180 Emotions - Journal Prompts (Part 2 of 6 - Sadness)

Sadness

The emotion you're sometimes embarrassed to have accompany you, especially in public, and yet this emotion has been with you during some of the most difficult times of your life. 

Past

1. Write about a time when you felt unhappy and the weather seemed to mimic your emotions. What happened on that day?

2. When was a time that you were sad for months on end? Can you remember the reason for that? Write about what you remember. How did you deal with your feelings at the time? What would you choose to do differently in hindsight?

3. Write about a time in your life that you felt completely alone in your feelings. What caused you to feel that way, and how did you finally break free from that feeling?

4. Can you remember a time when you failed at something? Describe what happened. What upset you the most: letting yourself down or letting others down? Have you been able to come to terms with what happened?

5. How many times have you cried over physical pain? How many times have you cried due to emotional trauma? Can you list a few events for each type? Which thing would you say has affected you more in life?

6. Write about the last time you can remember crying. Write about all you remember of that day leading up to when you cried. What did you cry about? Did the way the day progressed make it more difficult for you to handle what ended up happening?

7. In what ways have people you've known made you depressed or disappointed? Who were these people and what did they do?

8. Write about a time when you would have rather not known the truth, because the truth ended up being too hard to bear. What were you told? What would you have rather someone said to you?

9. When was a time that someone else's sadness transferred to you and made you feel the same way? What was that person upset about, and how did that person tell you (or show you)? How were you affected? Did that person notice?

10. Can you recall a true story you've heard about from the news, a documentary, or word of mouth that impacted you deeply? Write about what you remember hearing. What part of the story made you the saddest?

11. What is a fictional story that had the ability to pull on your heart strings? What was the story about? Was the story told in a book, a video game, a movie, or some other way? Did the storytelling medium help you feel sympathetic toward the characters?

12. Write about something that happened during a holiday that brought you negative feelings around a time that was supposed to be joyful. What happened, and how does it affect you now?

13. When was a time that something happened at school (any age), and you became sad because of it? Did it have to do with your teachers, the students, or something else? Write in detail what happened. Would this still make you sad if it happened now?

14. Write about three different times that you felt sad, hopeless, or guilty due to things that were out of your control. What were these things, and how were you able to accept that you didn't have a say in what happened or what could happen?

15. When was the last time someone mentioned that you seemed sad or upset? What did that person say to you? How were you actually feeling and why?

Present

1. What is something that no matter how many times you think about it, it can still bring tears to your eyes?

2. Is there a place that you choose to go when you are feeling sad or depressed? What is this place? Write down what you can remember about the times you've been there. Does it have happy memories attached to it or sad ones?

3. What is something you gravitate toward when you feel overwhelmed by regret or grief? How does this thing help distract you or help you work through your problems?

4. They say that time heals all wounds. Do you consider that to be true? Do you have an emotional wound that has remained for many years and likely will never go away?

5. Can you think of three things that made you cry as a child that you no longer think are things worth crying over? Write these down. Can you think of three things that could make you cry now?

6. Do you find that writing about the things that make you sad makes it easier for you to cope with your emotions? Write about five things in the world or in society that you find hard to understand to the point that you become depressed when thinking deeply about these things. Is there a way for you to improve these things in any way?

7. Who is someone that has the ability to guide you through tough times? What does this person do to help you? Write about a time when your mood was improved by this person.

8. Consider that stop lights remain in one place, alerting people when to stop and when to go but never get to go anywhere themselves. What is something strange that you can be sad about when you think deeply about it?

9. What is a song or line that comes into your mind that has the ability to bring you sad thoughts? What are the lyrics of the song or what is the line and does it correlate with your feelings, or are you more affected by the memories attached to it?

10. What is an inanimate object or item that would devastate you if you lost it or if it got damaged in some way? What is this thing and what special meaning does it have to you?

11. What is something you see or hear about multiple times a week that makes you sad? Are these things unavoidable?

12. Is there anything from the near future that you dread when you think about it? What is it? Can you think of something that evokes similar feelings but that won't happen for many years to come? How can you prepare yourself?

13. What are the top three things that could happen to you at any time and completely devastate you? Write about these events as if they've happened. 

14.  If you were to disappear today who would be hurt the most? What do you think you'd like to say to that person? What would that person say to you? Write your “final” dialogue.

15. Write a letter to the person (or one of the people) that has hurt you the most. Explain what things that person did or said that hurt you. Did that event make you stronger in any way? Include that in your letter.