Kotodama — Complete Guide
If you want a quiet, off-feed place to leave kind words to yourself and read them back on hard days, here is how to actually build the habit.
What is this app?
Kotodama (called MyAffirme on this site) is a self-affirmation journaling app. You write short words you want to say to yourself, and read them back when you need them.
Common situations to use it
- Read on hard days
When you feel low, your own past words land harder than a generic quote.
- Wind-down before sleep
Writing one line at night helps reduce going to bed in a rumination loop.
- Morning focus reset
Reading or saying one line in the morning works as a low-effort focus switch.
- Wishes and goals into language
Vague wants turn into actions faster when you put them into one short sentence.
- Self-compassion rehab
If saying nice things to yourself feels awkward, writing them is easier than thinking them.
How to use (3 steps)
- 1 Open the app and write one line
Write one short line you would like to hear yourself today. No essays needed.
- 2 Save and revisit
Saved entries form a list you can reread or search later.
- 3 Aim for one a day, gently
Short, low-pressure, skippable. People who skip 'perfect' beat people who skip days.
Good for people who
- People who want a place to come back to on bad days
- People whose journals never last more than a week
- People rebuilding self-worth slowly
- People who want to put goals into words
- Mental hygiene practice outside of social media
Not for people who
- Treatment for serious clinical conditions (this is not a substitute for care)
- Long-form public blogging
- Anyone who finds affirmations themselves uncomfortable
Frequently asked questions
- Do affirmations really work?
- Not as magic, but the practice of writing and rereading your own kind words is supported by self-perception and mood-regulation research.
- I am not sure I will keep it up daily.
- You do not need to. Two or three times a week, or 'only on rough days,' still helps.
- Will anyone else see what I write?
- Entries stay on your device. There is no public sharing flow.
- The store shows 'Kotodama' — is that a different app?
- Same app. App Store name is 'Kotodama'. Site nickname is 'MyAffirme'.
- Is it free?
- Yes. Writing and revisiting are not paywalled.
- Is it OK to open on a really hard day?
- Yes — it is built for exactly that. For sustained difficulty, please also reach out to a professional.
A note from the developer
I wanted a quiet place — outside social media — where my own past words could meet me on bad days. Not having to perform for anyone else turns out to matter more than I expected.
Kotodama