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Writing to your past-self can make you feel better
Eriko Sugimori1, Mayu Yamaguchi1, Takashi Kusumi2
1School of Human Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 13, 2024
Summary
Writing a compassionate letter to your past self can improve mood, especially for those with negative time attitudes. Focusing on social experiences enhances recovery from negative feelings more than self-experiences.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Mental Health
Background:
- Self-compassionate writing aids mental well-being.
- Investigating how writer's attitudes and writing focus influence these effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the impact of writing to past-self vs. future-self.
- To determine if focusing on social vs. self-experience affects mood improvement.
- To explore the role of time attitudes in self-compassionate writing efficacy.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: 150 undergraduates wrote to past/future selves, completed the Adolescent Time Inventory-Time Attitudes (ATI-TA) questionnaire.
- Experiment 2: Undergraduates wrote about social vs. solitary experiences.
- Assessed changes in negative feelings and emotional impact.
Main Results:
- Writing to past-self reduced negative feelings more than writing to future-self.
- Individuals with negative time attitudes benefited most from writing to their past-self.
- Focusing on social experiences was more effective for mood recovery than self-experiences.
Conclusions:
- Self-compassionate writing to one's past-self can improve mood.
- Negative time attitudes amplify the benefits of writing to past-self.
- Emphasizing social connections in writing enhances emotional recovery.
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