Healing After Narcissistic Abuse: 20 Journal Prompts to Support Your Recovery

Healing from narcissistic abuse isn’t just about moving on, it’s about rediscovering who you are beneath the hurt. It’s a journey that asks you to reclaim your voice, rebuild your confidence, and learn to trust yourself again. And let’s be honest, it’s not easy. But it is possible.

One of the most powerful tools in this healing journey? Journaling.

Journaling creates a safe space to process your emotions, reflect on your experiences, and make sense of the chaos you may have been living through. It helps you get honest with yourself, name what happened, and begin to shift from surviving to thriving.

Below, you’ll find 20 gentle yet powerful journal prompts. They’re broken into key themes to guide your healing and help you reconnect with your truth.

1. Acknowledgment and Validation

You deserve to feel seen—especially by yourself. The first step to healing is acknowledging what you’ve been through, without minimizing it or blaming yourself.

• Describe your experiences with narcissistic abuse. Write down the events or patterns that stand out to you.

Maybe you were constantly gaslit and made to question your own reality. Maybe your emotions were dismissed as “too much.” Let it out. No filtering. This is your truth.

• Acknowledge and validate your feelings. How did you feel during and after the abusive relationship?

Did you feel confused, worthless, anxious, or like you were walking on eggshells? Naming the emotions helps you reclaim your voice.

2. Boundaries and Self-Care

Narcissistic abuse often blurs or completely erases your boundaries. Now is the time to rebuild them—stronger and clearer.

• Reflect on your boundaries during the abusive relationship. How did they become compromised, and how can you reestablish them?

Did you say yes when you meant no? Did you stop standing up for yourself to avoid conflict? How can you practice saying “no” now without guilt?

• What self-care practices do you find helpful in your healing process? List them and describe their significance.

Whether it’s daily walks, meditation, therapy, or simply unplugging from social media—note what’s helping you feel grounded again.

3. Self-Reflection and Healing

Healing isn’t linear, but it is transformative. These prompts help you reflect on what’s shifting within you.

• Examine any self-doubt that may have arisen during the abusive relationship. How has this impacted your self-esteem, and what steps can you take to rebuild it?

Were you made to feel like you couldn’t trust your own decisions? Write about ways you’re learning to listen to your own inner voice again.

• Describe any personal growth or healing moments you've experienced since ending the abusive relationship.

Maybe you finally set a boundary with someone, or started saying what you really feel. Celebrate those moments—no matter how small they seem.

4. Reclaiming Identity

Abuse can make you feel like you’ve lost pieces of yourself. Now is the time to call those pieces back.

• What aspects of your identity were suppressed or manipulated during the abusive relationship? How can you begin to reclaim these parts of yourself?

Were you always the funny one, the dreamer, the soft-hearted one—and were told to tone it down? Those parts deserve to come home.

• Write about your dreams and aspirations that may have been stifled. How can you revive these ambitions?

Maybe you wanted to go back to school, write a book, or travel solo. Let yourself dream again—it’s part of your rebirth.

5. Forgiveness and Closure

Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting. It means releasing the emotional hold someone has over you—for your peace, not theirs.

• Explore the idea of forgiveness. Can you envision forgiving your abuser, even if it is solely for your own peace and closure?

This is for you, not them. Think of forgiveness as the decision to stop carrying the weight of what they did.

• Write a letter to your younger self, offering compassion, understanding, and support. What would you say to nurture your inner child?

Speak to the version of you who stayed, who didn’t know better, who did their best. That version of you needs your love—not your judgment.

6. Strength and Resilience

You survived something deeply painful. That alone makes you strong.

• Reflect on moments when you demonstrated strength and resilience during the abusive relationship. What were these moments, and how did they make you stronger?

Even getting out of bed on hard days counts. Write about the ways you kept showing up for yourself—even when you were hurting.

• Describe the support systems and individuals who have helped you on your healing journey.

Maybe it’s a friend, therapist, a support group—or even your journal. Acknowledge the people and tools that have held you up.

7. Trusting Your Intuition

Abuse often trains us to ignore our inner knowing. But that voice inside you? It’s still there—and it’s wise.

• How did your intuition guide you during the abusive relationship? Write about the times when you felt that something wasn't right.

That tightness in your chest, the hesitation before saying yes—those were signs. Trust that your body and spirit always knew.

• Explore how you can strengthen your trust in your intuition and make it an integral part of your healing process.

Journaling, meditation, slowing down to listen—what helps you hear your truth clearly now?

8. Future Empowerment

Your past doesn’t define you. You get to decide where you go from here.

• What are your intentions for the future? Write down your goals and aspirations that reflect your newfound empowerment.

Think of goals that feel soul-aligned—ones that center peace, joy, and personal freedom.

• Describe the actions and steps you can take to create a life that aligns with your values and well-being.

Small, consistent steps matter. Whether it’s speaking up more, setting firmer boundaries, or nurturing your creativity—write it down.

9. Gratitude and Positivity

Gratitude is healing—it reminds us of the beauty that still exists, even after the storm.

• List three things you are grateful for, no matter how small. How does gratitude contribute to your healing journey?

Maybe it’s your morning coffee, the sun on your face, or a kind message from a friend. Gratitude creates new energy.

• Reflect on the positive changes or personal growth that have emerged as a result of your healing process.

You’ve learned to protect your peace. You’ve become more self-aware. These are wins. Honor them.

10. Reflection on Narcissistic Traits

Understanding what happened can prevent it from happening again.

• Write about the narcissistic traits or behaviors that you've observed in your abuser. How has this awareness helped you heal and protect yourself?

Gaslighting, love bombing, manipulation—get clear on what they were. Awareness is your protection moving forward.

• Describe the boundaries and red flags you've learned to recognize, ensuring you never find yourself in a similar situation again.

What will you no longer tolerate? What behaviors are now non-negotiables for you? Declare them.

11. Releasing Shame and Guilt

Narcissistic abuse often leaves behind a heavy emotional residue. Shame that you stayed. Guilt that you didn’t leave sooner. But none of it belongs to you.

What guilt or shame are you still carrying from this experience?

Were you made to feel responsible for their behavior? Do you blame yourself for not leaving sooner? Write it down—and release it.

What would it feel like to give yourself full permission to let go of that guilt?

How can you remind yourself that surviving was enough, and healing is allowed to take time?

12. Rebuilding Self-Worth

You are not what someone else failed to see in you.

How did this relationship affect your sense of self-worth?

What lies about yourself did you internalize from their words or actions?

What are five truths you now choose to believe about yourself?

Affirm your worth. Write them down as declarations of who you are—confident, capable, worthy, lovable, powerful.

13. Healing the Inner Child

Many wounds left behind by narcissistic abuse echo in your inner child.

How was your inner child affected by this relationship?

Did it trigger old abandonment wounds or fears of not being enough?

What does your inner child need from you now?
Love, safety, play, validation? Write a letter from your adult self offering that healing.

14. Energetic Protection and Cleansing

Emotional abuse often leaves energetic imprints.

How do you feel the relationship still affects your energy today?

Do certain places, words, or even memories drain or trigger you?

What practices help you clear, protect, and recharge your energy?

Baths, breathwork, crystals, cord-cutting, grounding—what supports your energetic hygiene?

15. Reclaiming Your Voice

When you've been silenced for so long, using your voice again can feel unfamiliar—but it's your birthright.

How were you silenced or dismissed in the relationship?

Were you told your feelings were too much? Were you talked over or punished for speaking up?

In what ways are you learning to reclaim your voice?

Are you expressing more freely, setting boundaries, or standing in your truth?

16. Understanding Emotional Triggers

Healing includes learning how to care for yourself when you're activated—not just when you feel calm.

What current situations or dynamics still trigger emotional pain from the past relationship?
Name the triggers, and where you feel them in your body.

How can you lovingly support yourself through these triggers?

What self-soothing tools, affirmations, or practices help you feel safe again?

17. Honoring Your Emotions

After gaslighting, it’s easy to second-guess your emotions.

What emotions do you tend to suppress or invalidate, and why?

Were you taught that anger was “ugly” or that sadness made you weak?

What would it feel like to give every emotion permission to exist without judgment?

Describe how allowing yourself to feel helps you heal.

18. Rewriting the Narrative

You don’t owe anyone your silence or your suffering. You get to reclaim the story.

What story about yourself were you told during the abusive relationship?

Were you made to feel unlovable, broken, dramatic, or selfish?

What is the new story you’re writing now?
One where you are powerful, intuitive, healing, and free. Describe it.

19. Reconnecting with Joy

You are allowed to feel joy again. You are allowed to be light again.

What brings you joy now that you’re outside of survival mode?

Even small moments—music, dancing, creativity, nature. Let yourself remember them.

How can you create more space for joy and lightness in your daily life?

What routines, people, or activities make your spirit feel alive?

20. Embracing Wholeness

You are not missing pieces—you are returning to wholeness.

What does “healed” mean to you, beyond perfection or painlessness?

Does it look like trusting yourself? Feeling safe in your body? Loving your own company?

How are you honoring your wholeness today?

Describe the ways you’re showing up for yourself—with grace, truth, and love.

Healing from narcissistic abuse is a deeply personal, non-linear process. These journal prompts are not about “getting over it”—they’re about growing through it. Your story matters. Your voice matters. Your healing matters. Let these questions meet you where you are, and know there’s no right or wrong way to answer them. This is your space to feel, to release, to rebuild.

And remember—you don’t have to do this alone.

To support your healing, explore our line of chakra healing journals and self-affirmation candles. Each one is created with intention to help you reconnect to your inner power, restore emotional balance, and move forward with love and light.