What 146 studies found about writing on what matters
Across 146 randomized studies, writing about personal, meaningful topics had a small but reliable positive effect.
Writing about personal, meaningful topics had a small but reliable positive effect across many studies.
The study
This meta-analysis gathered 146 randomized studies of what researchers call experimental disclosure: writing about thoughts and feelings on personal, meaningful topics. Taken together, the studies showed a positive and significant effect, though a small one on average. The review also identified several factors that changed how large the effect was.
Starting small
The effect is modest, and it builds on something simple. A few minutes of writing about what is actually on your mind, rather than what happened in order, is the kind of writing these studies looked at.