90+ Creative and Thought Provoking Journal Prompts for Mental Health

Mental health can’t be ignored. It is a huge area which affects the way we function in the day to day. Just like we look after our bodies, and physical health, it is so important to take time to focus on our mental well-being too and journalling is a great place to start.

Today we have over 90 creative and thought provoking journal prompts that you can use to get started on your daily writing habit, with 50 of these focused directly on mental health journaling.

Mental health issues can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or socioeconomic status. It is a human right to have access to mental healthcare and treatment if needed. There are many different types of mental illness that people live with every day like depression or anxiety, or we are suffering with the effects of trauma which impact our overall well-being.

Mental health is not just about one’s psychological wellbeing; it also affects other parts of life like the ability to take care of oneself and work or go to school and do other activities in one’s everyday life.

Journaling is a great tool to help process not only the difficult situations, but all of the feelings and emotions that build up in daily life.

The first time you stare at a blank page may feel daunting and overwhelming – but trust me, your future self will thank you for taking that leap.

Soon you will have a new skill and a safe place to express yourself, work through difficult emotions and negative thoughts and hopefully a deeper understanding of yourself and your thought processes.

There is no wrong way to write in your journal. The most important thing is that you use the journal prompts in a way that makes you feel comfortable.

Self-reflection is a crucial part of journaling. It allows us to see not only how we feel right now in our specific situations, but also how we have been feeling. Journal prompts are a great way to get started with learning about oneself and can be done anywhere, anytime.

You can keep a notebook with you to write a journal entry when you feel the need, or even use an app on your phone to write your journal entries digitally. I recommend the Day One app which is password protected and super convenient to use on a regular basis.

So without further ado, today we have over 50 thought provoking journal writing prompts to share with you. You do not need to use all of the prompts, or follow this list of journal prompts in order.

Take a look through and note down the prompts which resonate in the present moment – these will be a great starting point. You can always come back to the list and re-visit some of the journalling prompts over time. The best thing about journalling is that you will always have a safe space to come back and explore something when the time feels right.

There are also some fun journal prompts further down – a few lighter, fun and easy questions to use as journal prompts when you’re in the mood to keep it not so heavy.

Mental Health Journal Prompts

These prompts really dig down into the specifics of your mental health, targeting issues with anxiety and depression.

1. How is your mental health right now?

2. How has your mental health changed since the beginning of the year?

3. What are you doing to improve your mental health?

4. What severity is your mental health on a scale of 1 to 10?

5. Do you believe childhood trauma has impacted your current mental health?

6. What mental illnesses do you struggle with?

7. How old were you when you knew you had mental health issues?

8. How has your mental health changed over the years?

9. What types of medical treatments have you tried for your mental health?

10. Have you been to therapy or counseling for your mental health?

11. What natural remedies do you use for your mental health?

12. Have lifestyle changes made an impact on your mental state?

13. What are some daily habits or routines that help your mental health?

14. Describe your mental health morning routine.

15. Describe your mental health nighttime routine.

16. What are some things people get wrong about mental health?

17. What do you wish you could explain to people about mental health?

18. What misconceptions about mental health did you learn about?

19. What has been your experience with stress?

20. How has stress impacted your life?

21. What are some of your stress-relieving methods?

22. What is your experience with anxiety?

23. Have you been officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?

24. What do you do on a daily basis to help with your anxiety?

25. What anxiety triggers do you have?

26. Have you given anything up to help with your anxiety?

27. Do you have people you can talk to about your anxiety?

28. Do you suffer from depression?

29. Has your depression been officially diagnosed?

30. What severity is your depression?

31. What are some of your depression triggers?

32. Does journaling your feelings help with your mental health?

33. Have you found a specific form of journaling that helps the most?

34. How do you feel about stream of consciousness journaling?

35. Start a gratitude journal and write 5-10 things you are grateful for.

36. Do you find journaling your daily feelings and thoughts is helpful?

37. Does writing about a specific topic in your journal help you?

38. Write something creative in your journal today, such as a poem or short story.

39. How are you feeling today?

40. What is something that made you feel happy recently?

41. What is something that made you feel sad recently?

42. What is something new you tried recently?

43. Focus on gratitude today. What are you most grateful for?

44. How is your mental health different when you spend more time alone?

45. How often do you reach out to other people?

46. How do you feel about other people reaching out to you?

47. What kind of self-care practices are part of your routine?

48. Do you practice self-love?

49. How do you feel about self-help for your mental health?

50. What can you do TODAY to improve your mental health?

More Creative and Thought Provoking Journal Prompts

The journal prompts below are more mixed, with both deep and light hearted questions so you will definitely find something to speak to your daily writing mood.

1. What are some of your favorite things that remind you of good in the world?
2. What advice would you give to your best friend or a good friend, if they were facing the same difficulty that you are in?
3. When was the last time you felt truly happy?
4. Write a letter to your younger self, telling yourself something you needed to hear at the time
5. Do you feel compassionate towards your past self?
6. What is your favorite memory and why?
7. Which of your personality traits do you most value?
8. What are your greatest accomplishments?
9. What is the best way to ground yourself when you feel lost?
10. Do you have a favorite book? Which favorite quote means something to you?
11. Which words and lines really hit you from your favorite song?
12. What are some healthy ways that you can set boundaries? What situations are calling you to do this right now?
13. What is the first thing you think that people notice about you?
14. Which family member had the biggest impact on you in a positive way?
15. Which family member had the biggest impact on you in a negative way?
16. Who or what has had the biggest impact and influence on you this past year?
17. What small things or little things can you do as an act of self care, that could make you have a better day today
18. Which random words do you really like, and why?
19. What is your definition of success?
20. What is your favorite place?
21. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done, and can you have compassion and forgiveness for yourself?
22. What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
23. Are you feeling any negative emotions right now?
24. Does social media an impact on your mental health?
25. Write a letter to your body about what it means to be healthy and happy
26. Write about a time when you experienced disappointment?
27. What is the best piece of advice you have received?
28. What is the best advice you have given?
29. What is the biggest mistake you ever made?
30. What is the most important promise you can make to yourself?
31. What is your favorite tv show and why? Who do you admire most from the show?
32. What are the top 5 things on your bucket list?
33. What is the best concert you’ve been to, and if you could only go to one more concert what would it be?
34. What is your favorite sport, and who do you admire in that sport?
35. What do you remember about your first day of school?
36. How would your dream house be?
37. What is the coolest job you could have?
38. What am I grateful for?
39. When do I feel happiest?
40. What do I want to improve in my life?
41. What would make me more optimistic about the future?
42. How has my perspective on life changed since I was a child?

Creative writing and journaling is a therapeutic practice that can help people manage their mental health. These practices are particularly important for individuals who have experienced trauma, major stress, or other mental health difficulties.

They can also be beneficial to people who have not experienced trauma but are looking for ways to build self-esteem, decrease loneliness, and increase overall quality of life.

Using journal prompts allow people to explore different avenues of expression and ways to cope with difficult experiences in their lives. The act of writing down your thoughts about a certain topic provides an outlet for the writer to process their thoughts and emotions in a constructive manner, while also offering a release for negative energy.

Creative writing prompts are another great way to explore your thoughts in a new way, with the writing process allowing you to explore new ideas in a less personal and totally unrestricted way. The prompt will give you a little inspiration, then just see where your thoughts and words go. Follow your creative thinking and see where it leads.

Just think, if you use a journal prompt everyday, and you keep up journalling for a whole year, how much better will you start to understand yourself.

That’s 365 journal prompts, a huge list of questions and areas to delve deeper into your own mind. Some of the prompts may even push you out of your comfort zone, but ultimately that helps to make us the better person that we want to be. This is one of the benefits of journaling.

Journaling is an amazing tool for all ages. Some of these creative journal prompts will work as thought provoking journal prompts for teens, too.

We hope you enjoy this list of things to write about and thought provoking questions to ask yourself. Try adding journal writing to your daily routine and see how it goes!

If you liked this post please feel free to share with your friends, on social media, or pin to your Pinterest board – thanks so much!

Our Mindfulness Coloring Journal

Looking for a new notebook for your journal prompts? We have put together a mindfulness journal with space to record your thoughts and beautiful mandalas to color. Available on Amazon worldwide – take a look!

Mandala Coloring Reflection Journal: Color and Journal for ultimate reflection and mindfulness

Happy journaling!

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