Keep Coming Back: 7 Inspiring Sobriety Journal Prompts for Your Recovery Journey


Keep Coming Back: 7 Inspiring Sobriety Journal Prompts for Your Recovery Journey


The sobriety journey isn't an easy one, but it is one that you should be proud of. Things will come and go in waves, but keeping a sobriety journal can help to keep yourself on track and help you remember why you wanted to heal in the first place. 

It can be hard to journal without a prompt. Remaining consistent with your journaling is hard enough when it's your primary goal, but it's even harder when you have work, school, or a family to balance as well.

Keeping your journal fresh and interesting with journal prompts for sobriety might be the best way for you to keep on writing.

Keep reading for some of our favorite journal prompts for you to follow while you're going through your sobriety journey

1. Dear Future Me

Sobriety journals (and journals in general) are great for looking back on when you're in different places in life. Why not give your future self something good to read?

This is a good opportunity to talk about your present feelings and how you feel like your recovery is going. Talk about your current relationships, lifestyle choices, and progress.

Remember, you're talking to yourself. You can be as casual as you like, but format it like a letter. Maybe talk about where you'd like to be, or what you're working towards. When future you reads it, they can know what you've accomplished and how far you've come.

2. Dear Past Me

Talking to your past self can be harder. Your past self was going through a lot and you may be angry with them for how they handled things.

Part of this letter is going to be a lesson in forgiveness. You can tell your past self that you're angry with them if it will help you to get it out of your system. No emotions are wrong. 

Don't forget to tell your past self how far you've come. You've made a lot of progress since you were that person. You can talk about recent events or landmarks in your process. Whatever makes you feel at peace with your past self is a good idea. 

3. What Are My Short Term Goals?

Goal setting is a great way to use a journal. Not all goals have to be big and extravagant. Some of them can just be things you'd like to complete in the next few days or weeks. 

For this reason, this is a prompt that you can use frequently. Consider doing this prompt at least once per month so you can see your goals change as you complete them or grow into a different person. 

Goals can be as small as getting up early every day or as big as getting a job that you've had your eye on. 

4. What Are My Long Term Goals?

Similar to the last one, talking about your goals is useful when journaling. Consider doing this early on and marking the page so that you can keep track of how your goals are progressing.

These goals also don't have to be extravagant, but they can be. Give yourself different time slots. 

What do you want to complete within a year? What about 5 years? Set loose goals and make them flexible. Allow your goals to change and flow as you become a new person. 

Setting goals allows you to make gameplans. When you write a goal, also write the stops that you'll need to take to achieve the goal. Not everything is complicated.

What would the goal look like if things were easy? How would you complete it if there weren't any perceived complications?

You never have to achieve these goals if you don't want to, but they're fun to ponder.

5. What Gives Me Pride?

It can be hard to remember the things that we're proud of. We're taught to have humility and that pride can be harmful. It's discouraged.

You should write down several things that you're proud of, whether they're recent occurrences or long-term things.

Aree you proud of starting your recovery program? Are you proud of the length of your sobriety?

Maybe you're just proud that you're a good person, or that you've gotten a new job or into a new college program. Write about these things and then step back and see how you feel.

6. What Was a Time When I Was Afraid?

When you're writing this prompt, you want to ensure that it ends on a good note. These prompts can be disheartening if you're not careful about your structure. 

What was a time when you were afraid? What emotions did that prompt, and how did you handle it? It's okay if this is a time when you weren't maintaining your sobriety.

Try to hone in on how you felt at that time. Were those emotions triggering? 

How would you handle that same situation again now that you're the "you of the future"? Have you encountered something similar more recently? Did you feel better or worse about it? 

How can you channel that fear and the accompanying emotions in a more productive way now that you've come so far in your recovery? 

These are all just things to muse about while you're writing. They don't all need to be answered, but they may help you organize your thoughts in a challenging prompt.

7. In What Ways Have You Changed?

This can be a doozy, but it doesn't have to mean "from before sobriety to now". Rather, you can use this to discuss your changes week to week or month to month. It's your journal and you should use it in ways that make sense to you.

Tracking your changes over time will make things more obvious to you later. Think of this as a written "before and after" photo. You won't see how far you've come unless you have something to measure against.

Is It Time to Start Your Sobriety Journal?

A sobriety journal is a great way to be mindful and attentive during your sobriety journey. Your path won't always look the same, but it can be nice to look back and see how far you've come since the journal was started. 

If you're working through your sobriety journey and you want to mark the occasion with a new journal or just something special, visit our site to see what we have to offer.

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