Processing the Pandemic :: 25 Journal Prompts for Practicing Self-Care

Throughout the first couple weeks of this quarantine, I carried on as if everything was normal, suppressing all of my emotions, burying them deep down while lying to myself, telling myself I was feeling strong and normal. Then, somewhere around week 3, I hit a wall and broke down realizing just how many feelings had been swirling around deep inside of me, wanting to come out. At that point I became grouchy and emotional, crying at the strangest of moments, yelling at my kids and husband over the smallest of annoyances. I quickly became aware I needed an outlet for clarifying, acknowledging and releasing all of the emotions rather than waiting for them to explode out of me. I have been a long time journal-er, but had taken a different approach to starting my days for a month or so. I realized that now, more than ever, I needed some quality journal time to start my days with clarity, intention and focus, releasing the hard, and clinging to the good around me.

I recommend focusing on one or two questions a day and really diving into those, then tackling a new question the following day based on what seems to most inspire you in that moment.

25 Journal prompts for processing the pandemic ::

1. In this moment… (what are you feeling, hearing, thinking, sensing, seeing…)
2. These are the days of…
3. What have I learned during this season?
4. What has been hard during this season?
5. What has been good in this season?
6. What good can I bring to others?
7. What am I feeling right now?
8. How can I connect with others?
9. How can I practice self-care in this season?
10. What is filling me in this season? What isn’t?
11. Am I currently surviving or thriving?
12. What would thriving in this season look like for me?
13. How is this time stretching (or growing, or preparing) me?
14. What from this season would I like to take with me into the next?
15. My favorite recent moment was…
16. What do I most need right now? (Fun, stillness, quiet, connection…) How can I bring more of it into my life?
17. Where did I find beauty today?
18. What am I feeling about the future? (Scared, nervous, excited, hopeful…)
19. What is in my control? What is not?
20. How can I bring fun (or joy/meaning/beauty/love) into the world today?
21. In the future, how will I describe this time to someone who did not go through it?
22. I am thankful for…
23. A successful (or meaningful or good) day for me right now looks like…
24. If I were to sum up this season into one word it would be…
25. What I would most like to accomplish (or experience) in this season is…

Shannon Mangerchine
Shannon lives in Central City, New Orleans with her husband, Jeremy, and three sons, Noah, Eli and Zeke. She left a career in Human Resources to take on her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. During this time, she and her husband founded a non-profit called Bastion Resources with the purpose of inspiring others to live a life of intimacy with God. Shannon is passionate about creating community and engaging in meaningful conversation around the dinner table. Recently, she created The Intentional Daily Journal to help people live with more purpose and clarity, which is available for purchase on Amazon. In her free time, Shannon enjoys all types of fitness, trying new restaurants, reading and discussing books with her book club, coffee dates with friends and hanging at the park with her family. Shannon is constantly creating new healthy recipes and sharing them on her blog Dinner Done by 9am.

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