Oprah Winfrey, Emma Watson, Jenna Dewan are among many celebrities who boast the benefits of writing in a gratitude journal — as does 1News Digital Reporter Emma Hildesley. But is the practice rooted in science? Or more of a placebo in the name of wellness?
On an island halfway between Seattle and British Columbia, I sat on a pebbled beach gently jotting down my thoughts as the cold water of the Salish Sea lapped my feet. There was not another person in sight, and the sun warmed my back as the pen flowed across the blank pages. As I spilled all of my reflective, innermost thoughts and feelings with a swift flick of the pen, I truly felt more at peace and relaxed than I had in years.
It's a practice that has become second nature to me, having consistently kept journals since I was around 10 years old. What began as short notes about school crushes, friendships or my pets quickly became an integral part of my identity and something I still rely upon daily to manage my emotions.
And sure, I filled blank books with affirmations, dreams, aspirations and gratitude — but it wasn't always this positive. Especially through my formative teenage years into young adulthood.
This was a space where nothing was off-limits. No matter if it was good, grateful, bad, sad or straight-up weird. It all mixed together in a word soup concoction of personal growth, creativity, empathy and — I thought — improvement to my mental wellbeing.
But recent scientific research which looked at the effectiveness of "positive expressive writing interventions" for psychological benefits found more consistent study was required, and whether the method works or not was more individualistic than I'd previously thought.
What does science say?
The systematic review from UK scientists from Northumbria University looked at evidence supporting gratitude journalling and other types of positive expressive writing.
The researchers looked at 51 articles about positive expressive writing interventions published between 1930 and 2023. All the studies focused on non-clinical adult populations and self-administered interventions, including techniques like "best possible self," or writing about an optimistic future, and writing gratitude letters.
Overall, the research found reasonably consistent benefits for people's wellbeing outcomes, such as measures of happiness, life satisfaction and gratitude. However, the results were less consistent for improving psychological health — things like stress, anxiety and depression.
Wait, what? This floored me as it is so vastly different from my experience of journaling as something I have always turned to when I was, frankly, at my very worst.
How does it help me?
This result was surprising to me, as taking pen to paper and noting down even the most basic things I appreciate about this life has always helped me feel a little brighter in the darker times (hey, we've all been there).
It felt cathartic and lifted the heaviness from my heart by reminding me that while I may be the centre of my own universe, my problems are far from the centre of anyone else's life. Sure, it's harder to feel gratitude when things are bleak, but it's worth the effort to at least make the effort to be more positive.
The other notable times I found myself gushing with gratitude were when I went travelling by myself for two years on my big OE. How could I not feel grateful hiking in Croatia, marvelling at the vast glaciers in Iceland or dancing in Spain? The more world I saw, the cheesier my gratitude journal got.
What's my method?
The review said "individual differences may play a role in the effectiveness of these interventions". So, what works well for me may not work for others, hence why results depend on the particular approach and on individual differences.
I can certainly understand why the approach makes a huge difference, because when I first set out to write grateful intentions I thought it was a load of crap and felt embarrassing. As if I was seen to be twirling my hair whilst writing in a pink fuzzy notebook with rainbow-coloured ink.
In my experience, what took the practice from 'embarrassing' to 'empowering' was finding my own style, and leaning into it. I hinged each gratitude entry on an experience, rather than a sweeping statement.
So the generic: "I'm grateful for my family" (which made me feel nothing) became more specific: "I ate sushi at the beach with my sister and felt it deepened our connection". Plus, I write a lot, therefore I have developed more of a storytelling style. Others prefer bullet lists. If you asked around, I'm sure you'd find it's not a one-size-fits-all for everyone.
Making gratitude a habit
I'm not an expert on this by any means, but the only way I've kept at it all these years was by being consistent in writing everyday. Whether it was one page or 15, I usually attempt to write at the same time of day to cement the habit (like brushing your teeth or going to the gym). Practising gratitude everyday helped me to feeI calmer about stressful situations, as a way to be more grounded and less in my own head about things.
Are my entries public domain?
I bet you're wondering if I've ever let my partner, parents, or anyone else for that matter take a peek at my journals. The answer is a firm no.
It's not that I don't trust my nearest and dearest, as I've always been very open to discussing what I write - just without going as far as to show anyone. Those pages reflect iterations of me that I hope I've learned from and possibly outgrown. A snapshot of who I was at that time captured in ink before shedding the skin and ploughing forward.
Chances are if I've written it in my journal, processed it and worked through it, it's a good idea to leave it in the past and keep on moving.
Who knows — perhaps one day I'll give them to my future children like I'm Donna from Mamma Mia. I could let them revel in the embarrassment of reading all about their mum from when she was at her most carefree. Or I'll donate them to a charity shop. Or unceremoniously toss them into a bonfire on a pebbled beach as the sun sets.
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