Sources
Every source an article leans on gets its own page here — 51 in all, 30 of them peer-reviewed studies: what each one found in plain language, how it was designed, and what it does not show, because the gap between what a study says and what a product would like it to have said is where most wellness writing goes wrong. The articles citing them →
1–15 of 51 sources
A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of gratitude interventions on well-being across culturesHyewon Choi, Youngjae Cha, Michael E. McCullough, Nicholas A. Coles, Shigehiro Oishi · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)Gratitude practices produce a small but real increase in well-being. Pooling 145 papers and 24,804 participants across 28 countries, this preregistered meta-analysis found an effect of Hedges' g = 0.19 - a modest gain, robust against publication bias, and the most honest single number available on whether gratitude journaling works.
The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired LifeSuleika Jaouad · Random HouseA guide to the practice of journaling built from one hundred short essays and writing prompts by writers, artists and thinkers, arranged into themes from new beginnings through love, loss and rebuilding. It treats journaling as a creative practice rather than a self-improvement technique.
"Three Good Things" digital intervention among health care workers: a randomized controlled trialKatherine J. Gold, Margaret L. Dobson, Ananda Sen · Annals of Family MedicineThe closest study to journaling by text message. Health care workers who received three text prompts a week asking for three good things reported improved positive affect at one month that was still significantly improved at three months - though depression, gratitude and life satisfaction showed the same trend without reaching significance.
Efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysisMonika Sohal, Pavneet Singh, Bhupinder Singh Dhillon, Harbir Singh Gill · Family Medicine and Community HealthThe broadest evidence review on journaling itself rather than gratitude specifically. Across 20 randomised controlled trials, journaling produced a greater reduction in patient health measures than control - a small to moderate benefit - which the authors judge strong enough to recommend as an adjunct, not as a treatment.
Evaluating the effects of gratitude interventions on college student well-beingKatherine Tolcher, Madalyn Cauble, Andrew Downs · Journal of American College HealthA rare head-to-head test of gratitude formats. Students were randomised to journaling, reflection, or app-prompted reflection for eight weeks; all three improved well-being where the control group did not, and gratitude journaling appeared to have the largest impact on well-being and affective functioning.
Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness ItEthan Kross · CrownA researcher's account of the inner voice - why it loops, when it turns destructive, and which techniques reliably quiet it. Written by the author of the self-distancing studies, it includes journaling among a set of tools with actual experimental support behind them.
Effects of gratitude intervention on mental health and well-being among workers: a systematic reviewYu Komase, Kazuhiro Watanabe, Daisuke Hori, Kyosuke Nozawa, Yui Hidaka, Mako Iida, Kotaro Imamura, Norito Kawakami · Journal of Occupational HealthGratitude lists significantly improved perceived stress and depression among workers, but effects on well-being were inconsistent. The review's most practical finding is about dose: interventions asking for a gratitude list four times or fewer reported no significant change in any outcome.
A systematic review of gratitude interventions: effects on physical health and health behaviorsAnna L. Boggiss, Nathan S. Consedine, Jennifer M. Brenton-Peters, Paul L. Hofman, Anna S. Serlachius · Journal of Psychosomatic ResearchThe honest counterweight. Reviewing 19 randomised gratitude studies, the strongest signal for physical health was subjective sleep quality, improved in 5 of 8 studies - and the authors conclude more research is needed before firm claims about physical health can be made at all.
Effects of expressive writing intervention for women's PTSD, depression, anxiety and stress related to pregnancy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsJialu Qian, Xiaoli Zhou, Xueshan Sun, Mengwei Wu, Shiwen Sun, Xiaoyan Yu · Psychiatry ResearchAcross 8 randomised trials with 929 women, expressive writing was an effective therapy for reducing pregnancy-related post-traumatic stress - but it did not produce the expected effects on anxiety or stress symptoms, and its effect on depression was inconclusive.
Single-session digital intervention for adolescent depression, anxiety, and well-being: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial with Kenyan adolescentsTom L. Osborn, Micaela Rodriguez, Akash R. Wasil, Katherine E. Venturo-Conerly, John R. Weisz and colleagues · Journal of Consulting and Clinical PsychologyA single session of reading and writing activities covering growth mindset, gratitude and value affirmation reduced depressive symptoms in Kenyan adolescents at two-week follow-up (d = 0.50), with a larger effect among those starting with moderate to severe symptoms (d = 0.83).
A pilot randomized controlled trial of a gratitude intervention for adolescents with Type 1 diabetesK. R. Schache, P. L. Hofman, A. S. Serlachius · Diabetic MedicineAn eight-week gratitude journalling programme for adolescents with Type 1 diabetes produced no measurable difference in stress, quality of life, self-care, depression or gratitude itself - though glycaemic control stayed stable in the gratitude group while drifting upward in the control group.
Efficacy of an internet and app-based gratitude intervention in reducing repetitive negative thinking and mechanisms of change in the intervention's effect on anxiety and depressionHanna Heckendorf, Dirk Lehr, David Daniel Ebert, Henning Freund · Behaviour Research and TherapyA five-week app-based gratitude programme substantially reduced repetitive negative thinking - the rumination and worry loop underlying both anxiety and depression - with effects that grew by three months (d = 0.75) and were sustained at six.
Online positive affect journaling in the improvement of mental distress and well-being in general medical patients with elevated anxiety symptoms: a preliminary randomized controlled trialJoshua M. Smyth, Jillian A. Johnson, Brandon J. Auer, Erik Lehman, Giampaolo Talamo, Christopher N. Sciamanna · JMIR Mental HealthA randomised trial of short, frequent journaling sessions. Seventy adults with medical conditions and elevated anxiety wrote for 15 minutes, three days a week, for 12 weeks; compared with usual care they reported less depressive symptoms and anxiety after one month and greater resilience after the first and second months.
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the FutureRyder Carroll · Portfolio / Penguin Random HouseThe system behind bullet journaling, written by the person who invented it. It is an analogue method for combining tasks, events and notes in one notebook using short entries, built originally as a workaround for its author's own attention difficulties.
The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with CommentaryRobert Alter · W. W. NortonThe complete Hebrew Bible translated by a single literary scholar over two decades, with commentary that keeps the Hebrew audible — including the todah, the thanksgiving offering behind many Psalms, where giving thanks is something ancient Israel did with its body and its goods, not only its words. Goodreads 4.75.
Nothing matches — it's a young directory still. or tell Tiago what's missing.
