8 Journaling Prompts for Anxiety Relief | Journaling for Mental Health

In this post, I will share the prompts and questions I ask myself in a journal to help me fight anxiety.

This habit helps transfer the energy of worrying and overthinking into movement and doing the things at hand.

Before moving to prompts, it's important to say that anxiety is a regular thing.

I also have anxiety when I create videos, when I write texts, or when I program. 

As I have it, a lot of people have anxiety too. 

But all the difference lies in how we cope with stress. 

There are different ways people react and deal with anxiety. 

If we don't cope with anxiety properly, it can block our productivity.

It can stop us from pushing forward, creating results, and being healthy. 

It's also important to note that anxiety appears when we go outside our comfort zone. 

If we want something to achieve in our life, we certainly need to go outside of our comfort zone.

Simply because everything that we want in life lives beyond our comfort zone.

And when we go outside of it - usually anxiety and worries rise.

Our task with journaling tools and questions is to think about how we can make stress our friend.

Our task is to develop ideas to make them work for us instead of against us. 

And in fact, mother nature created anxiety to work in this way for purpose.

Because it triggers worrying in our nervous system that helps us cope with problems and difficulties in our environment and pushes us forward.

So let's discover how we can convert anxiety and worries into movement, energy, and a productive state.

So the first anti-anxiety question that I wrote in my journal is this:

Write a detailed list of things that worry your mind. 

Pay attention to your anxiety levels after finishing writing.

Stop writing when nothing else comes into your mind.

I'm a little bit not comfortable sharing them…

But anyway, here are my answers:

When do I build my family, and where to find my partner for a successful marriage?
How to constantly be in a productive state and be in a creative mindset to produce top results?
How to get to desired results faster and with fewer mistakes…?

So your task in using this prompt is to dump everything overwhelming in your mind.

All the worries that make you not productive, stuck, and those that make you stressed.

Great, let's move to the next journal question.

And it sounds like this:

Remember past situations when you were successful despite being anxious.

How did I manage to achieve positive results, and why?

So my answer is simple:

When writing my first small book, I felt intense anxiety that so much work was to be done that it made me depressed. 

I concentrated on things I could control and skipped stuff I couldn't.

In this way, I got into the zone of influence from the area of no control. 

And I decided to constantly write something every day.

And what is your answer to this question? 

Just remember the past situation when you were successful despite being anxious and how you worked through this. 

It's an excellent question to ask yourself…

We often forget about our strengths and that we already had similar situations in the past and fought the same battles successfully.

A scary anxiety "hydra" was trying to attack us from all sides.

It was trying to make us stop doing what we like to do.

But we fought it, and now armed with all this knowledge, you can fight it again.

And by the way, if you want to download all the questions, I am talking about in this post for anti-anxiety... 

Then you can easily download them for free below.

Also, it includes two bonus questions for anti-anxiety that are not part of this post.

And now, I want to share two quotes that I found very exciting about anxiety.

The first quote is from Mandy Hale.

He said:

"It's OKAY to be scared. Being scared means, you're about to do something courageous."

And the second quote is by Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

He said:

"Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety; after all, it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly."

More than 1 in 10 people struggle with anxiety and anxiety disorders in the modern world.

Many people are struggling with it and, at the same time, trying to hide it because they think it is a weakness.

So they try to hide it under the carpet so no one will know about their "weakness."

But the truth is that when you try to hide something from yourself and deny it, you can't cope with it. 

And the first task, if you have anxiety, is to face it without fear and look into its eyes. 

Let's say I have anxiety about something I need to do. 

Then I remind myself that I already had done intense, complex things in the past.

In other words, I often remind myself that I was able to cope with all the problems of my life before.

That I am already a fighter.

I am already capable of doing something meaningful in my life. 

And when I have this anxiety, I look into its face and say to it: 

I am powerful. 

I was already able to live to this moment. 

I was already able to fight difficulties and adversities. 

It's normal to have anxiety, but it's not good to have an anxiety disorder.

When you have anxiety, you have some task or thing to do that will push you outside of your comfort zone, making you worry and anxiety. 

The other thing is when you worry about all the small things in your life, you'll try to control them.

So you feel anxious about all these little things…

All the time…

This is an anxiety disorder. 

And just in a few moments, I will share two tips on how you can cope with anxiety better.

And for now, we will move to the next question to cope with stress using journaling:

Describe your anxiety in great detail. 

What and how do you feel about it? 

How does it influence your mood and productivity?

In what body parts do you think your anxiety? 

And here is my answer to this question:

I feel like my mind boils in my head. 

I constantly think about different things that are not relevant to the current situation. 

It makes me distracted, and I can't concentrate. 

I feel the tension in my chest, neck, and stomach.

My productivity goes down.

So as I promised you before, here are a few tips that can help you to fight anxiety.

First, you need to become more decisive. 

And here's what I mean.

If you are not decisive enough, you are struggling with indecision.

And indecision creates anxiety...

It makes worries about what you will do right now overwhelmed thinking about whether it will work out.

And when you are decisive and not afraid to take action, not a perfect effort, but any kind of productive action, something magical happens...

You get more chances that your anxiety will not fight with you, and you will continue moving forward.

In such cases, just remind yourself that everything is worth doing, first worth doing even severely. 

And then, on your way, you can improve your decisions and actions.

And the second thing that helps me fight anxiety is to have a good meaning.

Meaning behind everything I do, small or big things. 

When you have a sense, you have a purpose and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Two strong quotes come to mind about this.

As Victor Frankl said:

"A person that has a big WHY can tackle any HOW."

And as Walter Anderson said:

"Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action."

And by the way, I am inviting you to join a free Facebook group. 

You can discuss journaling for personal development and transformation with your fellow friends. 

There I post different videos, my thoughts about journaling, and exciting ideas.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindgifts  

And now it's time to move to the next journaling question for anti-anxiety, and it sounds like this:

How can this anxious state help push you forward in life? 

How can it facilitate the necessary changes you need to make to solve problems or get to the next level? 

And here is my answer:

I think that all my feelings result from postponing the action necessary for my success. 

Deep inside, I know what I need to do, but instead, I internally sabotage myself.

This journal question can be healing because you can face the truth that you must do some critical work.

And if you are not doing it, it makes you anxious.

And now, let's move to the next journal question. 

Here it is:

Imagine you could say a magic phrase, and your anxiety will vanish.

What will you do differently?

What will you start or stop doing? 

Write those magic words. 

And my answer to this question is simple:

I would stop blaming myself for my mistakes and shortcomings.

I will stop blaming myself for not being perfect.

These magic words will remove unnecessary anxiety. 

Great, let's move to the next journal question. 

It is hilarious:

Write a dialogue about your anxiety. 

Talk to it like it's a part of you.

I made it very short. 

I could continue writing it and make it longer, but it is enough to give you the idea :)

So here it is:

- Hi, my anxiety. Why did you visit me? What do you want to say to me? 
- And anxiety says: I came to you to help you grow and achieve your dream life. 
- Me: Please explain. 
- Anxiety: Okay. I make you worry about different things to make you conscious of your life.
- Do you mean you are here to help? 
- Yes, I am your friend.

While this dialogue can sound funny, in reality, you will feel a sense of relief when you do it in a relaxed state.

After doing it, you will feel more in control of your life.

You will even be able to make fun of the state you are in now.

And definitely, I would do you a disservice if I didn't let you know a meaningful quote that is powerful and inspires me and sounds like this:

"P.S. You're not going to die. Here's the white-hot truth: if you go bankrupt, you'll still be okay. If you lose the gig, the lover, the house, you'll still be okay. If you sing off-key, get beat by the competition, have your heart shattered, get fired… it's not going to kill you. Ask anyone who's been through it." – said Danielle LaPorte.

And I don't know about you, but many people, including me, feel a lot of anxiety in the morning.

And this is not because of bad health but because of a high cortisol level.

A lot of people have a high cortisol level in the morning too.

That's why I want to share with you a few tips that help me to stay not so anxious in the morning.

• First, I journal in the evening and plan everything I want to do the next day.
• The second thing that helps me to fight anxiety in the morning is starting with a small action. As little as that pushes me forward, it does not make me frightened. And after I do these small actions, it helps me to move to more complex tasks.
• The next thing that helps me in the morning to fight my anxiety because of my high cortisol level is prayer, meditation, and exercise. 
  You can do meditation, yoga, and so on. Whatever helps you to be grounded. 
• The next thing that helps me fight anxiety is to say positive words of encouragement and affirmation to myself.
• I say to myself: I am capable, that I can do, that I can achieve, that I am a wonderful person, that I am growing with every day and becoming better and better with every day, and that I am developing. This helps me a lot to tackle my anxiety. 
• And the next thing helps me to have enough sleep. Specifically, sleep in the dark in a dark room. Because if you are sleeping in a light room, you won't get enough sleep and will be tired.
• And, of course, removing coffee and alcohol from my daily consumption helps me fight my anxiety.

And now, let's move to the next journal question.

Here it is:

What thoughts or beliefs do I have that make me anxious? 

Where are they coming from?

And this is an excellent question because many anxieties come into our lives because of false beliefs. 

Why? 

Because false beliefs are not congruent with reality.

And because I have an idea in my head that is not congruent with reality,

then I can fight with truth, and the reality will fight me back :) 

And this can make me anxious, worried, or even depressed. 

No wonder it's an excellent question to ask yourself.

Here is my answer:

I have little and sometimes no patience. 

This makes me want everything here and now.

This makes me anxious when I don't get everything here and now or I don't get results.

This makes me worry a lot, and I get stressed.

This is not a true belief and habit that I must let go of. 

What is yours?

And, of course, now you want to hear the next anti-anxiety prompt…

Here you are:

Write 5 to 10 phrases to help you soothe yourself. 

Continue writing them or repeat writing the same until you feel better.

And here's my answer to this question:

I am capable.

I control my life. 

I am a controller of my life. 

I am in perfect control of my life. 

I take full responsibility for my life. 

I can do whatever transformation I need in my life. 

I am powerful. 

I am powerful and in control of my destiny. 

And this was the last question for anti-anxiety

Now I need to tell you something important :)

I prepared an excellent course for beginners to start journaling.

It's available on my site: https://mindgifts.org/guide/21/journaling-challenge  

You can have free access to 3 first journaling lessons.

This course will help you to go from the journaling beginner to the Journaler Pro. 

It answers all the often asked questions that stop a person from journaling and creating such a good hobbit:

• How to start journaling?
• What journal to choose?
• When to journal?
• What's the best environment to journal?
• How much time do you need to journal?
• What to write in your journal?

I am going into detail about all these questions in the course. 

Plus, you will find 55 questions that will help you to improve your life and start journaling. 

It's a journal challenge for one month.

P.S.

And if you want to raise your self-esteem with the help of journaling prompts, I prepared a perfect post that you can read next: https://mindgifts.org/blog/14-effective-journaling-prompts-to-increase-your-self-esteem  

I'll see you in the next post, and thanks for reading.