Healing Journaling 101: How to Use Writing to Mend Your Broken Heart

Want to know how healing journaling can help you move forward from a broken heart and create a better future for yourself? This guide will walk you through daily journal prompts designed to help you mend your broken heart.

If you’re looking for a simple but powerful way to heal yourself and do self-reflection to learn your lesson from your failed relationship, journaling is one of the best tools out there. It’s simple, effective, and (almost) free.

With the right journal prompts, you can process emotions, dig deep into your feelings, and learn new things about yourself. It’s about personal improvement like no other.

Don’t be surprised if you find the best life advice in this post. I also share my journaling routine to inspire you to get started. So, these aren’t just deep journal prompts you can find on the internet.

Now that you’re freshly single, it’s the best time to do a self discovery and have emotional maturity so that you can make better decisions next time.

The Science Behind Journaling: Why Writing Helps You Heal Faster

You know how sometimes your mind feels like a messy, tangled-up ball of emotions after a breakup?

You stay up at night replaying every conversation you had with your ex, wondering if saying something different maybe you wouldn’t be single now.

If that sounds like you, here’s my best tip: wake up and get everything in your mind on paper or in a journal.

Researchers have found that putting your thoughts and feelings into words can lower stress, improve your mood, and even help you process painful memories more healthily.

It’s allowing your brain to slow down and process everything instead of letting emotions run wild.

This isn’t your high school essay, so you literally can write everything you want (forget the grammar rule). Even if you only want to do mindless doodling because you can’t find words to express your feelings, do it!

Don’t worry if someone will read your writing. You can tear everything you’ve written or burn it.

Types of Healing Journaling You Can Do

If “Dear diary” isn’t your thing, it doesn’t mean you need to give up journaling altogether. You can use many healing journaling styles to make your journaling session interesting. Let’s dive into some powerful types of healing journaling you can try.

A Powerful Letter-Writing Exercise to Vent Your Emotion

You know those moments when you have so many things to say, but there’s no chance to say them?

This is where letter-writing journaling can be powerful to express your emotions. You can write everything you want to say: angry, heartbroken, disappointed, or just plain exhausted from overthinking.

Writing a letter isn’t about getting a response or making them understand your pain.

It’s about you—releasing all the thoughts, feelings, and “I wish I had said this” moments swirling in your head.

There’s no rule here. You can curse. It’s unfiltered. You can be messy and brutally honest.

Ahem… this is 100% better than texting your ex (please don’t—you should have blocked him by now!), bottling it all up, or dumping your emotions on the people around you.

10 Healing Journaling Prompts for Letter-Writing Exercise

Staring at a blank page, not sure what to write?

I got you.

Here are 10 healing journaling prompts that will help you start your letter:

Dear [Ex’s Name], this is what I never got to say…
I forgive you for…
I’m letting go of…
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself…
Dear heartbreak, this is what you taught me…
Do you remember when we…
Dear future me, here’s what I hope you remember…
This chapter of my life is called…
If my heart could talk, it would say…
Goodbye, [Ex’s Name]…

I know the list is a bit excessive. You just need to pick one and start writing. Usually, after several sentences, your words will flood from inside you.

Follow your feelings.

Write until you have nothing to say.

Healing Through Gratitude Journaling

Gratitude journaling after a heartbreak?

I know what you’re thinking: “What am I supposed to be grateful for? The pain? The waste of time?”

But hear me out.

When your heart is shattered, it’s easy to focus on everything you lost. Gratitude journaling helps shift that focus to what’s still good, what’s still yours, and what’s still possible.

It’s not about ignoring the pain or pretending everything’s fine. It’s about challenging yourself to focus on positive things no matter how bad the situation is.

Your next question would be, “But why should I focus on the positive things?”

Because we attract what we’re focusing on. If you train your brain to focus on positive things, more good things will happen to you.

Our brain has a special filter that focuses only on what we pay attention to.

For example, if you tell yourself to look for red cars, don’t be surprised when you start seeing them everywhere! You can change “red car” with anything else such as a brown Teddy Bear, a blonde guy, a yellow duck, etc.

Seriously, give it a try!

10 Healing Journaling Prompts for Gratitude Journaling

Let me give you 10 simple gratitude journaling prompts to help you start.

Pick one thing that stood out for you from this list and start writing. Don’t overthink it. This isn’t an exam, there’s no right or wrong.

What are three things that brought you comfort today?
Who in your life has shown you love and support during this time?
What past challenge did you overcome that made you stronger?
List five things you love about yourself.
What new opportunities or lessons has this heartbreak given you?
Describe a moment recently when you felt peace or happiness, even for a second.
What is something you have now that your past self once wished for?
What part of your daily routine do you appreciate the most?
Write a thank-you letter to yourself.
What is one thing you’re looking forward to?

Rewriting Your Love Story

Right now, your love story might feel like a tragedy—heartbreak, betrayal, disappointment.

But what if you could rewrite it?

Not by changing the past (afterall, your past made you who you are today), but by changing the way you see it.

The story you attach to a certain fact can either speed up your healing journey or hold you back.

For example, your ex cheated on you. Yes, you’re shocked, sad, and devastated. But what story do you want to attach to the fact that you’ve been cheated on?

You can say, “I wish I were sexier—then maybe he would have loved me more.” Or you can say, “I did everything I could in the relationship. If he chose to leave, that’s his problem, not mine.”

You can see the difference between those two stories.

The first one breaks you down. The latter lifts you.

10 Healing Journaling Prompts to Rewrite Your Love Story

To help you start, I’ve put together 10 healing journaling prompts that will guide you in rewriting your love story—one where you are the main character, growing, healing, and stepping into something better.

If your past relationship were a book, what would the title be?
What did this relationship teach you about love, yourself, or what you truly need?
Rewrite your breakup from a perspective where you are the hero, not the victim.
What are three things you’re grateful for about this relationship ending?
How would your future self, five years from now, describe this experience?
What red flags or gut feelings did you ignore in this relationship?
If you had a friend going through this same breakup, what advice would you give her?
What qualities do you now know you need in a future partner?
Write a letter to your past self at the start of the relationship.
Describe the love story you want to experience next.

Writing your story can feel like writing a novel. Can you imagine living a life where you can write the story you want to experience in each chapter?

You will have total control of what happens with your life!

When Is the Best Time to Journal?

Honestly? There’s no “perfect” time to journal—just the time that works best for you.

Some people love journaling first thing in the morning, getting all their messy thoughts out before the day even starts. Others find it helpful at night, processing emotions before bed instead of overthinking their way into insomnia (been there!).

You can journal every day as part of your routine. But if you pick one of the prompts in the previous section, you’ll understand most of those prompts are so deep, and you might feel emotionally tired if you do it every day.

So, I will give you an idea of how I journal in my real life to give you some ideas on how you can choose your journaling style.

Let’s call them daily, monthly, and deep journaling (yeah, I’m not creative in giving names).

My daily journaling is that I write 3-5 things I am grateful for that day every night. I love this ritual because it teaches me to close the day on a positive note. I also write short letters asking for guidance from Allah (I’m a Muslim) and share my worries.

My monthly journaling is a time to reflect on everything that happened over the past month and see the bigger picture. It also serves as a form of self-critique, helping me identify what’s working in my life and what’s not.

My vision board acts as a guide during this process, keeping me focused on my goals and the direction I want to take.

Last but not least, my deep journaling session. I do this every time I feel called to. Usually, when I face big disappointment or feel so lost in my mind. If my budget allows me to, I like to make this moment special by treating myself to a staycation.

In this deep journaling session, ehm, this is my ugly cry moment. That’s why I love to do it in staycations to pat me on the back for being brave enough to face my emotions head-on.

I found this journaling rhythm after trial and error. So, it’s time for you to do the same. Don’t overthink it. Journaling is about listening to the voice inside you.

Enjoy!

Let’s Get to Work: A 30-Day Healing Journaling Challenge

If you have read up to this point, that means you take this healing journaling seriously.

It’s time to get to work.

Let’s do 30 days of healing, one journal entry at a time.

Here are the rules of the game of this challenge:

Decide when you want to journal. To make it easy, choose between morning journaling or evening journaling.
Buy a new journal. No need to be fancy; a simple book will work just fine. Journaling with a new book can make things more interesting. And yes, I suggest you journal in the old-school way: ink on paper.
Write at least 1 sentence about your day or everything that is on your mind when you do your journaling session.
Decide what reward and punishment you want to give to yourself. This will motivate you to push through this challenge.
If needed, choose an accountability buddy to check in on you during this challenge.

You can adjust the rules of this challenge to suit yourself.

After doing this challenge, hopefully, journaling will become a tiny habits that improve your quality of life. Be patient with yourself, and if you miss a day, brush it off and keep going.

Share in the comments below how you feel after you do this challenge.