Best Journaling Prompts for Trauma Recovery

Describe a place, real or imagined, where you feel calm and safe. What do you see, hear, smell and feel there?

Adapted from the safe-place imagery in SAMHSA's guide to trauma-informed care. It is meant to steady you, not to process the trauma.

List three things, however small, that helped today. They can be people, actions or moments.

SAMHSA's guide encourages strengths-focused questions such as "How did you survive?" This is a daily version of that idea.

Once a week, write up to five things you are grateful for.

In a 2003 study by Emmons and McCullough, keeping a gratitude list improved some, but not all, well-being measures. It is not trauma-specific, and it can feel hollow on a very hard day. Skip it when it does.

How is my life now different from then? What can I do now that I could not do then?

Adapted from the "that was then, this is now" exercise in an NHS self-help guide for post-traumatic stress.

When did I feel suddenly on edge today? What was happening around me? What did I notice in my body?

You do not need to write about the trauma itself. The point is to spot patterns.

Who can I call when things are hard? What helps when I am overwhelmed? What are my early warning signs?

This overlaps with a safety plan. The VA's free Safety Plan app has a place to keep coping steps and contacts.

Write to yourself the way you would write to a close friend who went through the same thing.

A common exercise in counseling. We did not find a single study to cite for it, so treat it as something to try, not a proven technique.

What matters most to me? What small action this week would move me toward it?

A common values exercise from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), offered here as a practical prompt rather than an evidence claim.

Imagine your life a few years from now, after things have gone as well as they reasonably could. Write about it.

In a 2001 study by Laura King, students who wrote about their best possible self for 20 minutes on four days showed benefits comparable to writing about trauma, with less upset along the way.

Write down one belief that changed, about safety, trust or yourself. Then ask: what evidence supports it, and what does not?

This mirrors the "stuck points" work in cognitive processing therapy (CPT). It is often easier, and safer, to work through with a therapist.

For 15 to 20 minutes on three or four days in a row, write your deepest thoughts and feelings about an upsetting experience, and how it connects to your past, present and future.

• In the original 1986 study, writing about trauma raised blood pressure and low mood in the short term, even though the students later made fewer health-center visits. Expect it to feel worse before it feels better.
• Pennebaker and Chung now advise waiting at least one to two months after an upheaval before using it.
• Stop if you start to feel flooded. See the safety notes below.

This is not the same as Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a five-session treatment delivered by a therapist that the VA/DoD guideline suggests for PTSD.