The goal of art journaling activities before bed is to help you down-regulate your nervous system. When we can’t sleep, it’s often because our minds are either stuck in the past (replaying the day) or anxious about the future (worrying about tomorrow). Art journaling anchors us in the present moment. Here you’ll find low-pressure art […]
Ugly Art Therapeutic Activities: Overcoming Perfectionism Through Intentional Mess
We live in a curated world where every image we see is polished, filtered, and carefully composed. When you sit down to create, you feel a crushing weight to make something decent-looking, if not even good-looking. But therapeutic art isn’t about the finished product; it’s about the process. By clinging to aesthetics, you silence your […]
The Emotions Wheel Art Journaling Activities for Emotional Intelligence
There is a direct correlation between a larger emotional vocabulary and improved emotional regulation. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. Many studies found that individuals who could articulate their feelings with greater specificity were better equipped to cope with stress and experience fewer negative emotional outbursts. Think […]
Journal Prompts to Disempower Shame
Before we discuss shame, let’s first talk about saber-toothed tigers. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. It’s an odd place to start, but it’s crucial. Shame is not just a feeling. It’s an ancient, hard-wired survival program. For our early ancestors, the single greatest threat to survival […]
Journal Prompts for Coping With Frustration
Frustration is the brain’s response to a prediction error. You expected a specific outcome, and it didn’t happen. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. We usually think of frustration as a stronger version of annoyance. But biologically, frustration is much more complex than that. It’s a mix […]
Journal Prompts for Breaking The Worry Cycle
There are two very different types of worry: the habitual worry and the real worry. The habitual worry is when you worry about every possible thing that could go wrong, while the real worry is when you have a real problem, and you worry about how you’re going to resolve it. In this series, we […]
Journal Prompts for Outgrowing Insecurities
We all have moments when we feel insecure. When we think we’re not good enough. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. You might walk into a meeting at work and worry that you’re not as smart as everyone else in the room. You might scroll through social […]
Journal Prompts for Dealing With Envy
When it comes to envy, we categorize it as a “deadly sin,” a petty, green-eyed monster. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. It’s one of the most private and least-discussed emotions, arriving with a sour, electric heat that we’re often ashamed to admit. But what if that’s […]
Journal Prompts for Recovering From Disappointment
Disappointment isn’t just sadness because of something that did or didn’t happen. It is the sharp, hollow “thud” of reality colliding with a deeply held expectation. It’s a feeling of friction—the gap between what you thought you should get and what you got. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden […]
Journal Prompts for Overcoming Guilt
Guilt is a complex, self-conscious, and often painful awareness that our actions have violated an internal moral standard or harmed another person. In this series, we unpack complex emotions to find the wisdom hidden inside them. We tend to see guilt as a purely negative emotion, a painful state we want to run away from. […]