72 Journal Prompts for Trust Issues

Journal prompts are simple prompts that encourage you to start writing. They come in various forms, such as questions, statements, and prompts. The idea is to prompt you to start writing without giving you too much direction.

Journal prompts are a powerful tool for helping you express your thoughts and feelings. These prompts allow you to be creative when it comes to what you want to write about. You may think of these prompts in many different ways.

For example, you could use them to write a letter to yourself where you can just let go of all the bad things in your life and create new positive memories with yourself.

Or, you can use them to write about what makes you happy. Whatever you choose to do with these prompts will result in valuable reflection and insight into your life experiences.

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Shadow Work Journal Prompts to Solve Your Trust Issues

1. Write about why you feel so lost or scared. What happens if you don’t get help? How does that make you feel?
2. Describe your first experience with trust. Use the following sentences (or more) as prompts. “I trusted someone from my past and I ended up feeling like a fool…” “I trusted this person and he/she betrayed me…” “My friend broke my trust and I had no way to fix it.”
3. For each one of the people who have hurt you in some way, describe how they made you feel. Does anything happen when you try to talk sense to them?
4. Write down the names of every person who has ever broken your trust. Then ask yourself, are you willing to forgive them for their mistakes?
5. Write down everything that happened at school or outside of school that made you afraid. Now list all the things that you believe would keep you safe. Which ones do you actually need?
6. Make a list of your fears. Is there anyone you need to forgive before you can move forward in life?
7. Write down any words or phrases that remind you of being dishonest. Try using a negative emotion in place of the word or phrase. For example, you might write down something like, “If only she knew….” or “If she didn’t know what I did, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty.”
8. List all the things that you’ve done wrong. Are there any consequences you don’t understand? What would happen if you didn’t admit what you did?
9. Write down all the times you lied to someone because you wanted to make yourself look good. Do you usually lie now? If so, how old were you when you began lying?
10. Ask yourself what you need to do to stop being dishonest. Can you accept responsibility for your actions or not? Would telling the truth prevent the problem in the future?
11. When you tell a story and it doesn’t match reality, what do you do? Do you deny it? Explain it away? Lie about it? Think of a time when you told an untruth and later changed your mind. What was going through your head at that moment? Why did you decide to change your mind?
12. Identify the reasons why you keep secrets. What do those secrets protect? What happens if you break that promise? Would it be harder for you to forgive yourself? How does secrecy benefit you?
13. Write down the name of every person who has kept a secret from you. Now think about whether you could forgive them. Will forgiving that person really bring closure to the issue? What is keeping you from forgiving?
14. In general, are you trustworthy in your relationships? What kind of rules do you have about honesty?
15. Think back to when you last felt safe. Who helped you? Was it someone who betrayed you? Do you still feel close to him/her? Did you learn anything from the experience? What did you learn?
16. Think of a time when a person promised you or asked you to do something important to them but never followed through on that agreement. What message did you get from the situation? How did you feel when you realized that your friend hadn’t been honest with you?
17. Try to find out what it is that makes you want to trust certain people. You might want to talk to the people who disappoint you most frequently.
18. In the past, what did you use as a way to control other people? How do you think they feel when they discover this secret? What will happen once they find out? What do you fear they might do?
19. Write down an apology letter to the person who hurt you the most. Tell her/him exactly what you did. Then read the letter aloud and try to imagine what he/she must be thinking right now. Does that sound sincere?
20. Write down the names of five people who have harmed you emotionally. Don’t let anyone else see these lists.
21. Describe a time when you broke a promise to yourself. What happened? Why did you choose to behave that way? What was hardest about making that decision?
22. What kinds of lies do you tell yourself? At what point do you realize that you have lied? How do you react?
23. Write a list of all the ways you lie. Is there a pattern to your dishonesty? Describe the different scenarios where you lie.
24. Choose a day to begin being truthful with yourself—the first day that you start being honest with yourself about everything that comes up in your life.
25. Pick a day that you will focus on being true to yourself and others. Are you ready to make any changes?
26. Put yourself in another person’s shoes and describe how you would feel if you found out that one of your friends keeps a big secret from you.
27. If you had done something wrong, would you ever admit it? List several situations where you know you should have admitted wrongdoing.
28. What is the greatest thing you can give yourself?
29. What lies have you told yourself in the past? Do you believe those lies anymore?
30. Ask yourself: “How am I showing love toward myself today?” Make sure you receive an answer. It doesn’t matter how little attention you pay to this question. Just notice what goes into your mind when you ask yourself this question.
31. Imagine a good friendship that you’d like to improve or develop. When will you work on building this relationship? Describe your plan.
32. Think of a time in your life when you didn’t give yourself enough credit. How did it affect your self-esteem?
33. What role does guilt play in your life? Have you ever considered taking responsibility for your own actions?
34. What are some things you wish you could forgive someone for? Why don’t you try forgiving this person instead of holding onto your resentment?
35. Has learning new information caused you to change your opinion about someone? If so, please explain how this has affected you.
36. Think back over your entire lifetime. Are there times when you made a mistake and did not take full responsibility for it? Were there any consequences associated with this error? What were they?
37. Take a look at your life from the perspective of a child. Can you remember anything that was special to you as a child? If so, write down about 3 things that occurred during childhood.
38. You are responsible for your thoughts, words, and deeds. Would you agree or disagree? Explain why.
39. Think about recent events that caused you to feel anger or disappointment. Was your reaction justified? In other words, could you have acted differently? Why or why not?
40. Did you act on impulse? If yes, describe your experience. Could you control yourself better next time?
41. Have you ever seen something happen and wished that you had been able to warn people? Why couldn’t you?
42. Think about a time when you felt lonely. Describe every detail. Did you try to get away from your loneliness?
43. Now think about a time when you thought that someone understood your pain. Describe in detail everything that happened.
44. Look around you and identify something beautiful or unusual. What do you see? Can you share this observation with someone else?
45. Think about a situation in which you gave someone else the benefit of the doubt. Describe the impact this experience had on you.
46. Why do you choose to blame others rather than yourself?
47. Think about a time in your life (this week) when you became angry. What happened before and after this experience?
48. Think about a time you were feeling frustrated. What kept you from telling someone you needed help?
49. Think about a time of joy or happiness. What brought you joy/happiness?
50. Your inner critic often says, “You can’t do it!” What is the truth behind these negative statements?
51. Write all that comes to mind regarding the following statement: “I’m grateful for _________.”
52. Describe an activity you did today that helped you grow.
53. Do you find it easy to talk about your fears, worries, needs, etc.?
54. Why is talking about our feelings difficult?
55. Who do you tend to trust more—others or yourself? Explain.
56. Sometimes friends make fun of you when you get upset. They may even tell lies about what you said or did. Do you know anyone who does this to you?
57. Think of a recent memory of someone making fun of you. How did this make you feel? Explain your emotions.
58. Is it possible to learn to accept criticism without blaming ourselves for whatever is being criticized?
59. Write out your values. Explain how each applies to you.
60. Do you always expect others to meet your expectations? Explain.
61. When was the last time you really talked to yourself? Tell about your conversation.
62. What would life be like if we stopped using judgments and criticisms as labels or definitions?
63. Imagine standing on the edge of a cliff; would you jump off? Why or why not.
64. Are you prone to giving advice instead of listening to other people’s problems?
65. Think about a time that you made a mistake. What went through your head when you realized what had occurred?
66. If you don’t like your personality traits, explain why and what you might want to change about them.
67. Write down three positive qualities you possess. Explain how they relate to your past and future.
68. Think about a time recently when you made a choice that wasn’t based on any personal desire. Explain how it affected you emotionally.
69. Think back to the time you made a decision that wasn’t necessarily good for you but turned out okay because, at least initially, you believed it was right. Explain your feelings about this.
70. Think of another time in which you chose wrongly but found peace in your heart concerning your action.
71. Is there something that you’re afraid will happen someday that hasn’t yet come true?
72. Give three examples of how your dreams have become reality. Explain how you accomplished them.