Jerusalem Post
ByWALLA! HEALTH
A life-changing habit – short writing about your values or strengths reduces anxiety, strengthens self-confidence, and increases happiness. No therapy, no app – just a pen and paper.
If you could improve your mood, reduce anxiety, and strengthen your sense of purpose — all without therapy, medication, or a personal coach — would you try it? It turns out the answer might be surprisingly simple: A pen, a notebook, and fifteen minutes of your time.
A comprehensive new study involving over 17,700 participants across 129 different studies found that writing for 15 to 20 minutes about your values or personal strengths can measurably improve mental health: Reduce anxiety and depression, strengthen self-esteem, improve relationships, and increase life satisfaction.
And the surprising part? The effects don’t fade after a short time — they actually grow stronger over time.
How it works: The power of “self-affirmation”
The exercise is simple: Sit down with a pen and paper and write about what truly matters to you — family, creativity, helping others, freedom, loyalty, or any value that guides you. You can also describe a moment when you demonstrated a quality you’re proud of.
This exercise, known as Self-Affirmation, is based on a theory developed back in the 1980s. The central idea: We all want to see ourselves as good, capable, and valuable people. When something shakes that perception — a failure at work, criticism, or a difficult period — strengthening other parts of our identity helps restore balance and self-confidence.
For example, if you failed an important presentation, writing about being a good parent, a loyal friend, or a creative person can help you regain perspective.
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and Oxford divided the effects into four main categories:
Self-perception: Participants felt better about themselves, more valuable, and with higher self-confidence.
Overall happiness: A greater sense of life satisfaction and more positive emotions.
Social connections: People who wrote about their values at the start of the semester maintained more friendships, formed new ones, and felt more socially connected.
Anxiety and depression: Those who practiced the exercise showed a significant decrease in stress levels, even during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even when the effect of the exercise was moderate, it appeared consistently — across all ages, countries, and cultures.
And if that’s not enough — instead of fading like most short-term interventions, this exercise actually works in the opposite way:Weeks after writing, participants reported a twofold improvement in anxiety and depression levels compared to results measured immediately after writing.
Researchers explain this as a positive cycle: Recalling our values changes the way we see ourselves, leading to better and healthier behavior, creating a positive experience, strengthening confidence — and so on.
The researchers emphasize: This exercise is not meant to replace psychological treatment in cases of depression or clinical anxiety. But as a tool for improving daily well-being and coping with stress, it is an accessible, free, and effective method.
