100 Journal Prompts for Difficult Moments

With the start of a new year, it’s common for individuals to make resolutions for themselves with the intention of focusing on gratitude, self-care, and improving mental well-being. One of the many ways this can be accomplished is through the practice of journaling. 

Putting feelings into words can be a powerful first step toward understanding your own emotions. Writing them down gives shape to what might otherwise feel like fragmented thoughts, helping you slow down, reflect, and make sense of your experiences. Journaling also creates a private, judgment-free space where you are free to be honest with yourself and sit with your feelings without the pressure to “fix” things right away.

Journaling can support self-awareness, emotional release, and healing over time–but actually starting it or maintaining the habit can sometimes be difficult. While some find it easy to write down one’s thoughts, many find it helpful to use a journal prompt. If you need a bit of inspiration to start or continue writing, we’ve provided some journaling prompts below.

As you explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences, remember that if things ever feel like too much, or you need more immediate support, we are here for you. Text CONNECT to 741741 anytime to reach a trained, live volunteer Crisis Counselor, free and confidential. 

Looking for something positive? Check out our 100 Positive Affirmations for Better Self-Care blog → 

Why Journaling Helps During Hard Times

Journaling during hard times can help provide support by offering a safe and private space to process and make sense of what feels overwhelming. It allows you to notice your own patterns, identify triggers, and reflect on moments of resilience you might have otherwise overlooked or forgot. It can also create emotional distance, helping you observe your feelings rather than being consumed by them. Over time, this practice can strengthen self-awareness and emotional regulation during times that feel uncertain or heavy. 

While journaling is a valuable mental health tool, it’s not a replacement for professional support. Writing can help you process and cope, but trained counselors, therapists, and other resources are essential when emotions feel too intense to handle alone. Journaling works best as part of a broader support system— one that includes reaching out for help when you need it.

How to Use These Journal Prompts

There is no right or wrong way to journal. There are no rules, and prompts are meant to get your thoughts flowing. You might answer a question directly, let it lead you into a different thought, or write only a few words that come to mind. The most important part is allowing yourself to write freely and without judgment—no need to worry about grammar, structure, or if what you’re writing “makes sense.” 

Journaling prompts can be used daily to build a routine, or picked up whenever you aren’t sure what you want to start writing about on any given day. Like anything new, it can feel hard at first, especially when you’re not used to checking in with yourself in this way. With time and patience, however, it can become a supportive tool for self-expression, clarity, and emotional release.

Journal Prompts for the New Year

Journal prompts for mental health

1. What emotion(s) am I feeling right now, and where do I feel it in my body?
2. If my anxiety/sadness/anger could speak, what would it be trying to tell me?
3. What’s one thing I did today that took courage, even if it seemed small?
4. What do I need to let go of that’s no longer serving me?
5. Who or what makes me feel safe, and how can I access that feeling right now?
6. What would I tell my best friend if they were feeling exactly how I’m feeling right now?
7. What’s one boundary I need to set to protect my peace?
8. When did I last feel genuinely calm or content? What was happening at that moment?
9. What part of my story am I still writing, and what do I want the next chapter to look like?
10. If I could be kinder to myself today, what would that look like?

Journal prompts for kids

1. What made me smile today, even if just for a second?
2. If my feelings were a weather report, what would today be? (Sunny, stormy, cloudy, rainy?) Why?
3. What’s something I’m worried about? How can I make that worry shrink?
4. Who is someone I can talk to when I’m having a hard day?
5. What’s one thing I’m really good at, and how does it make me feel?
6. If I could give myself a superhero power for today, what would it be and why?
7. What does my body need right now? (A hug, to run around, to rest, to eat something?)
8. What’s one nice thing I could say to myself today?
9. Draw or describe your safe place—real or imaginary. What makes it feel safe?
10. If my favorite stuffed animal/pet/character could give me advice right now, what would they say?

Journal prompts for gratitude

1. What’s one small thing that happened today that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I’m grateful for?
2. Who made a difference in my life this week, and what would I want to tell them?
3. What’s a challenge I’ve faced that I’m now grateful for because of what it taught me?
4. What part of my daily routine do I take for granted but would really miss if it was gone?
5. What’s something about myself that I appreciate today?
6. What place (current or in my memory) makes me feel peaceful, and why am I grateful it exists?
7. What’s a skill or strength I have that helped me get through something difficult?
8. Who from my past do I wish I could thank, and what would I say?
9. What’s something I’m looking forward to, and why does it make me feel hopeful?
10. What’s one thing I have today that I once hoped for or worked toward?

Journal prompts for self-growth

1. What’s one belief I have about myself that might be holding me back? Where did it come from?
2. If I met the version of myself five years ago, what advice would I give them to get to where I am today?
3. What’s a mistake I made recently, and what did it teach me about who I want to be?
4. What pattern keeps showing up in my life (relationships, work, habits), and what is it trying to teach me?
5. What would I do differently if I wasn’t afraid of failing or being judged?
6. What parts of my life feel aligned with my values, and what parts feel out of sync?
7. Who do I admire, and what specific qualities of theirs do I want to develop in myself?
8. What’s one uncomfortable conversation I’ve been avoiding, and what’s it costing me?
9. If I could design my ideal day from start to finish, what would it include? What’s stopping me from living more like that?
10. What old version of myself do I need to thank and let go of to keep growing?

Journal prompts for teens

1. What’s something about me that people don’t usually see or understand?
2. If I could text my future self one year from now, what would I want to know?
3. What pressure am I feeling right now (school, friends, family, social media), and is it mine or someone else’s?
4. Do I act differently around certain people (and why)? When I am completely myself, what does that look like?
5. What’s something I used to love doing that I stopped? Why did I stop, and do I miss it?
6. If my life was a playlist right now, what songs would be on it and why?
7. What’s one thing I wish adults understood about what it’s like to be my age?
8. What does “fitting in” cost me, and is it worth it?
9. When do I feel most confident or powerful? What’s happening in those moments?
10. If I could change one thing about how I treat myself, what would it be?

Journal prompts for shadow work  

(shadow work: a process of exploring the unconscious parts of the self, often called the shadow, which include repressed emotions, desires and traumas)

1. What trait do I judge most harshly in other people? How might I be rejecting that same trait in myself?
2. What emotion am I most afraid to feel fully, and what am I protecting myself from by avoiding it?
3. When do I feel jealous or envious? What unmet need or hidden desire is that revealing?
4. What part of my personality do I hide or suppress to be accepted? What would happen if I let it show?
5. What pattern keeps repeating in my relationships (romantic, family, friendships)? What role am I playing that I don’t want to admit?
6. What compliment makes me uncomfortable or hard to accept? What does my resistance reveal about how I see myself?
7. What do I shame myself for that I would easily forgive in someone else? Where did I learn that shame?
8. If my inner critic had a face and a story, who would they be and what would they be trying to protect me from?
9. What truth about myself or my life have I been avoiding? What would acknowledging it cost me or free me from?
10. What childhood wound still influences how I show up today, and what does that younger version of me need to hear?

Journal prompts for students

1. What’s one thing I learned recently (in or out of class) that actually made me curious to know more?
2. When I think about my workload right now, what feels manageable and what feels overwhelming? What’s one small step I could take?
3. What subject or assignment am I avoiding, and what’s really making me put it off? (Boredom? anxiety? perfectionism?)
4. If I could redesign my ideal study environment or routine, what would it look like?
5. What’s my biggest distraction right now, and what need is it actually filling? (Connection? escape? dopamine?)
6. What grade or achievement am I chasing, and what would “success” look like if no one else was watching?
7. What skill do I wish school taught me that would actually help me in real life?
8. When do I feel most focused and energized during the day? How can I use that time better?
9. What’s one thing I’m learning about myself this semester (about how I work, what I care about, who I’m becoming)?
10. If I could have given advice to myself at the start of this school year, what would I say?

Journal prompts for anxiety

Learn more about anxiety → or doomscrolling →

1. What’s the worst-case scenario my anxiety is telling me, and what’s the most realistic outcome?
2. Where do I feel anxiety in my body right now? (Chest, stomach, shoulders?) What are ways I can help lessen the tension and release the anxiety?
3. What would I be doing right now if I wasn’t anxious? What’s one small version of that I could try?
4. What am I actually afraid of underneath this anxiety? (Failure? judgment? loss of control? the unknown?)
5. What’s one thing I can control in this moment, even if it’s just my next breath or the next five minutes?
6. When have I felt this anxious before and gotten through it? What helped me then?
7. If my anxiety had a voice, what would it sound like? What is it trying to protect me from?
8. What thoughts are on repeat in my mind right now? Are they facts, or are they fears?
9. What does “safe” feel like to me, and how can I create even a small moment of that today?
10. What would I tell a friend who came to me feeling exactly how I feel right now?

Journal prompts for healing

1. What pain am I still carrying that I’m ready to put down, even if I don’t know how yet?
2. What does healing look like for me? (Not what it “should” look like, but what it actually feels like in my body and life.)
3. What part of my story do I keep replaying? What would change if I gave myself permission to write a new ending?
4. Who or what do I need to forgive—including myself—to move forward? What’s holding me back from that?
5. What wound am I protecting by keeping people at a distance? What would it feel like to let someone see it?
6. What coping mechanism served me once but doesn’t anymore? What healthier thing could I try instead?
7. If my younger self could see me now, what would they be proud of? What would they need to hear from me?
8. What grief have I not allowed myself to fully feel? What would happen if I gave myself permission to mourn?
9. What is something that my mind tries to forget or ignore? What does it need me to acknowledge?
10. What would trusting myself again look like? What small step could I take toward that trust today?

Journal prompts for women

1. What expectation am I carrying (from family, society, or myself) that doesn’t actually align with who I am or want to be?
2. When do I feel most like myself—not a daughter, partner, mother, employee, or friend—just me?
3. What part of my body or self have I been taught to criticize? What would change if I spoke to myself with compassion instead?
4. What am I saying “yes” to that I actually want to say “no” to? What’s the cost of that?
5. If I removed guilt from the equation, what would I prioritize differently in my life?
6. What does strength look like for me beyond “holding it all together?” When have I been strong in ways I don’t give myself credit for?
7. What dream or goal have I put on hold for someone else? Is it time to pick it back up?
8. What would taking up more space—literally or figuratively—look and feel like for me?
9. Who in my life celebrates my success without jealousy or competition? How can I protect and nurture those relationships?
10. If I could rewrite the narrative I’ve been told about what it means to be a woman, what would my version say?

What do to when journaling isn’t enough

It’s important to normalize that journaling isn’t always enough on its own. Sometimes emotions feel too heavy, confusing, or overwhelming to carry alone. Signs you may need to talk to someone can include experiencing intense sadness or anxiety, or noticing that your thoughts are becoming harder to manage. Reaching out for support doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’re listening to what you need.

Journaling can be a powerful tool for self-reflection. Choosing to take time to understand how you’re feeling is an act of courage. Journaling shows that you are prioritizing your well-being and are willing to look inward, even when it feels uncomfortable. Using journal prompts can help guide that process, especially on days when the words don’t come easily.

By journaling and paying attention to your thoughts and feelings, you’re already taking an important step toward taking care of your mental health. And remember, you are not alone in that journey. If you need extra support, you can text CONNECT to 741741 to reach a live volunteer Crisis Counselor: 24/7, free and confidential.