Journaling Essentials from a Christian Therapist

2 days ago
2 min read

I say this to clients all of the time: “Have you tried journaling”. When I experienced betrayal, my head was so foggy I could not get into the space of journaling. Not being able to journal is real and I understand that. For me it took some time to come back to myself and want to remember. Trauma and PTSD will make you want to be numb and to forget. I have heard that over and over again. However, when you do find yourself in the head space to write and journal about your day it can feel like a game changer.

Here’s a few reasons for journaling:

You no longer look to others to regulate yourself.
You start to trust yourself to tell the truth about what happened.
You will remember things more clearly. This is especially true if you’ve experienced betrayal, gaslighting, or emotional abuse.
You start to understand and hear your own voice again.
Journaling is a great avenue to connect with God agian too. Just writing out a simple prayer can feel like a small step towards your faith again — Even if it is a prayer telling God how angry you are.

I love how quick journaling can feel. You can jot down your day or your feelings in a sentence or you could take five minutes to process your day. There’s so many ways you can use journaling for mental health reasons, building inner self-confidence again, or just expressing yourself.

Ways you can journal:

Free-write / brain dump (set a timer, write whatever comes up)
Daily recap (what happened today + 1–2 takeaways)
Emotion check-in (“I feel… because… I need…”)
Prayer journal (write a prayer, then a response you sense/hope from God)
Gratitude list (3–10 things; include small, ordinary moments)
Scripture reflection (SOAP)
- Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
Prompt-based journaling (answer one focused question per day)
Letter journaling (write a letter you won’t send: to God, yourself, someone else)
Unsent conversation (what you wish you could say + what you needed to hear)
Processing a trigger
- What happened → what I thought → what I felt → what I did → what I need now
Boundary journaling (what’s mine/not mine; what I’m saying yes/no to)
Values + goals journaling (what matters most + one next step)
Worry dump + release (write worries, then “what’s in my control” vs “not”)
Self-compassion journaling (talk to yourself like you would a hurting friend)
Forgiveness/letting go journal (name the pain, the cost, what you’re releasing—at your pace)
Memory/trauma-titration journaling (tiny pieces only: “a little bit at a time,” then grounding)
One-sentence journaling (one honest sentence per day—counts)
Voice-note then transcribe (talk it out, then jot key points)
Lists journal (wins, lessons, needs, prayers, questions, reminders)
Creative journaling (poem, doodles, collage, mind map, color-coding)