When you live with a mental illness, dark thoughts can overwhelm you. Unfortunately, mental health issues are exceedingly common; 25 percent of people will experience one in their lifetime. Thankfully, starting a mental health journal can help you get these complicated feelings out. If you’ve started journaling but you’re unsure what to include, certain prompts can help you out.
These 10 journaling prompts for mental health can help get you started!
1. Talk About Your Day
This is kind of a no-brainer, but it’s still one of the best ways to get your thoughts and feelings out. That said, the way that you get your thoughts out is important in determining how effective this treatment is.
Try to relate events in your day to how they made you feel. It sounds a little cliché, but this really can help you identify trends in your behaviors and how those impact your mental health.
2. Identify Things You’re Grateful For
Finding opportunities to be grateful every day can be difficult for anyone, but even more so when you have a mental illness. Despite this, recognizing reasons to be grateful is a quick way to improve your mental health by giving you a positive outlook on life.
3. Write a List of Your Coping Mechanisms
Whether you’ve got depression, anxiety, or another mental health issue, you’ve probably developed some coping skills over the years. So write about them, and evaluate which ones are working for you. If you can, assign a number to how well each helps calm you down in times of emotional distress. This will show you what coping mechanisms can stay, and which ones should maybe be retired.
4. Describe a Goal
What are you working towards? Write it out, then talk about how you’re going to reach that goal. This is a great way to not only keep you motivated but also to make sure that you’re staying on track.
5. Write About How Different You Were 5 Years Ago
You, like everyone else, are always changing. But it can be easy to forget that when you’re busy dealing with mental health issues. Try to recognize the ways that you’ve grown over the years, and give yourself credit for being better and wiser than you were.
6. Write a Letter to Your Body
Mental illness often changes how you view your body. Whether you want to write a love letter, some complaints, or a letter of apology, it’s important to address your body image. If you can recognize issues in your relationship with your body, then you can work toward fixing them.
7. List and Describe Your Emotions
What did you feel like today? List out every emotion that you went through and describe how it felt in that moment. This tool will help you identify the causes of your emotions and how you’re responding to them.
8. Write About How You’d Describe Yourself to a Stranger
If you were going to explain who you are to a stranger, how would that go? What are your likes, your dislikes, your strengths, or your weaknesses? Writing this prompt can go a long way in helping you identify how you think of yourself.
9. Describe the Best Compliment You’ve Ever Gotten
What was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? How did it make you feel, and how did that moment play out? Journaling is a great way to revisit a happy memory after a long day, so try this mental health prompt the next time you’re having a bad day.
10. Write a Message for Yourself on Bad Days
Bad mental health days happen, and there isn’t much you can do to prevent them. However, you can prepare for them by writing a message to yourself. The message can look however you want; remind yourself of happier times, point out good things in your life, and do whatever you think will mean the most to you when you’re in a bad place.
Journaling Prompts for Mental Health
Although it may seem small, bullet journaling can really impact your life. Use these 10 journaling prompts for mental health to get started.
We Can Help You
Port St. Lucie Hospital specializes in mental health services and is located on 20 acres near the beautiful Savannas Preserve. If you or one of your loved ones is struggling with an age-related cognitive decline, we can help. Our 24-hour mental health services are provided by licensed professionals in various disciplines. We tailor our programs to our patient’s needs and will help you every step of the way.
We welcome you to our facility. From support groups to individual therapy treatment options, we are here to fight the battle with you. Reach out to us online today. You can also call us at 772-408-5871.
