3 Journaling Prompts for IFS and Depression
IFS Journaling prompts for depressed parts can bring a lot of insight and understanding. Journal writing & Poetry have been used to explain mental health experiences for a long time. One of my favorites is Sabrina Benaim’s “Explain My Depression to my Mother”. Her poetry has come a long way too. She’s releasing a new book, which I will hopefully be enjoyed by the time you read this post.
Internal Family System work calls for a sense of creativity, and journaling falls right in line with that. You can use a journal for far more than task management. Creative expression and getting to know yourself is a huge part of creative writing and artistic expression. This is why I love combining these two together. Using IFS in your Journal to get to know your depression can be insightful and relieving.
Creative Expression: IFS Journaling Prompt
IFS Journaling prompts builds an expression of your depression, especially with depressed parts. This prompt will call for whatever creativity you want to use. If you want to draw, go for it. This is often easier than coming up with words. Otherwise, think of this prompt as a way to work on your metaphors and similes. Take 10 minutes to depict your depression. I’ve heard others describe it as a dark wave that consumes all of the other parts. Another client described their depression as a dark humanoid blob. Whatever comes to mind, writer and/or draw it.
Catchphrase: Journal Prompt
Depression often holds a lot of negative self-talk. Sorting through your Depressed Part on a daily basis requires you to become aware of what you are hearing. Writing down all of its catchphrases and irrational beliefs will help you do this. At the top of your page, write down the phrase “My depression says…”. Set a time for 5 minutes and write all of the phrases that fill this in. For this prompt, don’t stop writing. If you need to repeat yourself, that is okay. The number of times a phrase repeats itself will show just as much as the number of total phrases you write.
Make Friends With Your Depressed Part
Your Part journal prompt wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t make friends with your Depressed Part. It is often tough to do this because there are so many parts that don’t like what your depression does. That makes so much sense and is perfectly valid. Fighting your depression takes a lot of energy, however, and ultimately may not be productive. For this journal prompt, imagine you write a letter to your depression. Let it know that you know how hard it wants to stop. Tell it you see how helpful it tries to be, even if it makes things worse. Share with it the space you have to communicate with it, so you can work with it further in your next therapy session.
Looking for more? Need more insight into IFS Journaling? I’ve written an ultimate guide for IFS Journaling, with a free download at the end.