Write to a better life

Writing Exercises for Depression

Decrease in Major Depressive Disorder (also known as clinical depression), a disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and/or a lack of interest in activities.

  • Weekly Wins

    A weekly win practice, or accounting for what you’re proud of over the last week and acknowledging progress, is a simple and effective way to boost your productivity.

  • Gratitude Journaling

    Gratitude can have a lasting positive effect on your wellbeing through activating prosocial circuits in the brain. Gratitude provides resilience to trauma, improve cardiovascular function, asthma, reduce inflammation, improve sleep quality, and many other benefits.

  • Best Possible Self

    The Best Possible Self is an exercise that has us imagine our future self in a vivid sensory way, as if everything had gone as well as it possibly could. The exercise has been shown to improve mood, depression, stress and immune system function, and goal achievement. It works by fostering positive emotions, generating salient and specific goals, and activating the brain through mental imagery.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

    EMDR therapy is a clinical process that helps people with trauma replace negative neural patterns. EMDR therapy does this through alternating visual or auditory stimulation, known as BLS (bilateral stimulation).

  • Breathing Exercises for Wellbeing

    Breathing exercises for relaxation can have a huge impact on our ability to regulate our nervous system. Relaxation focused breathing exercises have been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, improve mood, sleep quality, and cognitive function. They are safe, easy to do, and take just a few minutes each day.

  • Expressive Writing

    Expressive Writing is a science backed writing exercise that involves writing about a traumatic event to help you remap your relationship to the event over time. It has a wide range of potential benefits with studies showing improvements in student GPAs, memory, arthritis, fibromyalgia, asthma, anxiety, stress, depression, wound healing, blood pressure, and more.