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Pen to paper: daily writing may soothe anxiety and depression

NCT ID NCT06130020

Symptom relief Sponsor: Trustees of Princeton University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tested whether writing about your deepest thoughts and feelings for 15 minutes a day over two weeks can help reduce anxiety and depression in young adults. Participants were split into three groups: writing to themselves, writing to a loved one, or writing a factual daily routine. The goal was to see which approach works best. Results could help develop a simple, free mental health tool.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
expressive writing exercises
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a simple, free way to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms using daily writing.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study with 160 people, and past research on expressive writing has mixed results. The effect may be small or not last long.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

160 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Nov 2023

Finished

Oct 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 25 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * US-based * Fluent English * Combined GAD-7 and PHQ-8 score of ≥ 5 Exclusion Criteria: * "Completion" of a writing session requires participants to spend at least 15 minutes on the writing page. We will monitor completion of the daily writing exercise, and will contact participants who miss or spend less than 15 minutes on the exercise. Participants who fail to complete 3 consecutive daily writing sessions will be deemed non-compliant, removed from the study, and paid a prorated amount for the tasks they have completed in the study.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

anxiety anxiety disorder Depression depressive disorder Psychological Well-Being

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Anxiety Depression Healthy

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Peretsman Scully Hall

    Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.