For many of us, journaling represents a way to help organize our thoughts, recognize and celebrate gratitude and/or work through any challenges currently being faced. By expressing ourselves openly in this way, journaling can help relieve stress and anxiety; becoming a valuable tool to monitor our general health and well-being.
Using a personal journal does not have to solely focus on positives; life is a chaotic mix of ups and downs; our everyday experiences will reflect this. One of our superpowers (resiliency) comes from acknowledging our struggles; journaling can provide support that examines them in a way that does not completely weigh us down or hold us back. We can take care of ourselves through mindful self-compassion; our personal wellness is important.
*Please note that journaling is not a replacement for qualified medical support/treatment. If your emotional, mental and/or physical health negatively impacts your ability to experience a balanced/healthful life, always consult healthcare professionals.*
By taking some time as often as we can; to reflect on our health and wellness, we can remind ourselves about the things we’ve overcome, improved on or been accountable for. Part of working towards growth and thriving is being able to recognize the progress we’ve already made; steps forward might sometimes be small, but they’re still significant. If we keep losing track of our momentum because it’s wonky, sometimes backward and oftentimes exhausting; journaling might be exactly what’s needed to reassure us that things have and will get better.
Here are 10 useful health and well-being journal prompts …
- What do you need right now? Identify three things to continue doing/need to be put in place to nurture your mind/body/spirit.
- What boundaries could you set that support your emotional, mental and physical health?
- What 3 things do you typically draw strength from?
- How do you show kindness and compassion to other people? Identify a number of ways you can share this same consideration with yourself.
- How do you invite intentional joy into your life?
- List the ways you look after your physical health (no matter how small).
- Explore a time when you overcame a difficult challenge.
- What is your favourite quote that inspires or motivates you?
- List 3 self-care activities that you’re going to start using to help yourself feel rested and restored.
Maintaining health and well-being isn’t about overlooking our issues or struggles; it’s about attending to them bit by bit, as best we can and implementing things in life that build resiliency and self-love. Journaling won’t magically resolve everything nor is it practice for perfection (newsflash; that doesn’t exist). If done consistently, however, journaling can become part of a self-care routine that nurtures every part of us. It’s worth giving it a try.
Do you journal? Which is your favourite prompt from the list above? What self-care activities work for you?
Further Info:
Need To Go To The Doctor But Have No Health Insurance? – K Health
NAMI Helpline – a free, nationwide U.S. resource that offers experienced peer-support guidance and advice
CheckPoint – global (by country) resources for mental health support
transatlantic | notes 
I love journaling as a way to get my thoughts out. A therapist once told me to do it and rip the paper up afterwards. Literally throwing away the feelings. It works! Still do it to this day if something it really bothering me.
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That is a really useful tip; thank you for sharing that!
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This is such a well-written, helpful post Molly. I do not journal, but I do practice mindfulness and focus on things that bring me joy. You’ve provided me some additional food for thought! Thanks for sharing.
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I’m big on practicing intentional joy so I love that you implement this by focusing on your joys in life!
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These are some great journaling prompts.
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Thank you!
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I enjoy journaling it let’s me be a little creative and clear my mind! However, I try not to write out negative thoughts because then they can be reread and I don’t want to manifest the negative – Thanks for sharing
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I love that! The versatility of journaling is it’s superpower; I like to acknowledge something I’m struggling with and then use the journal to plot ways I can move forward or improve it (if I’m using it for my well-being), etc. I want to honour what I’m experiencing but not dwell on the negative either. I get to hold myself accountable while also seeing how far I’ve come; it’s been so helpful. Thanks so much for reading!
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Journaling is such a great way to bring peace and slow your mind. I love these prompts as a jumping off point for mental well-being
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Slowing our minds is such a great way to describe it; journaling has so many benefits!
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These are really great prompts!
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Thank you!
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I love these! I especially agree with your point about writing quotes. I tend to write mine in sticky notes and leave them in various places so that I get a motivating boost at random points in the day.
Great read 🙂
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Having quotes on sticky notes is a great idea; definitely a mood booster whenever we need it!
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i love journaling! it helps clear my mind. 🙂 thanks for sharing!
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Me too — such a useful well-being tool!
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I practiced journaling for the whole month of February and wrote a total of 12 k words. This was for a challenge. And I loved it. I could practically feel myself calm down as the words poured out. It definitely helps relieve stress and anxiety.
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That is an amazing accomplishment; I can imagine how helpful it was!
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Thanks for these Journaling Prompts. I usually do freewriting on a notebook especially when I need comfort. An inspiring quote is good but I usually go with a bible quote. I should try this one too anyway.
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Freewriting is an excellent idea to try out — thanks for reminding me of this!
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Yes, I love freewriting. Thanks you relate!
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These are good prompts for journaling. You just gave me some ideas for journaling. Thank you for sharing.
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I am so happy you like them! Thank you for stopping by.
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Journal prompts can be SO useful! Sometimes when I open my journal I just have no idea what to say so journal prompts really help and can often lead to writing much more x
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I’m much the same; I definitely need prompts to give me some direction and focus. Thanks for reading!
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These are lovely journal prompts to help maintain your well-being. Quoting my favourite quote sometimes helps me when I’m feeling low x
Lucy |
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Quotes can be really profound; reading/saying the ones that support our well-being on a regular basis is such a great idea!
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Beautifully written post! I just recently started journaling myself and find it really liberating and helpful. As you well pointed out it helps with stress and acknowledging ourselves and our current status.
In the beginning I thought it would be silly but now I think of it as one of the best habits I adopted ever.
My favourite prompt is the one we have to explore a time when we had to overcome a big challenge. Remembering something like this reminds you of your strengths and you know you can accomplish difficult things. I really enjoyed reading this!
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When I started journaling it felt a little weird to me too; I wrongly assumed many things about it but once I found a way to actually use it as a tool to support myself, it was great! Thank you so much for reading!
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I love the idea of using journal prompts. Many of us journal to organize our thoughts or practice gratitude, but prompts offer another way to dive deeper. I especially love setting boundaries, a quote that inspires you, and self-care activities you plan on incorporating into your routine. Thank you for sharing, I’ll be using these!
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I find that journal prompts really help me focus on certain things so I love sharing the ones that I’ve found useful. Thank you so much for reading!
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Thanks for your sharing:)
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You’re welcome!
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I used to journal when I was a teenager. This post inspired me to consider getting back into journaling. Thank you for sharing.
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I’d definitely recommend starting it up again if you can!
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Some lovely prompts here, Molly. My favourite is, “How do you show kindness and compassion to other people? Identify a number of ways you can share this same consideration with yourself.” Such a good way of ensuring we treat ourselves as kindly as we do others 🙂
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Exactly! We’re capable of so much kindness and compassion; we should show it to ourselves too!
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Very useful prompts. Expressing our thoughts in writing can really helps us in these hard times. Thank you for sharing!
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Exactly — I definitely feel that journaling (or any kind of self-care) is so important when times are being particularly challenging!
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Great post! I needed to read this. ‘What boundaries could you set that support your emotional, mental and physical health?’ – this is a particularly great prompt!
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Boundaries are amazing at improving our lives; I wish I had put them in place a lit sooner in life than I did!
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Journaling has always been a helpful method for me to express how I feel. I’ve been consistently journaling for about 3 years now and it’s so ingrained in my routine, I can’t picture not doing it. One of my favorite journal prompts that you have listed is about boundaries. I tend to be a people pleaser and for the majority of my young adulthood, I ignored my boundaries, ultimately leaving me feeling frustrated and used. I’ve gotten much better at this and I feel this particular prompt serves as a great reminder. Thank you for sharing!
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Boundaries have been amazing for me and I wish I had got used to using them earlier in life — I am so glad you like this particular prompt as it has helped me so much to figure out what steps I need to take to implement them. I hope it’s useful for you too!
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Another great post! I did a lot of journaling during the height of the pandemic when I had a lot of free time. Recently between work, classes and my site, I haven’t had much time for it which is frustrating. I’m looking forward to classes being over so I can get back to it. It really is a great way to help with stress and emotional well-being!
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The pandemic was an ideal time for many to spend time doing things like this; it’s a great activity to do especially as it can be picked up again at any point!
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These are all great promps! I have been thinking about getting back to journaling and these are getting me all excited about doing it soon x
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I am so happy you liked them — they’ve certainly helped me get back into it!
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I love these journaling prompts Molly! I bullet journal but haven’t done a lot of journaling in a few years so I definitely want to start doing it more x
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I am so happy you like these prompts — thank you so much for stopping by!
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I journal most days. Sometimes it’s a few sentences or a page or pages. It really is a great way to practice self-care and mindfulness. I really like the prompt, what do I need now? It’s something I need to ask myself more.
Thanks for sharing.
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I love how flexible journaling is; how you use it sounds ideal because it can be as long or short as required. This is one of the reasons it is so useful — thanks for reading!
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Poetry is my journaling. It reflects the emotions and difficulties I go through that particular day. Pleasant days bring brighter poems . Difficult days bring darker poems.
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I feel this as my poetry is definitely a reflection of what I experiencing and/or processing. I love the idea of poetry as part of a journal!
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Thanks for sharing this! I don’t do journal, but I focus more on things that make me happy 🙂 However, I’m considering starting one after reading many positive opinions about that x
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Finding what works for you is key; making a note in a journal of the things that make you happy could be a good idea — treat it like a celebration!
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I love your journal prompts. I am also a big fan of using journals, planners, and logbooks hence my latest blog post about staying organized using planners. Thank you for sharing these great tips.
Kelly
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Journaling can be such a useful everyday tool to use; staying organized or focused is always great!
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