Journaling for Sleep: How One Mother Found Rest and Released Buried Stress

Sara is a 44-year-old mother of six. She’s the kind of woman everyone relies on — disciplined, healthy eater, exercised regularly, worked in a school, volunteered for everything, always the first to show up when someone needed help. She did it all, and she did it with a smile.

If you needed something done, you called Sara. She was happy, helpful, capable — a real superwoman.

But the truth? Even superwomen can crack.

Sara came to me in the early fall, after she had taken on a new professional challenge. It was supposed to help her in her job, but the goals were ridiculously stressful and nearly impossible to reach. Because she’s so hard on herself, she kept pushing and pushing — until she started drowning.

She wasn’t sleeping.She wasn’t eating.She was barely functioning.

One Monday morning at 6 a.m., I got a voice note from her: “Please help.”

When the Floodgates Opened

When we met on Zoom the next day, the minute Sara opened her mouth, it all came pouring out. She sobbed, buckets of tears. She went from one painful memory to another.

Sara grew up as the oldest in her family — the one who had to hold it together, time after time. From a young age, she learned that she couldn’t fall apart, couldn’t let go. So she became the doer, the achiever, the one who was always “fine.”

But under the tremendous stress she was facing, her mind and body simply couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Something had to give. For the first time in her life, she confronted her past and admitted what she had been carrying all along: a tumultuous childhood, unhealed trauma, and a part of herself — her inner child — that had never been heard.

And that’s when we turned to journaling.

Journaling to the Inner Child

I told Sara to take out a journal and begin writing every day. Not polished essays, not a gratitude list (that would come later) — but raw conversations with her inner child.

Here were the prompts I gave her:

1. How did that make you feel?

2. I’m here to listen — what would you like to share?

3. It looks like you are sad. Would you like to tell me about it?

Simple questions, but powerful ones. Instead of running, hiding, or pushing through, journaling gave Sara permission to sit with that inner child and finally listen.

She didn’t have to be strong, or perfect, or “on” for anyone. She just had to write.

Why Journaling Helped Sara Sleep

Sara is still a work in progress. There’s so much buried inside — years of holding it all together, layers of emotions she never let herself feel. And we’re gently unpacking it.

But here’s the beautiful thing: journaling was the fastest way to start easing her sleep issues.

Why? Because trauma doesn’t stay buried forever. If we don’t face it, our subconscious mind starts putting up fences. It says, “You’re not safe. Don’t rest. Keep moving, keep doing, don’t stop or it will hurt.”

And that’s exactly what Sara had become — the superwoman in constant motion, running from herself.

Journaling broke the cycle. It gave her mind a release valve, a safe place to put all the emotions that were keeping her body on high alert. For additional ways to calm your nervous system before bed, check out my blogs on grounding with a mat and grounding barefoot or on a 30-min mat. And when her nervous system finally got the message — “It’s safe, you can stop, you can rest” — that’s when sleep began to return.

The Subconscious Mind and Sleep

Here’s the thing: our subconscious mind never forgets. Every experience we’ve had — especially the painful ones — gets stored somewhere inside of us.

When those experiences stay buried and unprocessed, the subconscious sends a signal: “You’re not safe yet. Don’t relax. Don’t let go.”

That’s why so many people struggle with sleep. Sleep requires surrender. It’s the ultimate act of trust. But if your subconscious is still protecting you from old wounds, it builds fences instead — constant busyness, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or in Sara’s case, superwoman mode.

The moment you begin to give those buried emotions a voice — through something as simple as journaling — your subconscious gets the message: “I hear you. I see you. It’s okay to rest now.”

That’s why journaling can be such a powerful bridge to sleep. It doesn’t just clear your mind — it tells your whole system that you are safe enough to let go.

Seeing Progress: Sara’s First Wins

A week later, when I saw Sara again, she was noticeably calmer — her mind wasn’t racing nearly as much, though she still felt there was plenty more to write. By then, she had already filled 19 pages in her journal. She kept going for another week, and when she finally closed that notebook, she felt lighter, clearer, and ready to start doing the deeper work.

Her sleep had already improved, and now we could begin tackling the root causes of her stress and the limiting beliefs that had been holding her back for so long. I was so proud of her progress.

Sara is still very much a work in progress, and there are layers of buried emotions yet to explore. But journaling gave her a safe, fast, and powerful way to start releasing them — a tool that opened the door to rest, clarity, and healing.

Your Turn

If you’re lying awake at night with your mind racing, journaling might be the key you’ve been missing. You don’t have to write pages and pages. Start with a single sentence. Try one of the prompts I gave Sara.

Let it be messy. Let it be yours. The point isn’t to produce something beautiful — it’s to let out what’s weighing on you, so your mind and body can rest.

If you’re ready to start your own journey toward better sleep and releasing buried stress, start by grabbing a journal and giving yourself five minutes tonight. Or, if you want some guidance on getting started, book a complimentary call with me here.

Remember: every buried emotion, every unresolved memory, impacts your subconscious and can quietly block rest. Journaling is a way to tell your mind and body, “It’s safe. I see you. You can rest.”

So here’s my challenge: tonight, take out a notebook and write just one honest sentence to your inner child. Let it flow. Who knows? It might be the first step toward the calm, restorative sleep you’ve been craving.