Journaling Prompts for ADHD
Journaling brings a wealth of benefits to neurodivergent minds. Even when focus is difficult — one of my primary ADHD symptoms — journaling creates a sense of organization. When I have too many thoughts running rampant in my head, I can dump them out and put them away on the paper where they belong, just like I do with the DOOM pile in the corner of my bedroom.
But starting from a blank page can be intimidating. The ADHD brain craves structure, challenge, and novelty. Try these journaling prompts the next time your practice falls into a rut, developed with the ADHD experience in mind.
Prompts for understanding identity
After being officially diagnosed, I started reading and learning more about how to work with the functional symptoms of ADHD instead of against them. My whole world opened up. I wasn’t a failure because I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t focus because I tried to meet a very narrow definition of the word.
If you are recently diagnosed, or just learning more, try these journaling prompts to help unlock more of the unique ways your brain works.
What is my ADHD superpower?
What can I do differently now that I have a diagnosis?
List three things you want to learn about ADHD, and three places you can look to learn them.
Prompts for dual diagnosis
ADHD, it turns out, is only part of my identity. I expected that diagnosis when I went into my assessment. Autism Spectrum Disorder though? That one came as a surprise. So it wasn’t just about ADHD for me. It was about ADHD as part of a whole, which was an oddly comforting thought.
If you also fall within the AuDHD spectrum, or another combination, here are some journaling prompts to discover more about this side of yourself.
What makes your experience with ADHD unique?
Do you identify with ADHD before or after your other labels? How can you bring them into balance?
Prompts for reframing
ADHD can feel seven kinds of frustrating. I want to put away my laundry and find where that odd smell is coming from in my refrigerator. But I’ve thought about those chores for so long that I’ve become habituated to them just existing, and meanwhile my brain has decided that the new shiny thing on the shelf at the craft store is of the utmost importance. But on the flip side, I learn a new skill pretty regularly, and while making chainmail isn’t a professional skill I can put on a resumé, nimble learning certainly is.
Presentation makes a difference, and not just externally. Try these journal prompts when you need a self-esteem boost.
What about ADHD is a roadblock in some situations, but helpful in others?
Recall an occasion when you apologized for ADHD. What could you say instead next time?
Prompts for empowerment
Our understanding of ADHD and neurodiverse minds has come a long way. Within my lifetime, we went from a culture of making jokes like “I have ADH-oh-look-butterflies!” to openly discussing how our minds operate. From hiding behind excuses and apologies to simply explaining, “I know I came in late, I got so into this project, can I tell you about it?”
ADHD isn’t something to feel ashamed of. Here are some journaling prompts to help you create more positive associations with ADHD.
If you could rename ADHD to remove the term ‘disorder’ and the context that it carries, what would you call it?
If you were to write for a book, movie, or theater, how would you incorporate and portray a character with ADHD?
List three things you like about having ADHD.
Prompts for tracking symptoms
Getting treatment is hard. Getting treatment right can be even harder. One thing that can help is keeping track of symptoms and what affects them. This journaling exercise can help you set up personalized trackers.
What symptom of your ADHD is most disruptive to your life? What positive outcomes will controlling it have for you?
Identify a small, repeatable habit that could help manage this symptom.
For 21 days, keep a record of practicing that habit, and how severe you found your symptom.
Choose a reward for yourself that you can have at the end of the 21 days. (You don’t have to actually complete the habit every day or have nothing but good days; you get the reward for tracking and for trying.)
For example, I struggle with staying focused at my desk. Getting a better handle on my focus would help me come up ahead of deadlines and give me more time to refine my work. One thing that I know helps is getting a workout done before clocking in. I’ll keep an eye on this for three weeks, and get myself sushi as a treat.
Prompts for overall wellbeing
Prior to receiving my ADHD diagnosis and beginning treatment and therapy for it, I had been on increasingly large doses of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. And this isn’t to disparage the use of those drugs when they are the right tool for the job. The problem for me was that it was putting a bandaid on a broken arm; we were treating the symptom, not the problem itself. Getting the ADHD sorted out, realizing that being different in no way made me a failure, helped change my view of myself and in turn did more for the depression than the medication ever had.
Therapy and positive thinking are not an end-all, be-all answer for any mental challenge, but they are an essential part of any treatment plan. These journal prompts can help you put yourself in an overall more positive mindset as you pursue your goals.
Write down a compliment you received today.
Open your favorite book to a random page and write down 1-2 sentences that inspire you.
What is your favorite comfort food? Write down what you enjoy about it. Try to capture all five senses.
Make a list of 2-3 things that you are grateful for.
Do one thing you’ve been putting off. When you’re finished, write down how you feel.
Some final tips
Find a regular time to practice journaling. If you’re having trouble making it routine, try habit stacking. Journal while you have your morning coffee, or your evening cuppa tea. (If you’re a regular journaler already but there is a habit you’re trying to build, like taking medication at a certain time, this works in reverse too!)
Incorporate more than just words. Get colored pens, brush markers, or stickers to add novelty to your regular practice. Draw, doodle, scribble, and don’t worry about perfection.
Try different formats. If you aren’t up to or feel temporarily bored of writing, consider snapping a photo or making a voice note.
Give equal space to your daily wins that you do to your daily struggles. The more you pay attention to the good in your day, even the small things, the more often you’ll notice and appreciate the good in yourself.