Honest storytelling as a form of healing.

Category: Journal Therapy

  • The Emotional Junk Drawer

    We all have one.

    Not the drawer filled with dead batteries, mystery keys, and pens that stopped working in 2017 although we probably have that one too. 😂

    I mean the emotional junk drawer.

    It holds the conversation we keep avoiding, the boundary we haven’t set, the grief we promised to revisit, the dream we keep postponing, and the need we keep calling “too much.”

    We tuck things away because sometimes we genuinely don’t have the energy to deal with them.

    But not right now can quietly become never.

    Eventually, the drawer stops closing. An old resentment gets tangled around a new disagreement. A buried need shows up as frustration. One small moment produces a much larger reaction because it was never only about that moment.

    It was everything already inside the drawer.

    With the full moon and lunar eclipse approaching, perhaps we can allow a little light to reach one thing we’ve kept tucked away. Not because the moon is magically reorganizing our emotional lives if only but because awareness gives us somewhere to begin.

    You don’t have to clean out the entire drawer today.

    Choose one thing.

    Name it. Write about why you tucked it away and what it needs from you now.

    Does it need a conversation? A boundary? Rest? Grief? Or simply an honest acknowledgment that it still exists?

    What we tuck away doesn’t disappear.

    But we can decide what deserves our attention, what needs a proper place, and what we are finally ready to throw the hell out.

    Journal Prompt

    What needs to come out of my emotional junk drawer?

    Begin with:

    I keep telling myself I’ll deal with __________ later, but…

  • 8 Things to Do Before 8/8

    8/8 is almost here, and whether you believe in the energy of the day, use it as a reset, or simply like having a reason to pause and reflect, I think it’s a good time to check in with yourself.

    And no, this does not mean you have to completely change your life before August 8th. 

    These are just eight small things you can do to clear some space, quiet some noise, and think about what you want for the rest of the year.

    1. Declutter one space

    Just ONE. A drawer, your bag, your desk. Pick somewhere that needs a little attention and clean it out. Sometimes clearing a small space makes you feel lighter without even realizing you needed it.

    2. Unfollow what drains you

    If an account constantly has you comparing yourself, questioning yourself, or just feeling blah after you see it, unfollow it. Your social media should not make you feel worse about your own life.

    3. Donate 8 things you don’t use

    Find eight things sitting around that you haven’t used in months and let them go. Someone else may actually need what has just been taking up space in your home.

    4. Sit in silence for 8 minutes

    No phone. No music. No distractions. Just sit with yourself for eight minutes and see what comes up. You might be surprised by what your mind has been trying to tell you.

    5. Write down 8 things you’re proud of

    We spend so much time thinking about what we haven’t done that we forget what we HAVE done. Look back at this year and give yourself some credit. Big or small, write eight things that make you proud.

    6. Reach out to someone

    You know that person you’ve been saying, “I need to text them” about? Do it. If they’ve been on your mind and the relationship feels good and safe, send the message.

    7. Do something your future self will thank you for

    It can be something as small as saving a few dollars, making an appointment, filling out an application, or finally doing something you’ve been putting off.

    Nothing huge. Just one thing.

    8. Choose one intention for the rest of the year

    What do you really want to give your energy to from now until the end of the year?

    Write it down.

    Then ask yourself:

    What is one thing I can do TODAY to move toward it?

    That’s it.

    No pressure to magically become a different person because it’s 8/8. This is simply a chance to pause, clear out some things you don’t need, appreciate how far you’ve already come, and decide where you want to go next.

    Sometimes a reset doesn’t have to be huge.

    Sometimes it starts with one drawer, eight quiet minutes, a journal page, and one decision to keep moving forward.

    Small shifts. Big transformation.

  • Week 32 of 52 : Whose Voice Are You Hearing?

    Week 32 of 52 : Whose Voice Are You Hearing?

    First, can we take a moment because we made it to week four!

    Thank you to everyone who keeps coming back each week to reflect and write with me. Whether you have answered every prompt, skipped one, or saved them all for when you finally have a quiet moment, I appreciate you being here.

    There is no right or wrong way to do this. The fact that you are taking a moment to check in with yourself matters

    This weeks Prompt:

    Whose voice do you hear when you criticize yourself?

    I came across a shadow work prompt that made me stop and think about the way we speak to ourselves.

    We can be so hard on ourselves without ever questioning where those words came from.

    That voice saying you are not good enough, you always mess things up, or you should be further along by now, is that really your voice?

    Or is it something someone said to you so many times that you eventually started saying it to yourself?

    That is the part that gets me. Sometimes the person is no longer around.

    The moment has passed. We may even believe we have moved on, but their words are still living inside us and showing up whenever we feel insecure, make a mistake, or try something new.

    After a while, their voice starts sounding like our own.

    And because it sounds familiar, we believe it.

    This prompt is not about blaming anyone or forcing yourself to suddenly think positively. It is simply about paying attention.

    When that critical voice shows up, pause and ask where you first heard it.

    You may realize that some of the things you believe about yourself were never yours to begin with.

    Maybe your own voice has been buried underneath everyone else’s opinions for so long that you are not sure what it sounds like yet. That is okay too.

    Perhaps it starts with something simple:

    I am trying.

    I am learning.

    I deserved more kindness than that.

    The goal is not to silence every negative thought overnight. It is to recognize which voice belongs to you and which one you are finally ready to stop believing.

    Be gentle with yourself as you write. Some voices have been with us for a long time, but that does not mean they get to speak for us forever.

  • 31 Journal Therapy Prompts for a More Intentional Month

    31 Journal Therapy Prompts for a More Intentional Month

    Some months begin with clear plans. Others begin with exhaustion, uncertainty, or the quiet feeling that something needs to change, even when we cannot name what it is.

    These 31 Journal Therapy prompts were created to offer one small moment of reflection each day.

    They are not about forcing an answer, fixing your entire life, or filling several pages.

    Each prompt is simply an invitation to pause and notice what is happening within you and around you.

    You can write for five minutes, fill an entire page, or answer with a single honest sentence. There is no correct way to complete the challenge.

    Begin on the first day of the month, choose the question that speaks to you, or move through the prompts at your own pace.

    I’ll be sure to share my own progress,as of course I’ll be is in the prompts myself.

    31 Days of Journal Therapy

    1. What deserves more room in my life this month?
    2. Where have I been spending energy without noticing?
    3. What feels easier than it did a month ago?
    4. What part of my routine needs a small adjustment?
    5. When do I feel most present during an ordinary day?
    6. What have I been making more complicated than necessary?
    7. Which feeling have I had difficulty naming lately?
    8. What is one choice I can make without explaining it?
    9. Where could I use more structure in my life?
    10. What has been quietly helping me lately?
    11. What do I need before I can fully focus?
    12. Which responsibility feels heavier than it should?
    13. What am I currently making space to learn?
    14. When did I last feel pleasantly surprised by myself?
    15. What would make this week feel more manageable?
    16. Where am I asking too much of myself at once?
    17. What conversation keeps continuing inside my head?
    18. Which part of my day feels most like mine?
    19. What have I recently discovered that I genuinely enjoy?
    20. Where could I be more specific about what I need?
    21. What does my body seem to be requesting today?
    22. Which decision would benefit from more patience?
    23. What am I doing out of habit rather than intention?
    24. What would I like to experience more often this month?
    25. Where have I noticed a change in my reactions?
    26. What am I ready to approach differently?
    27. Which small task would give me the most relief today?
    28. What has my attention but not my commitment?
    29. What boundary would make my days feel less crowded?
    30. What did this month reveal about the way I live?
    31. What do I want to remember as I enter the next month?

    Before You Close Your Journal

    You do not need to leave these 31 days with every answer figured out.

    The whole point of these prompts is to go within.

    The value is in noticing what appeared on the page: the thoughts that repeated, the needs you finally named, and the small truths that became clearer as you wrote.

    Let the final page be a beginning rather than an ending. Return to any prompt that still has more to say.

    Which question are you beginning with?

    Journal Therapy is a reflective writing practice and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

  • Week 31 of 52: What Has Your Body Been Trying to Tell You?

    Week 31 of 52: What Has Your Body Been Trying to Tell You?

    I am very good at telling myself to keep going.

    Tired? Keep going.
    Overwhelmed? Handle what needs to be handled first.
    Something feels off? Deal with it later.

    Except “later” has a way of becoming never.

    Sometimes the body notices what we are carrying before we are willing or able to put it into words. The jaw tightens. The shoulders become heavy. The stomach feels unsettled. Breathing becomes shallow without us even realizing it.

    Meanwhile, we are still walking around saying, “I’m fine.”

    This week’s prompt is not about assigning an emotional meaning to every ache or physical sensation. Sometimes discomfort is simply physical and needs proper medical attention.

    This is about pausing long enough to notice yourself.

    This Week’s Prompt

    What has your body been trying to tell you lately?

    Before you begin writing, take one quiet minute and notice how your body feels.

    Where are you holding tension?

    What feels heavy, restless, warm, numb, or unexpectedly calm?

    Do not immediately try to fix it. Do not worry about whether your answer makes sense. Simply begin with:

    If my body could speak, it would say…

    Maybe it would ask for rest.

    Maybe it would admit that something has become too heavy.

    Maybe it would tell you that you feel safe, loved, or finally at peace.

    Maybe it has been trying to say something you have been too busy to hear.

    And maybe you will sit with the page and hear absolutely nothing at first. That is okay too.

    Noticing is still a beginning.

    We ask our bodies to carry us through so much. This week, let’s give them a moment to speak.

  • Week 30 of 52: Writing our way back to Ourselves

    Week 30 of 52: Writing our way back to Ourselves

    Please forgive me I thought I had posted this earlier in the week. It’s been an interesting one, but I’m back on the groove. I hope you enjoy. Thanks again for stopping by.

    Back with another reflection for you.

    Some weeks ask us to dig deep.
    Others simply ask us to notice.

    Growth doesn’t always arrive with dramatic breakthroughs.

    Sometimes it appears in the quiet moments: the conversation you almost avoided, the boundary you finally honored, the feeling you allowed instead of pushing away.

    This week’s prompt is an invitation to pause and listen to the version of yourself that’s emerging now.

    Take your time. There are no perfect answers here.

    Only an opportunity to meet yourself with honesty and compassion.

  • Week 29 of 52: Writing Our Way Back to Ourselves

    Week 29 of 52: Writing Our Way Back to Ourselves

    We are officially in week 29 of 52.

    And I don’t know about you, but that number made me stop for a second.

    We are more than halfway through the year.

    Remember those goals we wrote down in January? The promises we made to ourselves? The things we swore this year would be different about?

    Where are we with them?

    I’m asking myself the same question.

    This isn’t about beating ourselves up for what we haven’t accomplished. But I do think it’s time to buckle down. To be honest with ourselves. To look at the year so far and ask:

    What have I actually done with the goals I said mattered to me?

    So, I’m making a conscious effort to share one journal prompt every week.

    But I don’t want to just throw a pretty prompt onto the internet and disappear.

    I’m going to work with the prompt too.

    Throughout the week, I’ll sit with it, write through it, and see what comes up. Then, at the end of the week, I’ll come back and share some of what I wrote.

    I’m doing this alongside you.

    For week one, I’m asking:

    What part of yourself have you been quietly trying to return to?

    Will you give yourself those 5 minutes?

    Maybe week 29 is the week we stop waiting for January to try again.

    We still have 23 weeks left.

    Let’s buckle down.

    Let’s get honest.

    And let’s write our way back to ourselves.

  • I Made This for the Version of Me That Was Drowning

    I Made This for the Version of Me That Was Drowning


    There was a season where I kept showing up to my own life like a stranger. Going through every motion. Doing every task. And still feeling like I was disappearing.

    Are ready to reset?

    I want to be honest with you about that season, because I think you might know it too. The alarm goes off before sunrise. You make everybody else’s morning happen.

    You hold the house, hold the family, hold the job, hold your tongue when you’re tired. And somewhere in the middle of all that holding, you forget to hold yourself.

    That’s where this journal came from. Not from a place of having it figured out. From a place of being in it.

    I needed something that would meet me where I actually was. Not where I was supposed to be.

    I’ve been on a path toward becoming a journal therapy practitioner. That work cracked something open in me, because it showed me that writing isn’t just creative expression.

    It’s a way of locating yourself. A way of asking: what do I actually think? What do I actually feel? What do I actually need right now, underneath all this noise?

    And I realized I had never given myself seven consecutive days to just answer those questions.

    seven days

    That’s what 7 Days of Alignment is. It’s a guided digital journal, and each day has a specific focus: how you’re showing up, what you’re carrying, what you’re ready to put down, what you actually want. Real prompts. Not surface-level. Not “write three things you’re grateful for.” The kind of questions that make you sit with the pen for a second before you answer.

    Seven days is not a transformation. I won’t promise you that. But it is a reorientation. And sometimes that’s the only thing standing between you and your own life.

    I priced it at $7. On purpose. Because I know what it’s like to want something for your mental health and not be able to justify the cost. Seven dollars is a coffee. It’s a single song download. It’s the smallest investment you could make in yourself this week. I wanted the price to never be the reason someone didn’t try.

    If you’ve been running on empty and wondering why nothing feels aligned, this is the place to start.

    I’m not going to tell you this will fix everything. Life keeps moving, the lease still needs to be handled, the bills still arrive. But when you know where you stand inside yourself, you navigate all of it differently. You stop reacting from exhaustion and start responding from something steadier.

    That’s what seven days gave me. I want that for you too.

    7 Days of Alignment
    is waiting for you.

    7 Days of Alignment is here. $7. PURCHASE HERE

    If you’ve read this far, you already know it’s for you. Start tomorrow morning.

  • What Happens When You Sit Down to Want 100 Things

    What Happens When You Sit Down to Want 100 Things

    Words are your power

    I haven’t written here in almost a month.

    I could give you a list of reasons life, work, the weight of everything I’ve been carrying but honestly? Sometimes the people who write about healing need a minute to just be in it without documenting it. This past month has been that for me.

    But I’m back. And I’m coming back with something that’s been living in my Moleskine notebook for the past two weeks, taking up space in the best possible way.

    I’ve been writing down 100 things I want.

    Not need. Not should have. Want.

    You’d think that would be easy. It is not.

    The first ten come fast. A house. Peace. More money. Travel. Health. You write them down feeling good about yourself, like yes, I know exactly who I am and what I’m building toward. And then you hit item eleven and something shifts.

    Because now you have to go deeper.

    Now you’re not just listing the obvious things you’re being asked to get honest about the quieter ones. The ones you’ve talked yourself out of. The ones that feel too small to say out loud or too big to believe. The ones you stopped wanting because someone once made you feel like you shouldn’t.

    That’s where the real work is.

    I’m not going to share my list with you. That feels sacred to me it lives in my notebook, between me and God and every ancestor who’s ever rooted for me. But I will tell you what the process of building it has felt like, because I think that’s actually the part worth talking about.

    Around item 30, I had to get honest about things I’d been quietly grieving versions of my life I thought I’d let go of but apparently hadn’t. Around item 50, I started laughing because some of what I wrote felt ridiculous. Audacious. The kind of thing you whisper, not say. And I wrote it anyway.

    It’s uncomfortable. In the best way.

    By item 70, I was crying. Not from sadness from recognition. Like something in me had been waiting for permission to be seen.

    Here’s what I’d tell you if you want to try this:

    Start without rules. Don’t organize by category, don’t second-guess what belongs. Just write. Let it be a mess. Categories will find themselves.

    Don’t edit while you’re building. The moment you cross something out because it feels silly or selfish or unrealistic, you’ve started lying to yourself. This is not the place for that.

    Sit with the discomfort when it stalls. It will stall. That stall is usually pointing at something important. What you can’t name yet is often what you need the most.

    This isn’t a vision board exercise. This is an excavation. You’re not just dreaming you’re deciding. There’s a difference.

    Will you give this list for yourself a try?

  • The Difference Between Venting and Journal Therapy

    The Difference Between Venting and Journal Therapy

    Let me ask you something. Have you ever journaled your heart out, wrote until your hand hurt or your phone battery died, got everything out that you were feeling and then closed the notebook and felt exactly the same?

    Yeah. Me too. And for a long time I thought that meant journaling just wasn’t working for me.

    What I didn’t know was that there’s a big difference between venting on the page and actually doing journal therapy. And once I understood that difference, everything changed.

    Venting is dumping. You’re getting it out, releasing the pressure, letting the words catch what your body couldn’t hold anymore. And listen sometimes you need that.

    There’s nothing wrong with it. But venting alone doesn’t move anything. You drain the tub and it fills right back up. Because you never asked where the water was coming from.

    Journal therapy is different because it asks you to do something after you write. It asks you to slow down and get curious about what just landed on the page.

    What’s really going on here? What is this feeling underneath the feeling? What does this remind me of? What do I actually need right now? Those questions are where the real work is. That’s where things start to shift.

    It’s not about writing beautifully. It’s not about having the right words or the right format.

    It’s about being honest and then being willing to look at what you wrote. The journal stops being a trash can for your emotions and starts being a mirror. And mirrors show you things that are true even when they’re uncomfortable.

    If you’ve been journaling for a while and still feel stuck, this might be exactly why. You’ve been releasing without reflecting.

    That’s not failure. That’s just a missing piece. And the good news is you can add it starting today.

    TRY THIS TODAY:

    Write about something that’s been bothering you for five minutes, no filter. Then stop, read it back, and ask yourself one thing: What is the feeling underneath this feeling?

    Write for five more minutes from that place. See what opens up.

    Do you want a structured way to go deeper?

    I created 7 Days of Alignment : A journal that takes you from surface-level writing to real, soul-level clarity. You can purchase it here