Stress Relief and Anxiety Relief Resources from Changes Healing
Whether you enjoy good mental health or things could be better, our stress relief journal prompts can help you feel better when you feel overwhelmed. These stress-relieving journal prompts can help you increase mindfulness and release any experienced anxiety or negative feelings.
As a Joint Commission-accredited mental health treatment center, the Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada team recognizes that stress is a major contributor to a host of challenges to one’s physical and mental well-being. It’s an underlying factor contributing to depression, anxious thoughts, substance use, and hypertension.
While there are many ways to reduce stress in daily life, mental health journaling is accessible to anyone. All it takes is a pad and pen or a journaling app on the phone.
See how you can implement your own journaling practice and start writing today.
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15 Journaling Prompts to Relieve Stress and Improve Mental Health
Past clients have explained how when they journal, stress seems to melt away. While expressive writing – journaling – can help you reduce stress levels, they can help manage anxiety, depression, or other emotions you feel.
As you reflect on each prompt, focus on your initial reaction and go with the flow. Honest self-reflection as you write helps you gain insight into the overwhelming things leading to your stress. Each person responds to stress differently, so no self-criticism about your writing skills. These are strictly for your eyes!
1) Write a letter to your younger self about a time you lost control of your emotions.
When you write a letter to yourself, you connect your present with past worry that caused this outburst. Writing is helpful for seeing how much you have grown and reduces lingering remorse surrounding the event. This upliftingjournaling prompt is also a great tool for helping you feel grateful when you see how far you’ve come since then.
2) Explain how you manage stress, even when feeling anxious or scared.
This journal prompt for anxiety and stress helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your stress relief toolkit when triggers interrupt your day. When you see how you’ve been able to relieve stress in the past, you’ll have more hope that you’re capable of dealing with future roadblocks, even if you’re feeling anxious.
3) Make a list of local external resources for self-care.
Self-care is necessary or managing both stress and your emotions. Most people consider self-care to mean a hot shower, a fragrant cup of herbal tea, or snuggling with your pet. Those are all wonderful things!
But self-care doesn’t necessarily need to focus only on things to do at home. What community resources could you try to keep things fresh? A local art exhibit, the neighborhood nail salon, attending SMART Recovery, or walking in the park are all excellent self-care resources. Write down things you’d like to try.
4) Identify one thing that makes you feel safe and calm despite daily stressors.
What’s your go-to when you need to relieve stress? This journal prompt helps you bring to the forefront the one thing that can calm you down when you feel worry rising in your mind and body. When you identify and write down this coping mechanism, you commit it to memory and whip it out reflexively in those difficult moments we all experience in life.
5) Sketch and caption a picture of your safe space in your journal.
What does a place of safety look and feel like? Therapists often lead clients in visualization exercises, helping them find a place of mental retreat. This journal entry puts a spin on this idea.
Reflect on a place that would make you feel comfortable and safe. It might be a cozy cabin on a snowy mountaintop, in a lounge chair on an empty beach, or sitting quietly with a loved one.
When you’ve sketched and captioned the image, you can quickly conjure up the image in your mind when triggers threaten to get the best of your emotions.
6) Which healthy habits of yours contribute to your overall health?
Self-reflection about keeping your brain and body healthy can reinforce them and encourage consistency. When you write about the steps you’ve taken to support your wellness, you will be able to see how healthful habits connect to stress management.
For instance, you might engage in meditation, exercise, eating well, journaling, or flossing your teeth every day. Even these small steps can remove worry about your well-being. No habit is too small to make the list.
7) How can you integrate practicing gratitude into your daily life?
Gratitude takes a certain amount of mindfulness. Some days, it might feel impossible to be positive about your life. But when you consider your progress – even when you are only taking baby steps – it puts a spin of positivity into your day.
For example, you might feel depressed today, but you awakened and had a dry roof over your head. On days when you feel depressed, or stress threatens your calm, that one little thing can be a win.
Seek ways of expressing grateful feelings daily, whether journaling, meditation, writing a thank you note, or other activities – describe whatever suits your life and interests.
8) Describe your typical emotions when you feel stressed.
How do you respond emotionally when stress creeps up on you? Some people lash out at others, while others check out and retreat into a shell. Self-awareness of your stress response can help you develop coping tools.
Even more, this form of journal prompt may help you understand some of the specific things that create anxiety, worry, or stress. That could be a co-worker with a bad attitude, driving in heavy traffic, or an unexpected bill in the mail. When you connect your emotions to these causes, you may discover methods to avoid or minimize them.
9) Who in your life can trigger stress, and how can you set boundaries for them?
We all have that one person in life. The nosey neighbor. The sibling who shows up for dinner at your home late. The relative who wants to know when you’ll have children. You’ll discover through journaling which of these people you can minimize interactions with to avoid stress, who you must establish boundaries for, and what boundaries to consider.
That will vary by situation. For example, you can’t shut out your sweet granny who wants great-grandchildren. Perhaps it’s time to explain gently that you’re not ready to discuss it while promising her she’ll be the first to know.
Conversely, you may take a firmer approach to the late-arriving sibling, explaining the hard work of cooking a family meal. The boundary might be that the next time they are late, you will fix them a plate for the microwave and enjoy the meal on time.
Writing these scenes in your journal can help you prepare for these challenging conversations.
10) Brainstorm to find a helpful way to manage stress-related mood swings.
As you write in your journal, stress-related moodiness becomes clearer to you. It gives you a birds-eye view that can encourage problem-solving before the issue arises again. When you have found some effective strategies before you need them, you’ll have an easier time rolling them out later.
Here’s an example. You journal about how you become snappy with your partner during stressful moments, even if they’re trying to help. Your journaling prompt helped you realize, though, that’s the moment when you most need support. You decide to take five deep breaths, then ask your partner for advice on resolving the issue.
11) Write about three positive, good things that have happened to you this week.
As you reflect on the positive events of the week, you reinforce positive emotions and open yourself up for joy. It’s like a mental hug, releasing happiness hormones and helping you focus on positivity while pushing negativity to the back of your mind. Acknowledging good things increases resilience.
12) Describe a time when stressors knocked you off-balance and the emotions you felt.
Looking back at how stress has caused your life to feel unbalanced can help you get in touch with your stress responses (fight, flight, freeze.) Having a general awareness of how you’ve responded in the past can help you select coping tools that will work better in the future.
13) List three stress management tools to try (besides these writing prompts.)
What stress management tools have you wanted to try but haven’t? Exploring new coping methods can help you improve your ability to manage stress. You might consider evidence-based practices like yoga, deep breathing, or exercise. Jot down whatever strikes a chord with you.
14) Release emotions – write about anything that’s bothering you today.
Journaling about your current worries, concerns, or fears provides a safe emotional release. You can express your thoughts privately in your journal and lighten your mental load. Journals are portable, private, and effective. Once you’ve written these down, you can determine which you can control and take proactive steps and which are out of your hands or not worth the energy.
15) Imagine an inner world where you feel no fears – describe this private space.
This journal prompt encourages you to open up your imagination and let it run wild. You will picture a stress-free place where you feel calm, grateful, and positive. This place should be one of mindfulness, where you break free of anxiety and stress. Use this prompt to escape from your situation for a few moments on a day when the stress feels overwhelming.
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Call Icarus Nevada for Professional Stress Management Support Programs
In many cases, journaling prompts can make you feel better and release your emotions when life starts to feel overwhelming. Journaling can give you a deeper understanding of your innermost emotions.
However, some people may need a professional support team, especially when stress levels threaten their health. We can address the mental health impacts of stress and give you a comprehensive suite of coping mechanisms to become your best self.
If dealing with stress alone has left you with anxiety, substance use, or other mental health challenges, Icarus Behavioral Health can help. We look forward to the opportunity to help you find freedom from stress and anxiety. Call our admissions line today.