Inside the app, the words are kept as plain as possible. This page gathers the thinking behind each practice, along with its formal name. You never have to read it to use them.
Expressive Writing
A method the psychologist James Pennebaker and colleagues have studied since the 1980s. You write about a difficult experience for 15–20 minutes without worrying about grammar or shape. The writing itself is the point; it doesn't have to come out tidy. It has been studied both as writing on consecutive days and as writing once a week.
Gratitude intervention (Three Good Things)
You write down three good things from the day and why each one happened. Researchers including Robert Emmons and Martin Seligman have studied it. The point isn't to add more good events, but to turn your attention back toward the ones already there.
Cognitive defusion (from ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
An idea from ACT, developed by Steven Hayes and colleagues. Rather than arguing a thought down or trying to erase it, you open a small gap between the thought and yourself — by restating it as “I'm having the thought that…”, or by picturing it placed on a leaf and carried down a stream.
Self-compassion
An idea studied by Kristin Neff and colleagues. You meet your own failures and pain with the attitude you would offer a close friend. It isn't indulgence, and it isn't rating yourself highly — it's the practice of stopping the blame and taking things as they are.
Savoring
An idea studied by Fred Bryant and colleagues. You deliberately take in a good moment, both while it happens and later when you recall it. Left alone, gladness tends to slip past, so you make a point of stopping for it.
Values clarification
Also used within ACT. You separate goals, which end once achieved, from values, which are directions you keep moving in, and put your own direction into words. With the direction clear, it's easier to choose a next step even on days that don't go well.
It's a tool for practicing small ways to steady your mind, and for keeping a record of them. It doesn't diagnose or treat anything, and it doesn't replace counselling. When things feel heavy, don't push through the writing — step away for a while. If thoughts of harming yourself come up, please reach out to a crisis line in your area.