Write Yourself Happy: The Art of Positive Journalling

Psychologists tell us that writing helps us cope with and recover from depression, anxiety, job loss and even heartbreak. Exciting new research shows that we can flourish further by actively choosing to write about positive emotions.

Journalling is a hot trend - for personal expression, creativity, self-actualisation and goal-setting. In Write Yourself Happy, author Megan Hayes shows us how, using positive journalling, we can journal more consciously, writing in a way that engages and promotes our most supportive and life-affirming emotions.

This practical workbook demonstrates how to put eight of the most commonly experienced positive emotions - joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, awe and love - to work, helping us not simply to feel better, but to live better.

Based on groundbreaking research in positive psychology, and backed up by extensive scientific studies, the book includes practical exercises and case studies to inspire readers to shift their focus, use different words, see the world in a subtly different way - and discover how things go right when we write.

Praise for Write Yourself Happy:

'The power of positivity comes together with the power of the pen. It is a mighty force for well-being.'
Miriam Akhtar MAPP
Author of Positive Psychology for Overcoming Depression and What is Post-traumatic Growth?

'Write Yourself Happy is filled with practical, applied and scientifically proven methods - it offers readers a direct path to increase positivity and sustain happiness. It is the perfect resource for optimal wellbeing.'
Daniel J Tomasulo, PhD, TEP, MFA, MAPP
Psychologist and author of Character Strengths Matter

'This book is ideal for anyone who is looking for a creative and uplifting path to happiness. Megan's encouraging tone and fun exercises not only boost your mood but also help you to forge a stronger connection with yourself. I highly recommend the read - and doing each of the writing exercises in it!'
Susanna Halonen
The Happyologist® and author of Screw Finding Your Passion

'Forget the pressure to become a perfectionist Photoshop you. Write Yourself Happy is about easing into a reality that already exists and needs nothing more to bloom than pen on paper. Let the scientifically nuanced and reassuring rhythm of your compassionate Sherpa Megan C Hayes steal you away.'
Kristen Truempy, MAPP
Creator of the Positive Psychology Podcast

'Megan artfully combines the world of writing with positive psychology producing this guide to 'writing yourself happy'. Written with a delicate balance of scientifically based wellbeing advice alongside an open playfulness that allows the reader to consider and interpret things for themselves. It is thanks to reading this book that my clients, and of course myself, enjoy the many benefits of Positive Journaling.'
Samantha Spafford
Psychologist and Director of Positive Mind Works

Megan C Hayes is a groundbreaking researcher and pioneer of the Positive Journal® approach to personal writing. She has spent a decade studying writing and the psychology of happiness, and discovering ways that writing makes us happier. She is an academic in the fields of Positive Psychology and Creative Writing, with a personal interest in mental health issues after growing up with a mother and sister who both experienced bipolar episodes.

Megan's interdisciplinary PhD explored writing as a tool to promote and support psychological wellbeing. She has shared her research in the UK, United States and Europe, including papers in The International Journal of Wellbeing and Writing in Practice: The Journal of Creative Writing Research. She is a co-founder of Creative Writing Lab: The Network for Research in Creative Writing and Wellbeing, and continues to be fascinated with how words and writing can create happiness.