Conclusion
Small daily journaling sessions improve self-reported mental wellbeing in adults over an 8+ week period.
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Smyth et al. (2018) conducted a preliminary RCT assigning general medical patients with elevated anxiety to either an online positive affect journaling (PAJ) intervention or usual care. Over 12 weeks, participants in the journaling arm completed brief daily writing exercises focused on positive experiences and emotions. The PAJ group showed significantly greater reductions in mental distress and improvements in well-being compared to controls, suggesting that short, structured daily journaling can meaningfully benefit mental health in anxious adult populations over a multi-week timeframe.
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