Why Journal?
Journaling offers an excellent opportunity to sort through your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. At Chronically Well Counseling, I encourage individuals to embrace journaling with the following considerations:
Don’t worry about grammar or spelling; just write freely without concern for what your English teachers might think.
You don’t have to keep your writings. Feel free to jot down your thoughts and then shred the paper if you wish. If you prefer to save your writings, that’s perfectly fine; there’s no definitive “right” or “wrong” method to journal.
Choose a format that suits you best. Whether it’s typing, writing by hand, or recording voice memos, do what feels most comfortable for you.
Lastly privacy. This is your time to explore your thoughts and feelings, so take necessary steps to ensure your privacy is protected.
Journal Prompts:
If you do not know where to start, review the following try it out.
General Journal Prompts
Today I am holding onto....
What is something that you are struggling with today? Write it out, process the feelings, and try to make a plan to address them.
Create a list of phrases you find affirming. They can be quotes from famous people; song lyrics; or personal thoughts. Pick your favorites and write them out and put them out for daily reminders.
Today I succeeded at....
Journal Prompts for Self Confidence
Write a thank you letter to yourself, and express how you are grateful for what you have accomplished and what you would like to do.
Think of 5 ways others would describe you.
Think about a time when you felt strong and confident. Describe the situation in as much detail as you can remember. How did it feel? What made you feel strong and confident at that moment? How can you feel like that again?
Journal Prompts for Grief and Loss
Write a letter to the individual you are grieving, share what you are doing, how you are feeling, how it feels without them, share a future goal for yourself.
Think about your religious/spiritual/cultural/familial beliefs regarding grief, loss, and mourning. What are they? Do you still believe these to be true? Are these beliefs still serving a purpose for you?
How would you like others to support you in this time? Write them a letter outline what types of support you feel would be the best for you at this time.
Journal Prompts for Caregivers
Write a letter to your past self explaining the role you are entering into as a caregiver. Explain how it feels, what to anticipate, and how would you manage?
Caregiving can involve managing multiple tasks at the same time, if you could slow down time what would it look like?
For caregivers, caring for those with complex needs and may not present as themselves anymore (dementia, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, etc.) write down your feelings towards this medical condition, express all the emotions.
What is something that has brought joy to you today or this week?
What does asking for help look like? Is this something you are able to do? How does this feel?
Journal Prompts for Chronic Illness
Take a moment to think about your chronic illness, process through all the feelings, then focus on what you can do, how does this look now?
Take a moment to think about your support system, what role does each person play in it, are there any roles you would like to add?
What has this event (chronic illness) helped you gain? Oftentimes we focus solely on losses, let's look at gains.