30 Journal Prompts for Mental Health – Anxiety, Depression and Stress

We’re big fans of journaling at The Anti-Burnout Club, especially when it comes to improving our mental health and connection with ourselves. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite journal prompts for mental health taken from our journal prompts section on the platform. There are 10 journal prompts for depression, 10 journal prompts for anxiety, and 10 journal prompts for stress and burnout. This gives you a whole month of journal questions you can use to help improve your mental health, feel calmer and more in control, and focus on some self-care. Enjoy!

Did you know, we release free journal prompts every month on our platform and app? Download our free app on iOS or Android.

10 Journal Prompts for Anxiety

1. Right now, the one thing making me feel anxious or fearful is ____
2. List three things that scare you the most, and the reasons why.
3. What is your inner critic telling you? Reply to your inner critic’s opinions about your actions and decisions.
4. When I am feeling anxious, the one thing I know will make me feel calmer is ____
5. Where does anxiety show up in my body. What does it feel like?
6. What difficult thoughts or emotions come up most frequently for you when you’re anxious?
7. How would life be different if I didn’t feel anxious? What would that life look like?
8. Think back to an anxious time in the past, what helped you to get through it?
9. List 3 of the greatest lessons you’ve learnt from overcoming fear in the past.
10. Squeeze your fists tightly and then release. Repeat 3-5 times and write down how this feels.

10 Journal Prompts for Depression

1. List 3 things that can instantly disrupt a good mood and bring you down? What strategies can you use to counter this?
2. What parts of daily life cause feelings of sadness, frustration, or anger? What can you do to process those emotions?
3. Who do you trust with your most painful emotions? How can you connect with them when feeling low?
4. Describe your one favourite thing to do when feeling low.
5. What are five negative things you think about yourself and then write down why they’re not true.
6. Regardless of how terrible my day has been, these 5 things always make me feel better ___. Explain why.
7. Write about your happiest memory. Where were you? What were you doing? Explain it in great detail.
8. Aside from feeling low or depressed, are there any other emotions I experience on a regular basis. What are these?
9. Where does depression and sadness show up in my body? How can I bring awareness to that part of my body?
10. When I have the energy, the first thing I’d like to do for myself is ___

10 Journal Prompts for Stress and Burnout

1. How are my stress levels right now between 1-10. Why have I given myself that score?
2. Right now, the one thing making me feel stressed and overwhelmed is ____
3. What are 3 important things I have done today?
4. Brain dump any to-dos and tasks taking space in your mind. Fill the page!
5. Remember a time you overcame great stress in your life before. How did you do it and how did it make you feel?
6. The next time I am feeling stressed, I am going to open up to and share with ____ (person/group of people)
7. What are the things I keep putting off from my to-do list? Can I let go of them completely? How would that make me feel?
8. What are 3 ways I can be more compassionate towards myself?
9. When I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed, the one thing I know will make me feel calmer is ____
10. Where can I currently feel tension in my body and where in my body feels relaxed?

How to use these journal prompts for mental health

These mental health writing prompts have been designed to help you process difficult thoughts and emotions. They are not a replacement for therapy or a medical professional, but they can work really well if you combine journaling with something like talking therapy. One of the best things about journaling for your mental health is that you don’t need a lot of resources to get started – just a pen and paper or your phone/computer. Here are some top tips to help you make the most out of these journal prompts:

• Try and journal at the same time every day – either first thing in the morning or (my personal favourite) last thing at night. This helps it become a habit and routine which can benefit your mental health.
• You don’t need fancy equipment or an expensive journal to get started. Just a pen and paper, notebook or whatever you have to hand works well. If you use one of our journal packs on the platform, we also include a fillable PDF if you’re trying to go paper-free!
• Make sure you have some peace and quiet for a little bit of time before you start journaling. Some people like to set the mood with candles or get cosy with a blanket first.
• You may also want to meditate or do some breath work before you get started – Members, we highly recommend this breath work for journaling class with Charlie.
• Write the prompt out at the top of your piece of paper. You may also want to include the date and how you’re feeling right now.
• Write out whatever first comes to mind when you ask yourself the journal question – trust your gut instinct! The first thing that pops into your head is generally the truest feeling or emotion.
• Once you have written your initial gut feelings down, dig a little bit deeper. Why do you feel that way? What made that answer come up for you? Spend a little more time getting everything out.
• Look back and reflect on your journaling journey often! It’s amazing to see how far you’ve come, especially if you’re journaling for things like anxiety, depression and/or burnout.
• If you miss a few days or even weeks/months of journaling, don’t put yourself down. Pick up where you left off with another one of these mental health journal prompts and keep going.
• Want even more guidance and journal prompts for burnout? Check out The Anti-Burnout Journal!

If you are going through current mental health struggles or suffering from anxiety or depression symptoms, please do reach out to a medical professional as soon as possible. Whilst these mental health journal prompts can help you process emotions, they’re not designed to replace proper therapy or support for a mental health disorder.