When you’re feeling overwhelmed, opening a notebook to write about it might be the last thing you want to do.

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It’s normal to feel stalled and unable to do anything to get out of that place of high stress and anxiety, and putting pen to paper might seem like a mountain you don’t know how to summit. But journaling can be a transformational tool in strengthening mental health, for children, teens and adults! 

While journaling can seem intimidating to start, it is a wonderful tool for decompression and mental health recovery! Whether you’re just curious about journaling or want to up your own journal game, here’s how to get started, including 15 staff-curated journal prompts to make those first few entries a bit more approachable — straight from the team that works every day to support youth and adults at Camber Mental Health.

Why Should I Consider Journaling? 

Journaling might feel strange at first, especially if writing isn’t your passion. Or, if you’re a caregiver, it may feel a little tricky for your child or teen. But the mental health benefits are worth pushing through this awkward start! It can be hard to believe that writing things down could help when life feels heavy or your mind is racing. Journaling for just 15 minutes a day (even if all you write down are doubts, fears and negative thoughts!) can help build more self-awareness and acceptance of your emotions and thoughts. 

In a 2019 study at a children’s hospital, practitioners, patients and family members tried a three-minute writing exercise to reduce stress and improve communication. After the study, 88% of the participants found it helpful, even though most of them had never journaled before. 

Journaling can be a beneficial form of mental health self-care at any age. Even young children who cannot write yet can draw pictures to express how they are feeling. Regardless of age, experience or circumstance, journaling can 

• Reduce stress and anxiety 

• Break cycles of obsessive thinking 

• Help process and regulate emotions 

• Increase self-awareness 

• And even boost physical health by reducing blood pressure and improving mood 

Types of Journaling 

What’s the best way to journal? Here’s the answer: Whatever feels best! There is no one right way to journal. For younger children, journaling may look more like drawing pictures, while teens and adults may prefer to write down thoughts or what happened that day. The way you journal should be uniquely fit to your needs and what brings you the comfort you need, not trying to fit someone else’s mold of “correct journaling.” “Correct” journaling is whatever meets your needs! 

Here are a few different ways you might try journaling: 

• Visual Journaling: Combining drawing and writing, visual journaling often involves writing words and turning them into artistic expressions. It can even be literal art journaling without any words involved, which is a great form of expressive therapy. 

• Gratitude Journaling focuses on writing down things you are thankful for, breaking out of negative thought patterns by remembering the positive and good things in your life. 

• Intuition Journaling starts with writing down a question you want answered, then pressing into your intuition and answering the question from that gut feeling. 

• Musical Journaling may not even involve writing or drawing at all! Use instruments to express your emotions, listen to music and write down how it makes you feel or even try your hand at writing a song. 

• Stream-of-Consciousness Journaling lets go of perfectionism and opens your mind to just writing freely everything passing through your mind. 

• Mentor Journaling: Think about people who have been mentors or inspirational to you. Write about how they inspired you and what you learned from them that you’d like to apply more in your own life. 

• Unsent Letter Journaling can be helpful for healing past wounds. It’s your chance to write down everything you wish you could say to someone you lost, someone who hurt you or even someone you care about. 

And if what felt right yesterday doesn’t feel right today? Pivoting your structure is always allowed! 

15 Staff-Recommended Journal Prompts for Mental Health 

Straight from our team at Camber, these prompts are rooted in a focus on strengths with a sensitivity to mental health difficulties, giving you practical and approachable options for starting your journaling practice. 

While journaling may look different for children, youth and adults, these prompts are tailored to meet the emotional and developmental needs of different life stages to help journaling feel accessible to anyone, whether it be you personally or a younger family member. 

Ready to start journaling? Try one of these prompts to kick things off: 

1. What wins have I had today?  
2. I matter because… 
3. What do I want to say to my future self? 
4. What have I done that positively influenced someone’s life? 
5. What are three qualities I like about myself? 
6. Who do I want to be today? 
7. Today, I am grateful for… 
8. What do I need to hear from a trusted person? 
9. What’s a positive change I’ve noticed in myself recently? 
10. If I could tell my past self something I wish I had known, what would it be? 
11. What makes me smile? 
12. Who do I want to grow into? 
13. Right now, I am feeling…  
14. What are five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell and one thing I can taste? 
15. If I were to create something, what would it be?  

Use these prompts in whatever way feels natural to you—remember, there are no wrong answers! These prompts can be used for writing, drawing, discussing, creating or just thinking and meditating. 

How to Get Started and Stick with It 

Beginning a daily journaling routine, just like starting any other new routine, can be tricky to maintain. If you or your child have days when you’re feeling stuck or uninspired, that’s okay! Remember to give yourself grace and be just as patient with yourself as you would with a friend.  

Start small. Be flexible in discovering what your journaling method may look like on any given day. And don’t hold yourself to impossible standards. Remember, this is a tool to help you, not an obligation to make you even more overwhelmed. 

Here are a few other tips for getting into a good journaling habit: 

• Start small. Even just 3-5 minutes a day can make a big difference! 

• Adapt to your needs. Make this routine work for you, not the other way around. Writing on Monday, doodling on Wednesday, musical journaling on Friday? If it helps you, it’s a win! 

• Be consistent. Try to journal around the same time every day to help make the habit stick. One of the best times to journal is right before bed to decompress and improve your sleep. 

• Make the prompts your own. Whatever journal prompt you use, the interpretation and execution are up to you! 

• Set and respect privacy. Knowing your journal will remain private to you is important for allowing freedom to write anything you think or feel, including intrusive or overwhelming thoughts that you may feel ashamed of or uncomfortable sharing with others. Show this same respect to others around you who keep a journal, especially children and youth. 

Curious About How to Make Journaling More Fun?

Fill out the form below to get a free printable journal prompt card deck you can use at home.

This activity turns journaling into something interactive: just print, cut and drop the cards in a bowl. Each day, you (or your child) can draw a new prompt—making it easy to get started, mix things up and keep journaling from feeling like a chore. These cards are like little jump-starters for your mind. Pick one and suddenly the blank page isn’t so intimidating.

When to Seek Additional Mental Health Support 

It’s okay to be uncertain, but still give journaling a try, even if it’s just one prompt and five minutes of writing to see how you feel. Any progress is worth celebrating, whether through a self-high-five or sharing with someone you trust. 

If journaling doesn’t seem like enough to address your mental health needs right now, there is support available to you at Camber! Seeking support is a sign of strength and courage, not failure. If you are looking for mental health support in Kansas for your child or teen, reach out to our admissions team.