Relentless Pursuit

There are varying prompts that individuals can use in order to journal. Some of these include reflecting on journaling prompts such as attachment reflections, writing about feelings, or creating a letter to write someone. Writing has demonstrated to be an extremely therapeutic activity for many individuals. By processing your emotions through the use of journaling, this can help relieve some of the tension and intensity of those emotions. First, I wanted to share a list of some emotions that may be helpful for you to reference when journaling:

This emotions/feeling wheel was developed by Dr. Gloria Willcox.

What would some prompts be that would be helpful on attachment reflections?

• Who was in your family growing up?
• What was it like growing up?
• How did your parents discipline you as a child?
• Who in your life noticed that you were capable and could get things done? What was that relationship like?
• How have your childhood experiences influenced relationship with others?
• How did your parents discipline you as a child? How does that effect you?
• What other impact do you think your childhood has on your adult life?

What would some prompts be on writing about feelings?

• Write out your emotions like a grocery list
• Imagine your anxiety or depression as a monster
• Interview your past and future self
• Imagine your favorite fictional character
• Use colorful markers or pens and write out all of the things that make you happy
• Start your journal with the phrase, “I remember feeling…”

How would you start a letter?

• Brainstorm who you would want to write a letter to
• Think through what format you want to write it in (structured, poetic, paragraph)
• Think through what exactly you want to say
• Identify emotions you are feeling in those moments
• Depending on what the letter is about, think through if this is a letter that would be helpful to send to someone or not. Writing letters that never get sent to someone can help with processing emotions in the moment

What would be some prompts for reflecting on your values?

• What is most important to you in life?
• Think through some of your goals – what is a goal you want to reach this month? This year? In the next 5 years?
• If you think through your daily life, what do you spend most of your time doing?
• Do you volunteer in any capacity? If yes, what do you do and what do you enjoy about this position?
• Think through your budget and where an allotted amount of your income goes. What is a priority within your budget and how does this reflect what values you hold?

Feeling stressed, down, overwhelmed, or anxious? Take a second to grab a piece of paper and a pen and just write out how you are feeling. Let the prompts help guide you through this therapeutic activity.

Information within this post is derived from Dr. Bart Fowler, PsyD – Clinical Director and a professor at Western Seminary, Counseling Department.