“Gratitude journaling improves wellbeing.”
Gratitude journaling gives wellbeing a small, real lift on average, not a big change.
Gratitude journaling is a free, low-effort way to give your mood a small lift. Expect a modest boost rather than a fix, and it is fine to skip it if it feels forced or to choose another positive habit you enjoy more.
For two weeks, write down a few specific things you appreciated and why they mattered, several times a week, and notice whether your mood changes.
Safety note: Writing can temporarily increase distress, shame or rumination, especially when prompts touch trauma or when gratitude is used to dismiss real problems.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: low mood, worry or trauma symptoms last or make daily life hard. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, get help right away.
Several meta-analyses, the largest covering 145 papers and nearly 25,000 people in 28 countries, find a small but consistent lift in wellbeing from gratitude exercises. Confidence is moderate because the effect is small, varies between studies and countries, and is about the same as other active positive exercises rather than larger.
Gratitude journaling gives wellbeing a small, real lift on average, not a big change. Across 145 papers and nearly 25,000 people, gratitude exercises raised wellbeing by a small amount, with the clearest gains in positive mood. Compared with other well-designed positive activities, gratitude exercises did about as well, but not better.
Gratitude exercises include lists of good things, gratitude letters and journals, and the largest review found bigger effects when people combined more than one type. For symptoms of depression and anxiety, a review of 27 studies found small effects that were larger against waitlists than against active comparisons, so gratitude writing is not a stand-alone treatment for depression.
- Choi H, Cha Y, McCullough ME, Coles NA, Oishi S. A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2025;122(28):e2425193122. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2425193122. PMID: 40627390. PMCID: PMC12280877
- Davis DE, Choe E, Meyers J, Wade N, Varjas K, Gifford A, Quinn A, Hook JN, Van Tongeren DR, Griffin BJ, Worthington EL. Thankful for the little things: A meta-analysis of gratitude interventions. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 2016;63(1):20-31. DOI: 10.1037/cou0000107. PMID: 26575348
- Cregg DR, Cheavens JS. Gratitude interventions: effective self-help? A meta-analysis of the impact on symptoms of depression and anxiety. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2021;22:413-445. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00236-6
- Diniz G, Korkes L, Tristao LS, Pelegrini R, Bellodi PL, Bernardo WM. The effects of gratitude interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2023;21:eRW0371. DOI: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2023rw0371. PMID: 37585888. PMCID: PMC10393216