8 Journal Prompts for Self-Therapy

What if we let ourselves feel our emotions without judgment? What if we allowed ourselves to feel sadness, doubt, fear, shame, and joy without getting mad at ourselves for feeling them? What if we learned to sit with our emotions, feel them, and accept them for what they are? Keep reading to find a way to help yourself do this.

This past month, I had a perspective change. At the beginning of this month, I attended an empowerment camp that I had been wanting to go to for years. I knew going in that it would be a transformational experience simply because I would be in a space with people who have a passion for personal development the way that I do. But I didn’t realize how much I would get out of the experience. Even just knowing that I was going altered every emotion I felt, I started using them as a lesson to learn something about myself.

Emotion: nervous about entering a space where I know no one. Reason: I haven’t had to do that in a while and there is an innate fear of entering new groups for most people. With the uncertainty solved, I can just feel it and let it pass. Emotion: Feeling like an outsider. Reason: a lot of these people have been to camp before and already have a bond, so I can’t expect them to take me in and talk with me like they do their friends of 5+ years. Emotion: feeling a lot of anger when someone gets frustrated with me. Reason: there were a lot of reasons as to why I felt the way I did, but I also took it as a lesson to ask myself what triggered me so badly. Through this, I realized some trauma from over four years ago was resurfacing and some other deep seeded fears were also brought to the surface. This allowed me to release some of my anger and move forward without letting my emotions control my day.

I was genuinely so proud of myself for making this shift, that I started to become excited to feel negative emotions because I saw them as learning opportunities. Later that day I went to the doc over the lake and journaled about these feelings and traumas that arose and was able to affirm how I was feeling at that moment and how I felt all those years ago.

This is what I call self-therapy. It is when you take emotions and let them teach you about yourself through self-reflection journaling. This is one pathway to having relentless love for yourself and the belief that you deserve everything you desire. Every thought of self-doubt, fear, shame, or judgment we have was taught to us by those around us and society. Realizing this lets us see that we have options and therefore can now choose how we want to believe.

The way I do self-therapy goes like this. The feeling arises, either triggered by a situation or a build-up of something. Then, it’s journal time! This can include a quick session to get out initial thoughts and feelings or simply waiting until you have time to have a full journal session. Once I get my pen to paper I ask myself these questions:

• What happened?

• What did it make you feel?

• Why did this situation make you feel these things?

• Does this situation remind you of one from your past?

• Why are your feelings valid?

• How do you want to move forward?

• What affirmations do you need to hear right now?

• If you need anything else right now (example: a hug, a comfort meal, or a conversation with a friend) how can you get it?

Now that I have started making this a regular practice I realize when I’m triggered more often. The more you watch your emotional vibration the more in tune you are with yourself. But I don’t want you going into this thinking it will be easy. Bringing up past traumas and difficult emotions is really hard, so never feel like you have to do the self-therapy method when a hard feeling or situation arises. Only do it if you feel ready for whatever comes up. The most important part of holistic wellness is listening to and honoring your needs and your intuition.

Good luck with your self-therapy journey. May you treat yourself with compassion and show yourself love in every way you possibly can.