How to Use Journal Prompts with IFS Parts
Combining IFS Journaling prompts with Anxiety makes a lot of sense. Anxious parts exist for one reason alone: to protect the person from something that appears life-threatening. This has roots in our body’s fight and flight response, which has been around since our existence as humans. Since we no longer need to worry about elephants or wooly mammoths no longer exist (can you tell I have a fear of large animals?) our body has learned to focus on emotional and social threats.
Using journaling prompts with anxiety can be a tricky balance. Thinking about and exploring anxiety without having enough ability to manage the anxious energy can lead to a downward spiral. To enter journaling with enough separation from your anxious parts usually takes some amount of grounding in reality. I usually recommend grounding techniques to build enough creativity and openness to start journaling.
The most important qualities to hold when considering writing with your Anxious Parts are calmness, curiosity, and compassion. This part of your is only here to help avoid the dangers threatening it thinks is going to cause you harm. Once you have enough of these to continue with your IFS Journal, make sure you find a space that you can be comfortable in.
Remind Your Anxiety of the Present
Bringing your anxiety into your present environment can be really helpful in sorting through what it is worried about. This IFS journaling prompt uses some grounding techniques to update it on where it currently is. Start with the date, time, and your current location. You can also describe your current environment to your anxiety. List some of the things that have happened today, without using judgments on whether they were good or bad. If you find yourself in a judgy mood, take a step back to reground yourself and find that curiosity and calmness.
Prompt Your Anxiety to Share It’s Fears
IFs Journaling Prompts would not be helpful with Anxiety if you did not allow it to share with you. Expressing fears and being heard can be relieving for an anxious part. Holding onto these can be burdensome, and also cause other parts to come in and try to help (think fatigue, avoidance, and unhealthy ways of coping). To help it share, consider using a word association by writing Fear in the center of a page, and then allowing it to share all of the words it is currently associating with its current anxiety. You could also use sketches and doodles if it prefers that.
Talk Your Anxiety Down
With enough calmness and clarity, you can use dialogue to journal your anxiety. Labeling the conversation similar to how a script reads, start by opening the conversation by asking what needs to share with you. As your anxious part responds to this prompt, make sure you are able to separate who is saying what. I recommend starting on a new line, but you can also use different colored pens if that works too. As you hear it out, let it know how much it makes sense and that you are here to help it. This should bring some of its intensity down. If your anxiety wants to grow some hope then give it some reassurance that you are working towards the miracle solution.
Growing in your IFS journaling techniques can help you grow and heal in your expressive experience. I've got written an Ultimate Guide of IFS Journaling to help others along in their exploration of their parts. There is even a free download included with an easy-to-read guide of Internal Family Systems Theory and Explanation of Journaling Prompts to help you in your creative journey.