I think you can begin to answer that question by thinking of journaling/introspection as a treatment and the negative thoughts as a symptom. There can be a few

I think you can begin to answer that question by thinking of journaling/introspection as a treatment and the negative thoughts as a symptom. There can be a few cases: - If you apply the journaling treatment prophylactically, does it prevent those negative thoughts? - If you do not apply the journaling treatment prophylactically, what is the likelihood of having negative thoughts? In my case, the thoughts came without journaling so I can confidently state introspection did not cause me to think I'm not special and worse than I thought.