To answer the question of what problems people encounter with journaling, it's important to note that studies are ongoing with the use of journal therapy. In the main, it should be said that many people gain a great deal from intensive journal therapy and that it helps them in all sorts of ways. That said, like other forms of psychological therapy, there are limitations that some people feel. For example, the practice relies on the ability to write. This is something that rules out some people who do not possess the necessary cognitive ability to put pen to paper. Equally, some people who have attempted this form of therapy to overcome a severe trauma find that writing about it can lead to their symptoms worsening – even if that is only in the short term – rather than getting better. Equally, where people are obsessed or fixated with an event, a situation or an emotional state, writing about it in a journal can sometimes feed their problems rather than help them to overcome them.