Journal Prompts: Friendships
This is a list of journal prompts to assist with 12: Friend Breakups: Healing from Friendships, Gossip, and How to Know When to End a Friendship.
Journal Prompts:
Friendship Breakups
If you had a friendship recently end, why do you think it ended? What lessons can you gather from this experience?
Has a friendship breakup changed the way you think about yourself? Or has it changed the way you feel about yourself?
When you think about friendship, where do you feel it in your body? Do you feel anxious in your gut? Hot on your shoulders? Explore where this experience appears in your body.
Is there a friendship that has ended in your life that you have not fully grieved? If so, allow yourself to journal about all the feelings you’re still holding onto connected to this friendship.
Can you forgive yourself for the friendship breakup? Can you forgive the friend involved? Are you holding onto feelings of self-blame, self-hatred, or self-abuse since this experience? If so, can you start forgiving yourself for this painful experience?
How can you be a better friend going forward? Sometimes when friendships end, it’s a good time to self-reflect and to see if there is a new way we want to show up in friendships.
Do you wish you were no longer friends with someone in your life? If so, why? How does this person make you feel about yourself? How do you feel in your body when you are with this person?
What kind of friendships would you like moving forward? What does your ideal friendship look like?
What are the top 3 qualities you are looking for in a friend? On a scale of 1-10 how well are you embodying those qualities yourself?
Do you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and feelings with your current friends? Why or why not?
Gossip / Talking Behind People’s Backs
If you recently upset someone for gossiping, why did you gossip? For how long have you gossiped about your friends? Is this a recent or a long-term habit? Does anyone in your family gossip? Do your friends gossip?
When do you remember first gossiping? Explore this memory.
If you are someone who gossips (talks about people when they are not present), why do you do this? Does it feel like a habit? A way to bond with others? Explore why you gossip in present day.
Do you like gossiping? If so, why? If not, why do you do it?
How do you feel when you gossip?
Do you have any relationships where you don’t gossip? If so, is there a reason why you don’t gossip around these people?
Has anyone in your family, friend group, or community gossiped about you? If so, how did you feel? What age were you when this happened?
Do you have a memory of finding out that people were gossiping about you or talking behind your back? How did it feel when you found this out? Do any feelings arise now when you reflect on this memory? Do you feel any sensations in your body?
Do you feel like you can trust your friends? Why or why not?
Do you trust that the people in your life say kind things about you when you are not there?
Is there anything else that comes to mind? If so, write it in your journal and just let your pen flow. You may go completely off topic when you start journaling and that’s okay! Trust that whatever comes up when you start writing is what you are meant to journal about. When you are done writing, take a few moments to reread what you wrote and see if you learned anything new about yourself.
Inner Child, Friendships, & Bullying
Were you ever bullied? Do you have specific memories that stick out in your mind? What feelings arise as you journal about being bullied? Where do you feel it in your body? Do you feel anxious in your gut? Hot on your shoulders? Explore where this experience appears in your body.
Have you ever been a bully? If so, do you have a specific memory that comes to mind? What feelings arise with this memory?
What were your parents (or caregivers) relationships like with their friends? Do you see any patterns between your parents relationships with their friends and your relationships with your friends?
What were friendships like in your childhood? Were there any recurring themes or patterns? How do you feel in your heart about these friendships?
What were your friendships like in your teen years? Were there any recurring themes or patterns? How do you feel in your heart about these friendships?
As a child/teen, did you feel safe in your friendships to be yourself? If not, why? Has this changed now as an adult?
Are you holding onto feelings of self-blame, self-hatred, or self-abuse since you were bullied or bullied someone? If so, can you start forgiving yourself for this painful experience?
Is there anything else that comes to mind? If so, write it in your journal and just let your pen flow. You may go completely off topic when you start journaling and that’s okay! Trust that whatever comes up when you start writing is what you are meant to journal about. When you are done writing, take a few moments to reread what you wrote and see if you learned anything new about yourself.
