AI Prompts for Mental Health

Create a journaling practice tailored to my needs.

What I'm working through: [stress / grief / career change / relationship issues / self-esteem / general growth]
Journaling experience: [never journaled / tried and stopped / regular journaler]
Time available: [minutes per session]
Preferred time: [morning / evening / whenever I need it]
What I want from journaling: [clarity / emotional release / self-discovery / tracking patterns]

Provide:
1. A 7-day journaling starter kit with one prompt per day (progressively deeper)
2. Five 'emergency' prompts for moments of emotional overwhelm
3. A weekly reflection template to spot patterns in your entries
4. Guidelines for journaling about difficult topics safely (without spiraling)
5. A monthly review prompt that turns journal entries into insights
6. A reminder that journaling supplements but does not replace therapy for serious mental health concerns

Teach me basic CBT techniques I can practice on my own.

What I struggle with: [negative self-talk / catastrophizing / perfectionism / social anxiety / procrastination]
Current awareness: [I know what CBT is / I've heard of it / completely new to me]
Therapy status: [currently in therapy / considering therapy / using self-help only]
A recent example: [describe a situation where your thinking patterns caused distress]

Provide:
1. An explanation of the specific cognitive distortion at play in my example
2. A thought record template with instructions for filling it out
3. Three reframing techniques specific to my pattern
4. A behavioral experiment I can try this week to test my assumptions
5. A daily 5-minute CBT practice I can build into my routine
6. Clear guidance on when self-directed CBT isn't enough and professional support is recommended

Help me build a realistic self-care routine.

Current state: [burned out / managing okay / proactive maintenance]
Biggest stressors: [work, family, finances, health, relationships]
Time available for self-care: [honestly, how much]
Activities I enjoy: [list things that genuinely recharge you]
Activities I 'should' do but don't: [exercise, socializing, hobbies, etc.]
Barriers to self-care: [guilt, time, money, energy, motivation]

Create:
1. A personalized self-care menu organized by time needed (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour)
2. Daily non-negotiable self-care minimums (things so small you can't skip them)
3. A weekly self-care schedule that fits into my real life
4. Strategies to overcome my specific barriers (especially guilt)
5. Warning signs that I need to increase my self-care immediately
6. A permission statement: why self-care isn't selfish and how it benefits everyone around you

Help me build a toolkit for managing anxiety.

Anxiety type: [generalized worry / social anxiety / health anxiety / performance anxiety / panic attacks]
Frequency: [daily / several times a week / situational]
Current coping: [what you do now when anxiety hits]
What makes it worse: [triggers if you know them]
What helps somewhat: [anything that's worked, even a little]
Professional support: [in therapy / considering it / self-managing]

Build an anxiety management toolkit:
1. Three grounding techniques for acute anxiety moments (5-4-3-2-1 and others)
2. A worry time protocol: how to contain anxious thoughts to a scheduled window
3. A physical anxiety response kit: body-based techniques for when your mind won't cooperate
4. A 'reality testing' framework for catastrophic thoughts
5. A gradual exposure ladder for avoidance behaviors (if applicable)
6. A strong recommendation to work with a therapist if anxiety is significantly impacting daily functioning

Help me learn to set and maintain healthy boundaries.

Where I struggle with boundaries: [work / family / friendships / romantic relationship / all of the above]
Specific situation: [describe a recent situation where you needed a boundary but didn't set one]
What happens when I try to set boundaries: [guilt / anger from others / I cave / I don't know how]
Communication style: [people-pleaser / conflict-avoidant / assertive but inconsistent]
Relationship I most need boundaries in: [describe the dynamic]

Provide:
1. Three scripts for setting boundaries in my specific situation (gentle, firm, and final)
2. A framework for deciding what deserves a boundary vs. what's a normal compromise
3. How to handle pushback and guilt after setting a boundary
4. Physical and emotional signs that a boundary is being crossed
5. A maintenance plan: how to reinforce boundaries consistently without escalation
6. A note on when boundary issues point to deeper patterns worth exploring with a therapist

Help me set up a mood tracking system to understand my patterns.

What I want to understand: [why my mood changes / trigger patterns / medication effects / seasonal patterns]
Tracking method preference: [journal / spreadsheet / app-compatible format / simple checklist]
How often I'll track: [multiple times daily / once daily / when something notable happens]
Factors I suspect affect my mood: [sleep, exercise, food, work, social, weather, hormones]
Time I can spend tracking: [1 minute / 5 minutes per entry]

Design:
1. A mood tracking template with rating scales and key factors to log
2. Five categories to track alongside mood (with simple 1-5 scales)
3. A weekly pattern analysis framework: how to read your data
4. A monthly summary template that reveals trends
5. Questions to bring to a therapist or doctor based on what your tracking reveals
6. Red flag patterns that suggest professional evaluation is needed