Guided Journal Prompts for Anxiety & Stress Relief | Waves Wellness
This post is part of our Guided Journal Prompt series for Daily Growth, Calm and Alignment. If you enjoyed these and are looking to explore the rest of the series, we'll link them for you below. Have fun exploring!
Affirmation (Say out loud)
*Write down and repeat for maximum impact.
In this moment, I release the worries of the future, accept the past with compassion, and enter the now where I am safe, grounded, and faithful.
Daily Prompts:
• What is stressing me out right now?
• Why is it stressing me out?
• What will happen if It goes the way I’m thinking about it?
• What will happen if It doesn't?
• Is this stress imaginary or real? Am I now in danger? If not, how can I shift my perspective to focus on the safety of my body now?
• How will continuing to stress about this situation impact my now?
• How can I shift my perspective to seeing a better outcome to this stressor? (Write this better outcome down and continue to re-read it)
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Prompts:
• What are my main sources of stress? What triggers these?
• In the past, when I have stressed about something, now that I've lived through it and am here, what impact did it have? How does it feel to me now?
• If I were to place myself in the best case scenario of my stressor, what would that look and feel like? Immerse yourself in this scene, write it down, and continue to come back to it.
(Bonus) Mini Challenges:
Rhythmic Breathing.
Start with what you can, whether that's 3 breaths, 1 minute or 5. The main premise is keeping the same time throughout your breaths. Below we'll give an example of a 4 count.
Deep inhale for 4 seconds, Hold 4 seconds, Exhale 4 seconds, Hold 4 seconds. Repeat.
Why it works: Breathing grounds you immediately into the safe rhythm of your breath. It essentially calls your focus back into your body.
Visualization of your calm scene
Where/what place do you feel the most calm, refreshed, or at peace in? What do you see in this place, what do you smell, what do you hear, what are the sensations or feelings on your body, do you taste anything? Immerse yourself into this scene. Whether that's for 1 minute, 2 or 5, do what you can and feel most comfortable and focused in.
Why it works: The brain does not know between real and imagined experiences. This has been shown in studies. When you immerse your senses, the brain which has never seen the outside world, takes those as real chemical signals.
Grounding
This is about getting back into your body, breathwork is an example of this and there are other ways. You can step onto the grass barefoot which connects you with the earth. You can also at any moment in time, notice one thing you see, smell, hear, taste and can touch.
Why it works: This brings your focus back into your body, back into the now, where safety is. By noticing what's around you, you focus your attention on where your body is now. And with being barefoot, you're connecting to the natural earth which has natural healing and grounding energy.
Tense-Release
This is about tensing up all your muscles or you can do some at a time and then releasing them. You can start by really tensing up your shoulders and putting force or squeezing your hands and then release while breathing.
Tip
Stress is activated when we feel we are in danger or unsafe. When this feeling arises, notice if what you are stressing about is imagined or real. Real danger requires stress response because it allows our body to switch into a different state to better handle the stressor, however no organism can survive long periods of stress. As humans, we have the ability to stay stressed, unlike most other organisms like animals. Because of this you should pay attention to whether are not you are in real danger, and ground into what makes you feel safe, now, and present.
If you notice resistance or heightened anxiety
If you notice resistance or heightened anxiety, pause and notice what your body is trying to tell you with compassion, not judgment. Bring gentle awareness into where it shows up in your body, instead of fighting or ignoring the feeling. Breathe into that space and send it love, safety, and presence.
Ready to turn your stress into daily self care that sticks?
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