-examination can be difficult. But the voyage will get you nearer to the actual you regardless of whether you put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, or spend some time deep in thought.
  • Self-love is a journey that is well worth going on.

Where to go from here:

  1. Work with me 1:1: For leaders and parents feeling lost trying to grow and heal on their own, ready for a guide on their journey out of anxiety into the happiest, most Zen-Badass version of yourself from the boardroom to the family room.
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