Journaling is so beneficial for teens. I’m a teen myself who’s dealt with anxiety, I can say that journaling was the one thing that helped me the most with it. In this blog, I’m sharing the best journal prompts for teens with anxiety! These prompts are ones that I have used personally for my anxiety as a teen and are simple, fun, and effective. Happy journaling!
Benefits of Journaling For Teens:
Did you know that journaling strengthens teens’ immune systems and physical health? Studies show that people who consistently wrote about their stress and emotions had significant improvement in their physical health! See the study here.
Journaling also helps teens…
- Learn from experiences
- Build our communication skills
- Improves our memory
- Uplift our mood
- Cultivate problem-solving skills
- Boost our creativity
- And increases our sense of gratitude (which is proven to increase our cognitive function and mental health!)
Free Mindfulness For Teens PDF!
Most Importantly, Journal Prompts Reduce Teen’s Anxiety!
The benefits of journaling are endless for teens and I’ve experienced these benefits first hand so I know that they work.
I was a pretty anxious teen. Not in the way that most people see. I didn’t nervously rub my hands or speak quietly around people. My anxiety showed up as always reading and tabbing the people in my surroundings. I would be constantly analyzing myself and how I was appearing to them. “Did I seem chill, cool, happy, interesting?”
This took a huge toll on my mental health and no one, including myself, even noticed it.
Maybe you can relate to this and maybe you don’t. The point is that…
Teens Anxiety Is Invisible Sometimes.
This is what makes journaling so great! Journal prompts take our anxiety out of hiding. Journaling helped me become aware of my triggers and find more calmness in my life.
In this blog, I want to share the journal prompts I used that changed my relationship with my anxiety as a teen. These journal prompts are easy, simple, fun, and I guarantee will help you with your anxiety. Enjoy!
Journal Prompts For Teens With Anxiety
Make sure you check out the tips in the following section to make the most of these journal prompts for teens with anxiety. Notice if you get anxious as you do these prompts and see if you can be calm as you wrote about your anxiety.
The Best Journal Prompt For Teens With Anxiety ⬇️
- “What are all the things, people, and actions that trigger my anxiety?”
- “Why do these things trigger me?”
- “Can I remember the first experience I had with this thing that made it a trigger?”
- “Are there healthy boundaries that I can set or things I can communicate to reduce my triggers?”
- “What things that I can do for myself to cultivate calmness in my life?”
Prompt 2
- “What are the top 7 things making me anxious?”
- “What are the feelings associated with these 7 things making me anxious?” I.e fear, shame, anger, insecurity, etc.
- “When did my anxiety start?”
- “Was it formed by society, family, friends, peers, etc?”
- “Would changing the people I surround myself with make me less anxious?”
- “What are five things I can do to reduce my anxiety, take care of myself, and calm down?”
Prompt 3
- “Where in my body can I feel my stress/anxiety?”
- “How does it feel? Heavy, rigid, tense, etc?”
- “What am I anxious about right now?” Don’t censor your thoughts. Dump all your thoughts down onto the paper.
- “What is the root fear behind this.” Fear of failure, judgment, pain, etc.
- “Why do I believe that this fear is my natural fate?
- “Is there a programming that tells me I am destined for this fear unless I push myself to anxiety?”
- Write an affirmation 9 times that empowers you to believe in yourself, that you are capable and you deserve to be happy, peaceful, and free.
Prompt 4
- Take a deep breath in.
- “What are 3 things I can see right now?”
- “What are 3 details within those 3 things that I can see right now?”
- “What are 3 things I can hear right now?”
- “How do those things sound?” Elegant, sharp, harsh, gentle, etc?
- “What are 3 things I can feel right now?” (Not emotions. What can I feel in my external environment?)
- “How do these things feel?” Soft, smooth, hard, rough, etc?
- “How do I feel emotionally right now?”
- “Am I happy with how I feel? Yes or no?”
- “If no, how do I want to feel in this moment?” Close your eyes and fill yourself up with that feeling?
- “If yes, send gratitude to and thankfulness to this moment.”
- “What will I do to make myself radically happy today?” Write out when you will do it.
Prompt 5
This journal prompt is great for teens with anxiety because gratitude calms us down and takes our minds off of our worries.
- “What are 7 things about myself that I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 things that I am grateful for in my life today?”
- “What are 7 things I own that I am grateful for?”
- “Who are 7 people I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 amazing things in my life that I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 experiences that I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 freedoms that I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 foods that I am grateful for?”
- “What are 7 things of nature that I am grateful for?”
I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND teens do practice meditation and breathwork. Check out my guided meditations and mindfulness for teens on my YouTube channel! Click here to see the playlist.
7 Tips For Journaling For Teens
If you are new to journaling, here are my tips for making journaling an enjoyable and consistent practice.
1. Have a personal journal
You can get a journal almost anywhere. Something to consider is if you want a lined, dotted grid, or blank paper journal. I like using dotted grid journals the best because it leaves room for artistic writing and still gives me organization to write. I actually have 2 journals! As dumb as it sounds, one of mine is from Walmart and I love it. My other one is The Best Self Journal. If you’re a go-getter type with lots of goals, the best self journal is for you.
2. Use An Essential Oil Diffuser
Science says that when you repeatedly do something like meditation or journaling to a certain scent, your brain will associate that smell with the state of mind it is in! This will make it so you can fall into a calm state of mind easier over time. I don’t know about you but that seems pretty cool.
Get this awesome Aroma Salt Lamp by clicking here!
3. Play Alpha/Theta Waves or Ambient Music
Listening to alpha or theta waves with headphones puts your brain into a creative and calm state. It’s neuroscience, not spiritual juju. If you search “alpha brainwaves” or “theta brainwaves” on any music platform or google, you’ll find results. They can be a bit boring to listen to so ambient music is a great choice too.
4. Journal In The Morning Or At Night Before Bed
The best time to journal is when you start your day or are ending it. If you do it in the middle of the day, you’ll likely be caught up thinking about what you’re doing after this and not be present in the process. Optimally, I would recommend doing it in the morning and at night. Morning journaling helps you set intentions for the day and nightly journaling will help you relax and release anxiety before bed.
5. Do Something Calming Beforehand
Find something relaxing to do before you journal so you can more easily tune in to your mind. I like to take a hot shower, meditate, or do a quick yoga flow before I journal and then drink a cup of tea while I write. Other ideas are going for a walk, going for a bike ride, sketching, taking a bath, or cleaning your space.
6. Sit Somewhere With Natural Sunlight
Studies show that sunlight makes you feel happier. When sunlight enters your eyes, it stimulates the parts of your retina that then cue your brain to produce serotonin, the chemical of happiness. Sitting somewhere with natural sunlight anytime you can when you do your journaling will help you feel happier and healthier. I highly recommend it.
7. Sit Alone And In Solitude
We often don’t notice how many of our thoughts we are censoring when we are around people. When we sit alone, that censorship goes away and we can listen to our minds better. Lots of people recommend treating journaling like meditation, make it an undisturbed practice.
Did you do these journal prompts? Let me know what you thought of them in the comments below!
Get my FREE Journal Prompts For Beginners by clicking here.
Related Blogs:
- How To Overcome Anxiety As A Teen Using Mindfulness
- 20 Mindfulness Activities For Teens With Anxiety
- Teens Guide To Meditation
- 10 Best Meditations For Teens With Anxiety
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