Journal
Write freely about how you feel
Average mood
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out of 5 • 0 entries
What journaling actually does
Names the feeling
Putting an emotion into words lowers its intensity — labelling reduces amygdala activity in imaging studies.
Breaks rumination loops
A thought written down stops circling. The page holds it so your working memory doesn't have to.
Shows patterns over time
Tags and mood ratings turn scattered entries into a trend you can act on.
Private by design
Entries can be locked and encrypted on your device, so honesty costs you nothing.
The science, briefly
Pennebaker's expressive-writing paradigm — 15–20 minutes on four consecutive days about something emotionally difficult — has been replicated for decades with small-to-moderate improvements in mood, sleep and even immune markers. The mechanism is not catharsis but construction: writing forces a scattered experience into a sequence with cause and consequence, and it is that reorganisation that predicts benefit. Entries that grow in causal and insight words across sessions show the largest gains.
How to journal here
- 1
Open a new entry and set today's mood before you write — it anchors the entry to a data point.
- 2
Write for ten minutes without editing. Spelling, grammar and coherence do not matter.
- 3
If you stall, tap the AI prompt button for one tailored question based on your recent entries.
- 4
Add one or two tags (work, sleep, family) so the trend view can group them later.
- 5
Close with a single sentence about what you want to do differently tomorrow.
Getting more from each entry
- ✦Write about the difficult thing, not around it — vague entries produce vague relief.
- ✦Use the word 'because' at least once; causal language is the strongest predictor of benefit.
- ✦Third-person distancing ('she felt overwhelmed') helps when an event is still raw.
- ✦End on agency: one small, concrete next action beats a page of resolution.
- ✦If an entry leaves you worse for more than an hour, stop and use a grounding tool instead.
Which kind of entry to write today
| If you feel… | Write this | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Overwhelmed, racing | Brain dump — everything on your mind, unsorted | 5 min |
| Stuck on one event | Expressive writing — the event, the feeling, the meaning | 15 min |
| Flat, numb | Three specific good moments and why each mattered | 5 min |
| Anxious about the future | Worst case, best case, most likely case | 10 min |
| Fine, just checking in | Mood rating plus two lines on what shaped it | 2 min |
The format matters less than the frequency. A two-minute check-in you keep beats a perfect entry you skip.
Common questions
Is journaling read by anyone?+
No. Entries belong to your account and are protected by row-level security, and you can turn on end-to-end encryption so even the server only stores ciphertext.
How often should I write?+
Three times a week is enough for most people. Daily is fine, but a missed day is not a broken streak — return to the next entry without catching up.
What if writing makes me feel worse?+
A short dip right after writing is normal and usually clears within an hour. If it doesn't, switch to a grounding or breathing exercise and write about lighter material for a while.
Does the AI read my journal?+
Only when you explicitly ask for a prompt or a summary. Nothing is sent for analysis in the background.
Can I journal in more than one language?+
Yes — Araam works in Persian, English and Spanish, and you can mix languages inside a single entry.