A private journal that opens up when you choose. Write little Acorns of gratitude for yourself, your friends, and your groups.
01 路 How it works
A friend sends you an AcornA short, kind note. You send it to a friend or a group, or stash one for yourself., a few nice words just for you. You can read it now, or StashKeep an Acorn closed for later. Also the place where your closed Acorns wait. it for a day when you really need it. Stashed Acorns stay closed until you decide to open them. No sneak peek.
01 路 How it works
A friend sends you an AcornA short, kind note. You send it to a friend or a group, or stash one for yourself., a few nice words just for you. You can read it now, or StashKeep an Acorn closed for later. Also the place where your closed Acorns wait. it for a day when you really need it. Stashed Acorns stay closed until you decide to open them. No sneak peek.
02 路 Who it's for
Every Acorn goes to one place: yourself, one friend, or a group. It works the same everywhere.
02 路 Who it's for
Every Acorn goes to one place: yourself, one friend, or a group. It works the same everywhere.
An Acorn for yourself. Stash it on a good day and open it on a bad one.
No occasion needed. Send a few kind words on an ordinary day. They open it whenever they need it.
Family, roommates, the group chat that actually matters. Send one Acorn and everyone opens it when they're ready. Works just as well when half the family lives in another country.
03 路 On a hard day
You have two options. One is already waiting.
Everything you stashed is still there: an Acorn a friend sent a few months ago, one you kept for yourself in a better week. Open one. That's what you saved it for.
Tell your friends what's going on and pick who you want to hear from. They get a gentle notification, and each of them can send you one Acorn within 24 hours. Those arrive already open, so you don't have to wait.
03 路 On a hard day
You have two options. One is already waiting.
Everything you stashed is still there: an Acorn a friend sent a few months ago, one you kept for yourself in a better week. Open one. That's what you saved it for.
Tell your friends what's going on and pick who you want to hear from. They get a gentle notification, and each of them can send you one Acorn within 24 hours. Those arrive already open, so you don't have to wait.
04 路 What the research says
You don't need to write pages. In these studies, what helped was small: a few lines about good things, or telling someone you're grateful for them.
People who wrote down three good things each night for a week, and why they happened, were happier and less down six months later. Those who kept at it on their own were the happiest.
Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005, American Psychologist
People who wrote down up to five things they were grateful for once a week, instead of their hassles, felt better about their lives, looked forward to the week ahead more, and even exercised more.
Emmons & McCullough, 2003, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
In a study of 293 people in counselling, those who also wrote a thank-you letter once a week for three weeks reported better mental health three months after they stopped than those who didn't.
Wong et al., 2018, Psychotherapy Research
People underestimate how surprised and pleased someone will be to get a thank-you letter, and overestimate how awkward the other person will feel reading it.
Kumar & Epley, 2018, Psychological Science
Telling a friend you're grateful for them makes the friendship feel stronger to you.
Lambert et al., 2010, Psychological Science
None of this is a treatment, and a few kind words won't fix a hard year. But it's small, it's free, and it adds up.
1Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005
Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions
American Psychologist
Writing down three good things and why they happened, each night for a week, lowered depressive symptoms from the end of the week and raised happiness from one month on, and both lasted six months.
Read the paper (PDF) (opens in a new tab)2Emmons & McCullough, 2003
Counting Blessings Versus Burdens
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
In the first of three studies, students who listed up to five things they were grateful for each week rated their lives better and felt more optimistic about the week ahead than those who listed hassles or neutral events, and exercised more than those who listed hassles.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)3Wong et al., 2018
Does Gratitude Writing Improve the Mental Health of Psychotherapy Clients?
Psychotherapy Research
Counselling clients who also wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health four and twelve weeks after the writing ended than clients who wrote about stressful experiences or did no writing.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)4Kumar & Epley, 2018
Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation
Psychological Science
People who wrote a thank-you letter underestimated how surprised and how positive the person who got it would feel, and overestimated how awkward that person would feel.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)5Lambert et al., 2010
Benefits of Expressing Gratitude
Psychological Science
Expressing gratitude to a friend over three weeks made the friendship feel stronger to the person who expressed it, more than only thinking grateful thoughts about them.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)1Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005
Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions
American Psychologist
Writing down three good things and why they happened, each night for a week, lowered depressive symptoms from the end of the week and raised happiness from one month on, and both lasted six months.
Read the paper (PDF) (opens in a new tab)2Emmons & McCullough, 2003
Counting Blessings Versus Burdens
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
In the first of three studies, students who listed up to five things they were grateful for each week rated their lives better and felt more optimistic about the week ahead than those who listed hassles or neutral events, and exercised more than those who listed hassles.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)3Wong et al., 2018
Does Gratitude Writing Improve the Mental Health of Psychotherapy Clients?
Psychotherapy Research
Counselling clients who also wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health four and twelve weeks after the writing ended than clients who wrote about stressful experiences or did no writing.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)4Kumar & Epley, 2018
Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation
Psychological Science
People who wrote a thank-you letter underestimated how surprised and how positive the person who got it would feel, and overestimated how awkward that person would feel.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)5Lambert et al., 2010
Benefits of Expressing Gratitude
Psychological Science
Expressing gratitude to a friend over three weeks made the friendship feel stronger to the person who expressed it, more than only thinking grateful thoughts about them.
Read the paper (opens in a new tab)
