Do you feel like your past trauma is preventing you from progressing in your healing journey? Shadow work prompts for healing trauma may be what you need to boldly move forward.
Prompts and questions for shadow work can be an effective tool on your self-love and/or healing journey. Shadow work prompts for trauma are great to do alone or with your therapist.
Learn more about the origin of shadow work here.
Check out more of our journal prompts for shadow work:
35 Shadow Work Prompts for Self-Love
Shadow Work Prompts for Letting Go of the Past
Top 3 reasons to consider trauma journal prompts and shadow writing:
While there are many benefits to deep journal questions and shadow work, here are my top 3 to mention:
- It can give you easier access to your genuine emotions.
- It can offer a new look at your true self and what makes you who you are today.
- It can help you understand what parts of you need more attention/healing, whether you can tackle it through self-reflection or need to seek further professional help.
I’ve listed 18 healing shadow work prompts to help you potentially accelerate your healing journey. Below you’ll find inner child journal prompts and journal prompts for healing your relationships and past trauma.
Shadow Work Prompts for Healing Trauma
1.Reflect on who you are currently. What parts of yourself do you hide from others? Why do you feel you have to hide these parts of yourself? What do you think will happen if you don’t hide these parts of yourself?
2. What emotion is difficult for you to feel or sit with? Why does this emotion make you uncomfortable?
Try to describe the first time you ever felt this emotion. What was happening in your life, who was involved, and what other emotions do you often feel with this one?
3.Describe the first time you remember devaluing yourself? Why did you feel the need to devalue yourself? What can you do to better recognize your value and what you bring?
4. In what ways are you unkind to yourself? When did this start for you? Do you find any patterns that lead you to be unkind to yourself? How might you change this and show yourself more kindness, forgiveness, and love?
5.What are the biggest obstacles I face when releasing trauma? Is this self-induced or caused by someone else? Have you ever tried to tackle these obstacles? Why or why not? What do you need to do to dissolve each obstacle?
6. What traumatic memory is holding you back? What would your life look like if you healed from the specific trauma?
Inner Child Healing Journal Prompts
7. What part(s) of yourself did you have to hide when you were a child? Why did you feel you had to hide these parts of yourself? What did you fear would happen if you didn’t hide these parts of yourself?
8. As a child, who was the one person you needed to receive love from the most but didn’t? How did this make you feel? How does this continue to make you feel today?
9. When Is the first time you remember feeling shame as a child? What person and or situation caused you to feel this way? How has this experience affected your life today?
10.What is the one thing (or a few things) you wish your family understood about you as a child?
11.Recall all the times you’ve felt joy in childhood (e.g., birthday parties, family outings, vacations, quality family time). Describe these joyous moments in detail.
12. How did you keep yourself (emotionally, physically, and/or mentally) safe as a child? What were you protecting yourself against? Write a letter to your younger self explaining why you had to keep yourself safe and what has changed.
Shadow Work Prompts for Relationship Trauma
13.List out every romantic relationship you’ve had. Then, take the time to really reflect on these relationships and describe them in detail. Were these relationships negative or positive?
How has each relationship left you feeling? Are there any patterns or themes you notice?
14. As an adult, what is your relationship with your family? Do you generally have a negative or positive relationship with your family?
Why do you think it is this way? If negative, what would you need for it to change?
Why do you think it is this way? If negative, what would you need for it to change?
15. In what relationship (familial, romantic, or platonic) did you feel the mistaken advantage? Describe what the persons (or people) did to you and how it made you feel.
What influenced the person to take advantage of you? What do you need to forgive that person to move on in your life?
16. When looking back on past relationships, which one brings you shame? What about this relationship is shameful to you?
Why did you allow this to happen? What steps can you take to prevent it from happening again?
17. Are there any current relationships that are no longer serving you? Why do you feel like the relationship isn’t helping you? Why are you still holding on to this relationship, and what will you need to do to let it go?
18. Is it hard for you to be vulnerable in relationships? Why or why not? What do you need, or what can you do to allow yourself to be more vulnerable?
Giving Shadow Work Prompts for Healing a Try
If you’re ready to improve your well-being, try these trauma writing prompts and shadow work exercises!
Dedicate some space and time to really getting to know yourself by completing these deep shadow work prompts in a shadow work journal .
We’d love to hear from you! Do you have any shadow work questions that have helped you heal trauma? Let us know in the comment section below.
