50 Emotional Journaling Prompts

Journaling — and specifically working with emotional writing prompts — can be an excellent tool when you’re dealing with difficult emotions or working to better understand what you’re feeling. 

Sometimes we feel just a little blah, giddy, or anxious, and we can’t exactly pinpoint why. Other times we’ll feel one emotion sharply and know we need to write about it in order to process it in a healthy way. 

And while free-writing can help quite a bit with sorting through emotions, emotional writing prompts can help you get straight to the core of the issue. As you go through, feel free to refer to this "wheel of emotions" to help you better identify certain emotions you may be feeling. 

Here are 50 to help you get started, so make sure to bookmark this one. 

1. What is the dominant emotion you’re feeling right now? 
2. What do you think happened to trigger the emotion you’re currently feeling?
3. If the emotion you’re feeling right now is negative, what’s something you can do to “change the channel?”
4. When is the last time you felt truly happy? 
5. What makes you feel safe?
6. When do you feel the most down or off? 
7. Write through your perfect day from start to finish
8. What would you do right now if you knew you could not fail?
9. What are you most afraid of? 
10. What’s one thing you need to let go of?
11. What is your greatest fear?
12. What makes you feel sad? 
13. Write out your life story
14. What are you feeling anxious or worried about right now? Is it rooted in reality?
15. What typically triggers a bad mood for you?
16. Why acts tend to mess with your emotions (an example here is too little sleep, sugar, etc.) 
17. What would you rather be doing right now? 
18. What is your inner critic saying right now?
19. What do you need to let go of?
20. What’s one thing you can do to feel better right now?
21. Name five good things that have happened over the past month
22. What do you think would have to happen for you to become the calmest, happiest version of yourself?
23. What is your greatest insecurity? Why? 
24. Name five things you’re thankful for.
25. Write about your happiest memory
26. When do you feel the most proud of yourself?
27. If you could change one thing, what would it be? 
28. Describe what a broken heart feels like to you
29. What would you tell your best friend about what you’re feeling right now?
30. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rank your mental health right now?
31. What are some little things you can do for yourself right now? 
32. Write about a recent dream you had. What emotions did it bring up for you? 
33. What does the ultimate self-care day look like for you?
34. Name one person in your life who always says the right thing. What do you think they would say to you right now?
35. If your emotions feel a little fuzzy right now, what can you do to bring them into focus?
36. Write about a bad day you had recently. What could you have done to make it better?
37. Write out an apology to someone you feel deserves it.
38. When was the last time you cried?
39. Who do you admire, and why?
40. What is your favorite food? What do you love about it?
41. What does the word love mean to you?
42. What makes you feel really angry?
43. When was the last time you truly disconnected from your devices? How did it make you feel?
44. What was one good thing that happened today? 
45. Write a letter to your younger self.
46. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received, and how did it make you feel? 
47. Write a short story about your own life.
48. When are you best able to enjoy the present moment?
49. Write a poem that describes how you’re feeling right now.
50. What’s your favorite place to visit, and why?

Looking for more journaling prompts? Here are 35 Journaling Prompts for Self-Discover and Personal Growth.