Journaling ideas for anxiety

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When I’m feeling anxious, I’m usually tempted to “run away” from the anxiety by ignoring that it’s there. Unfortunately, this doesn’t usually help to resolve my anxiety or the underlying reasons I’m anxious, and even worse it tends to cause my anxiety to build up until it feels large and unmanageable. I have found that taking deep breathes, running cold water over my wrists and/or face, and leaning into the anxiety and expressly acknowledging to myself that I’m anxious helps. Making these coping mechanisms a habit has helped my anxiety, and learning to acknowledge and lovingly accept my emotions as they arise has helped reduce my overall instances of anxiety. Journaling is one way that I’ve learned to lean into my anxiety and explore my anxiety. Journaling helps me because it’s a way to occupy my body and mind without ignoring my anxious feelings. For me, journaling about my anxiety is just the right amount of engagement and distraction to help me ease into the physical experience of feeling anxious. I hope it helps you, too!

Journal prompts for anxiety

Here are a few journal prompts for anxiety that have helped me explore and accept the feeling of anxiety.

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What does your body feel like when you’re anxious?
Where in your body do you feel the anxiety?
If you had to describe your anxiety using a shape, what shape is your anxiety? Where do you feel this shape in your body? Why do you think you chose that shape?
If you had to use a color to describe your anxiety, what color is your anxiety? Where do you feel this color in your body? Why do you think you chose that color?
How do you know when you’re feeling anxious? What are the first signs that you are feeling anxious?
What is your first memory of feeling anxious? Write about it in detail.
How often do you feel anxious?
When you feel anxiety what thoughts come into your mind? Do these thoughts make you feel more or less anxious? Do any of these thoughts remind you of something a parent or caregiver would have said to you when you were young?
If a good friend or loved one was feeling anxious, what would you say to them?
If a good friend or loved one were comforting you when you felt anxious, what would you ideally want them to say to you?
When was the last time you felt anxious? What were you doing when the anxiety arose? Who were you with?
Write down three memories about times you felt anxious. Describe the memory in as much detail as you can.
Does your anxiety tend to show up in response to certain situations or emotions?
What is the hardest thing about feeling anxiety?
Do other emotions tend to arise with, or after, the feeling of being anxious? If so, write about these emotions. Why do you think these emotions show up with anxiety?
Is there a chance that your anxiety is covering up another emotion that you don’t want to feel? Do the colors and shapes you used to describe anxiety (in response to the prompts above) remind you of any other emotions?
Are there time periods in your life when you have felt anxiety more frequently or less frequently? Was there anything different about your life circumstances or habits during these times?
What practices have you tried for coping with anxiety? What worked well? What didn’t work well?
If you had to create an “anxiety care kit” for yourself, what would you put in it?
How gentle are you with yourself when you’re feeling anxious?
What new ideas do you want to try to help you cope with the feeling of anxiety?
What makes you feel worse when you’re feeling anxious?
What helps you feel better when you’re feeling anxious? Does doing these things regularly help to prevent anxiety?