Daily Journaling and Depressive Symptoms: Writing in Third Person Leads to Increases in Depressive Symptoms Compared to First-Person Writing, Particularly for Cognitively Vulnerable Individuals.

We used an experimental design to test whether self-distancing (by journaling in third person) could prevent future depressive symptoms. Analyses revealed self-distancing actually increased future depressive symptoms compared to traditional journaling (writing in first person) as well as to a no journaling condition, especially in cognitively vulnerable people.