cleanse

Some things stay with you.

A conversation you keep replaying. A worry that won’t settle. Something that happened years ago and still hurts.

Feelings you don’t express get stuck.

They sit in the background and weigh on you. Putting them into words is how you start to set them down.

There’s a science-backed way to let it out.

It’s called expressive writing, developed by psychologist James Pennebaker. Huberman Lab gave it a full episode.

Over 200 studies back it.

They report less anxiety, better mood and sleep, fewer intrusive thoughts, and even better immune markers.

It loosens a little each time.

Come back to the same thing over a few days. The studies used about four sessions of 15 to 30 minutes.

The one rule: keep writing.

Not what you write, not how well. Just don’t stop. If you pause for 20 seconds, the session ends.

Whenever something bothers you, write it out.

Your writing stays on this device. Nobody else sees it.

cleanse

What’s bothering you today?

Let it out for a few minutes, without stopping.

Come back to

Let go

Whenever something bothers you, come back and write. Returning to the same thing a few times, a day or two apart, is how the studies did it. They used about four sessions, and you can take as many as you need.

What’s weighing on you?

Name the issue

A few words, so you can come back to it. Stays on this device.

The studies used 15 to 30 minutes. Any time helps you start.

15:00

You let it out.

Would you write here again, the next time something’s hard?

We’re building Cleanse to be that place. Tell us how writing about it felt, and what’s missing.

Yes Maybe No

Opens a 2-minute form. Your writing is never included.

Breathing exerciseA short guided video on YouTube

How a session works

Topic

About the practice

Expressive writing

Developed by psychologist James Pennebaker. You write continuously about a difficult experience or a feeling that’s stuck: what happened, how you felt, and how you feel now. No editing, no audience.

What the research found

Huberman Lab discusses over 200 studies of this practice. Reported benefits include less anxiety, better mood and sleep, and improvements in some measures of immune function. Other studies link it to fewer intrusive thoughts and better working memory.

Listen to the episode

How the studies did it

15 to 30 minutes of writing, about four times, on the same difficult experience. Typing works as well as writing by hand. Right after a session it’s normal to feel stirred up; the benefits build over the following weeks.

What Cleanse adds

A calm place to let things out, whenever you need it, for as many things as you’re carrying. The 20-second pause rule is our way of keeping the words moving; it’s a design choice, not part of the original studies.

Help shape Cleanse

Cleanse is new, and we want it to be the place you turn to whenever something’s hard. Tell us how writing here feels, and what’s missing.

Share feedback

Your privacy

Your writing is saved only in this browser, on this device, so you can come back to it. It’s never uploaded. You can delete any topic and its writing at any time. Answers to the feedback survey are stored by Tally.