Journaling for Anxiety Relief: Benefits & Prompts

Does Journaling Help with Anxiety?

Journaling about anxiety can alleviate symptoms, improve mood, and reduce stress levels. Studies have linked journaling to improved mental health and well-being in people with anxiety and other conditions, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The process works by engaging your thoughts and emotions as you express them through written words. Beyond the obvious — providing a healthy outlet — journaling can become a crucial step in learning to manage your anxiety.  

Other benefits of journaling for your mental health

Journaling for mental health encourages an open internal dialogue that helps you acknowledge and address fears, concerns, and frustrations. It can help you identify negative thoughts and behavior patterns you can learn from.

Aside from its effectiveness in dealing with anxiety, these additional benefits make journaling a powerful practice to consider:

• Opportunity to confront feelings
• Improve mood
• Reduce stress
• Express feelings without fear of judgment
• Low risk — no consequences mean you can be more open and vulnerable
• Encourage self-reflection
• Document and reflect on personal growth
• Promote problem-solving skills
• Enhance cognitive processing
• Foster creativity
• Boost memory
• Use as a tool for goal-setting
• Cultivate discipline
• Improve sleep quality

Types of Journaling for Anxiety

Journaling can become an effective way to regain control of your life. Several types of journaling can help with anxiety symptoms. 

Freewriting

Freewriting allows you to let your thoughts flow. This type of journaling can declutter your mind and sift through your worries. You simply write without concerns about grammar, sentence structure, or spelling. 

Thought diary

A thought diary can give you a deeper layer of self-reflection and introspection. As you systematically record anxious moments, you can start to identify patterns that you might not have recognized otherwise. Maintaining a thought diary can encourage cognitive restructuring — an effective strategy used in therapy — by challenging negative or unhelpful beliefs.

Expressive writing

Expressive writing is a therapeutic journaling technique that involves writing down your deepest thoughts and feelings about emotional experiences in your life. This approach encourages an open, honest exploration of your emotions without fear of judgment or criticism. By focusing on your innermost experiences, expressive writing helps you to process and understand your emotions, leading to insights and emotional healing.

To engage in expressive writing, set aside time regularly to write uninterrupted for 15-20 minutes. Focus on writing about personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings that continue to affect you, whether from the past or present. The goal is not to worry about perfect grammar or structure but to let your thoughts and emotions flow freely onto the page. 

Through this process, you can confront anxiety, stress, or trauma head-on by deeply exploring and articulating the emotions and feelings you’ve experienced, leading to a healthier and more constructive emotional processing.

Using anxiety journal prompts

Journaling with prompts provides a structured format if you ever feel stuck while trying to write. Using journaling prompts can be empowering when you’re struggling with anxiety. A journal prompt can give you something to start with, which can be especially helpful for the shy writer or someone anxious about getting started.  

Anxiety journaling prompts:

• What are three things I am grateful for today?
• In what situations do I feel most anxious?
• What are 5 ways I can commit to practicing self-care this week?
• How did I handle my anxiety today, and what can I do differently next time to break the anxiety cycle?
• When do I feel most calm?
• What is the one thing — emotion, feeling, experience, person — I want to let go of most?
• List 5 – 10 affirmations for anxiety.
• Which thoughts most make you spiral?
• Describe what your anxiety looks, feels, and sounds like

How to Journal for Anxiety: 7 Tips

Journaling might feel hard at first, but you’ll be a pro in no time with the right tips and tactics. Consistent journaling will help you reshape negative thought patterns into healthy, productive perspectives that serve you and your emotional needs well. Grab your own “anti-anxiety notebook” and try these tips to get started.

1. Write regularly 

Commit to writing daily in your journal. When you do something regularly, it becomes a habit that’s easier to stick to. If you struggle to write daily, try carving out a set time and place for the activity. 

2. Review and reflect

One of the best parts about journaling is that it provides an opportunity to go back and reflect on your words and thoughts. Reviewing past entries can bring things to light. Not only can it highlight places in your life where you might be repeatedly struggling, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to realize how much you’ve grown. 

3. Prepare for your fears

Writing about your fears can help you face them. This strategy can be instrumental in mentally preparing for real-life future situations. Use your journal to draft plans or scripts for the next time you have a challenging experience. You can consciously decide not to let anxiety play the leading role.  

4. Distract yourself with free writes

Distraction can be a powerful tool in overcoming anxiety, and freewriting is the perfect format to do so in your journal. Set a timer and write. Let the words flow, and don’t think about errors, grammar, or anything else. Writing fast and furiously occupies the mind, so your anxious thoughts can fade away, even if only temporarily.

5. Keep a thought diary

To use the thought diary strategy in your journal, create 5 columns and label each column as:

• My situation — In a few words, write what is happening
• My feelings — Jot down the primary emotion or feelings you have 
• My thoughts — Write down what you’re thinking
• My beliefs — Think about and reflect on what you believe about a situation; question your feelings of anxiety 
• My reality — Use the beliefs column and decide if you’re reacting based on assumptions or if you actually have a realistic take on what’s happening 

As you look through your thought diary entries, you’ll likely start to identify some positives (which you can double down). You’ll also probably start to become cognizant of times when anxiety is driving you to an unhealthy place. Use this information to figure out where you can implement coping techniques to address your anxiety. 

6. Use reframing

Reframing is a technique that turns negative thoughts into more positive ones. Explore different perspectives of a situation and then write down the transformed new reaction. Over time, when done consistently, reframing can naturally reshape your thought patterns.   

7. Set a time limit (and stick to it)

Whether you dread doing it, so you put it off, or you have trouble stopping so it infringes on other areas of your life, setting a time limit can ensure you’re getting the most out of your journal. You can start small, even five minutes daily, then increase as the process becomes easier.

Get Professional Help for Anxiety with Talkspace

Talkspace is making therapy for anxiety affordable, convenient, and accessible. If you’re struggling with anxiety and are considering getting help, Talkspace offers online therapy from licensed mental health professionals who understand where you’re at and are ready to help you turn things around. Using effective tools like journaling and therapy — and, if needed, anxiety medication — can be the exact approach you’ve been searching for. 

Get started today by contacting Talkspace to learn more.