30 Grounding Journal Prompts to Soothe Yourself
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Last Updated on September 16, 2022
Staying grounded means living in the moment, being present with yourself, and being mindful of your current experiences. The act of grounding can alleviate your anxiety and bring you clarity, so it’s a great practice to get familiar with! These grounding journal prompts will help you uncover what this concept is all about.
If you find yourself getting caught up in stressing about the future or ruminating on the past, grounding will be super useful. Grounding techniques return you back to reality during an anxiety episode by making you aware of your safe surroundings. This is beneficial for any negative or challenging emotions and can be done at any time!
If you could use some help to stay grounded throughout your daily life during times of discomfort, these grounding journal prompts are exactly what you need. Let’s go for it!
Grounding Journal Prompts to Clarify Your Mind + Self Reflect
- Brain dump everything you are currently feeling right now.
- What are 5 things you see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste right now?
- What does being grounded mean to you?
- Pay attention to your breathing. Are you holding your breath? Taking shallow breaths? What is going on?
- What thought hasn’t left your mind today?
- What is one thing you are grateful for that’s right in front of you?
- What do you need to say no to in order to prioritize your boundaries?
- What is one small self care activity you can do after finishing these grounding journal prompts?
- What is something you can check off your to-do list today to reduce your overwhelm this week?
- What is something you noticed about yourself today?
- Where are your thoughts currently taking you?
- Where in your body do you currently feel your stress and tension?
- How can you take one step forward toward a positive mindset?
- What are you passionate about?
- What was today’s biggest challenge? How does it feel right now?
Like journaling? Check in with your mental health while you do it!

If you wish you had guided journal prompts conveniently bundled just for you to help with tough thoughts and emotions, you’ve got to check out my printable mental health journal!
It’s jam-packed with 33 pages of writing prompts and mental activities for understanding your emotions, overcoming unhelpful behaviors, and reframing negative thoughts. A super useful tool for grounding yourself.
- What intention or focus are you setting for the day?
- Which self love practice will you do today?
- What kind of support do you need most right now?
- What daily practice can you start doing to encourage a feeling of mindfulness?
- What would your day look like if you were at your most grounded and secure?
- What can you do to nurture yourself when you feel run-down or burnt out?
- What is one silver lining that you can see right now in your life?
- What is an unrealistic expectation you place on yourself that you can let go of in this moment?
- What can you do to ground yourself when you get distracted by digital disruptions?
- How can you celebrate a small “win” of yours today?
- What is one way you can make your life easier this week?
- What is your inner voice telling you to do today? Is it positive or negative?
- In what ways can you slow down in the midst of a busy day?
- What can you do tonight to wind down and set yourself up for a good night’s sleep? (Try these bedtime journal prompts for a better sleep!)
- What can you do in the morning to stay on track with the intentions you set for yourself? (My morning journal prompts will help you kickstart your day!)
Journaling is super useful for your mental health, but you’ll find the most benefit if you pair it with therapy. Talking to an online therapist can really help you out. It’s helped me tremendously! I always recommend Online Therapy because it’s a comprehensive, effective online therapy toolkit at an affordable monthly cost. Get 20% off your first month with the link below!
Why should you journal?
Journaling improves your overall state of mental and emotional wellbeing. Journaling gives you the opportunity to:
- Reduce your stress and anxiety
- Organize and make sense of your thoughts
- Encourage space from negative thoughts
- Reconnect with the present to bring you out of a panic attack or PTSD flashback
- Prioritize problems and concerns
- Release tension and let go of negative emotions
- Self reflect to learn more about yourself and your needs
As you can imagine, even getting through just one journaling session can leave you with a clearer mind and a better chance at learning to feel grounded. When you get stressful thoughts and emotions off your chest, you’ll feel a release. That’s what these grounding journal prompts are for!
How to keep a journal
There’s no right or wrong when it comes to journaling, but there are some practices that can help you get the most out of a journaling session. If you find yourself staring at your notebook unable to get started, give these tips a try as you go through the grounding journal prompts:
- Don’t think about how you sound, just let the thoughts flow – avoid overthinking about what you say or how you say it. Your journal is for your eyes only, so it really doesn’t matter how you come across on the page! I like to take the “brain dump” approach, where I just blurt out all my thoughts as they come to me.
- Make it a habit – the best way to make journaling a habit (and mind you, journaling will be most effective when done regularly) is to do it at the same time each day. I suggest “habit stacking” or pairing the act of journaling with something you already do. For example, keeping your journal on your coffee table to grab each time you sip your morning coffee.
- Be intentional – aim to really “get into it” each time you journal. Be open minded, fully transparent, and unafraid to let any and everything out. This is when you’ll find the most progress and get the best results.
- Tune into yourself – don’t gloss over the “little” thoughts you have. Write it all down! We tend to brush off things we deem unimportant, but sometimes those “unimportant” thoughts and feelings run deeper than we realize. Self-reflection involves valuing any and all thoughts going on in our minds and really analyzing what they might mean.
More Journal Prompts You’ll Love
60 Monday Journal Prompts to Start Your Week With Intention
Journal Prompts for Anxiety: 42 Prompts When You’re Overthinking
Self Forgiveness Journal Prompts: 32 Exercises to Let Go
50 Therapeutic Journal Prompts for Emotional Healing
LIKE THESE GROUNDING JOURNAL PROMPTS? PIN THEM FOR LATER!
