OCD Journal Prompts to Help Manage Intrusive Thoughts

Journaling can be a wonderful and clinically effective tool for managing OCD. Utilizing effective journal prompts geared for OCD can help you observe your thoughts, reduce their power, and build self-awareness between counseling sessions. 

Here are 28 prompts designed by licensed counselors to help you work with your mind, not against it.

How to Use These Prompts

Before you get started, take a moment to create a framework for your approach to the writing process. Treat each prompt with curiosity instead of judgment. The goal is observation, not resolution

28 OCD Journal Prompts

1. What intrusive thought has been showing up the most this week?
2. What intrusive thoughts have been the easiest to address this week?
3. What intrusive thoughts have been the most challenging to address this week?
4. How have the intrusive thoughts affected my day?
5. Use this journal prompt as a fill-in-the-blank. Write: “I’m having the thought that ____.” After you have written your response, try to notice how labeling it changes its intensity.
6. From your response to question number 5, consider what you would say to a close friend experiencing this same thought?
7. What compulsion did I perform the most this week?
8. How did I feel before my compulsions?
9. How did I feel after the compulsions?
10. How does the compulsion affect my body?
11. What am I most nervous about happening if I don’t complete my ritual?
12. Pick one intrusive thought and consider what this intrusive thought says about what I value most?
13. When did I last feel truly at peace?
14. Think about the last time you felt at ease. Calm and at peace. Now write down what was happening then?
15. What is one small moment today where OCD did not win?
16. What was happening to not allow OCD to win?
17. How much time did OCD take from me today?
18. How much time did OCD take from me this week?
19. If I could take my time back from OCD, I would spend it doing what?
20. What triggers seem to bring on my intrusive thoughts most often?
21. I want you to write down one intrusive thought. Next, I want you to write down the sentence: “This is just a thought. Not a fact, not a command.”
22. What does my day look like when OCD has less control?
23. What does my life look like when OCD has less control? Consider your work, home, and all areas of life.
24. What grounding technique helped me this week?
25. How did the grounding technique help me this week?
26. What is one thing I avoided today because of OCD?
27. When I avoided, it made me feel…
28. What would I tell my past self about living with OCD?

Ready for More Than Just Journaling?

At Santos Counseling in Greensboro, NC, we have counselors who truly understand OCD. Our goal is to provide compassionate, evidence-based OCD therapy for adults. We offer counseling in-person and via telehealth across North Carolina.

📞 Call 336-663-6570 to Book Your Free Consultation