Health Benefits of Telling Your Story

You know the moment.

Someone starts telling a story about the mischief they got up to when they were young. Sneaking out the window to a dance. The prank that got the whole class in trouble. The thing they got away with that their parents never found out about. And something changes in them.

Their hands start moving. Their voice gets quicker. They laugh at a part they haven’t thought about in years.

I’ve seen it in my own family. My grandma overseas, with her stories and her jokes, the reason I started FromBeyond.co in the first place. My grandad, telling us about growing up in India so vividly we could almost see it.

And I’ve seen that look so many times since, while building FromBeyond.co. I always thought it was just happiness.

It is. But it’s also something more. Researchers who study ageing have found that telling your story may genuinely be good for you. And when you record it, that good doesn’t stop when the conversation ends.

What the Research Says

It lifts mood and life satisfaction. A review of 15 studies found that older people who share their life story tend to feel happier and more satisfied with their lives. The biggest benefits came from life review, where you look back over your whole life rather than one memory, and for people living in their own homes.

It can help with low mood. A 2024 review of 42 studies, involving more than 3,300 adults aged 60 and over, found that looking back over life and talking about it had a large effect on depression straight after the sessions. The researchers say we still need to learn more about how long the effect lasts.

It helps in care homes too. A Cochrane review found that reminiscence can improve quality of life and communication for people living with dementia, with the benefits seen most often in care homes.

Putting life into words matters. Psychologists studying expressive writing have found that writing about important emotional experiences for 15 to 20 minutes, a few times, has been linked to fewer visits to the doctor and better wellbeing for many people.

Connection is good for your health. A large review of 148 studies, involving more than 300,000 people, found that people with stronger social relationships had a 50% greater likelihood of survival over the study periods. Telling your story is one of the simplest ways to connect.

It gives a sense of purpose. In a small Australian program where older adults shared their memories with teenagers, the older adults said it gave them a sense of contributing to the next generation.

I’ve seen that in our Grand Friends interviews too. When a young person sits down with an older one and asks about their life, both of them walk away with something.

It’s Good for the Family Listening, Too

The benefits don’t stop with the storyteller.

Researchers at Emory University found that children who know their family’s story tend to be happier and more resilient. Knowing where they come from, and how the family got through the hard times, gives them something to stand on.

I know that feeling. The first time I sat with my grandmother and really asked about her life, I heard parts of her, and of where I come from, that I’d never thought to ask about.

So when your mum tells your teenager about the year everything went wrong and how they got through it, she’s not just reminiscing. She’s handing something on.

I have recordings of my Oma telling her war stories, and I’m so glad I do.

That’s why recording matters. The telling is good for the storyteller. The recording is good for everyone who comes after: the grandchildren who weren’t born yet, the cousins overseas, the teenager who wasn’t really listening the first time.

If You’re Thinking of Your Mum or Dad

Maybe you’re reading this with a parent in mind. Someone with a lifetime of stories, who always says “oh, there’s nothing interesting about me”.

There always is.

You don’t need a plan, a project or a free weekend. You just need one good question, something to record on, and a bit of time together. Thirty minutes is plenty to get them going. Start with something light and happy, and let them lead.

Pick one from the 20 questions below. Press record before you ask it, because the best answers come when nobody expects them.

Then sit back and watch for that look. This time, you’ll get to keep it.

If you’re wondering what to give them for Christmas or their birthday, this might be it. Not another thing for the cupboard, but the gift of someone who wants to hear their story. See The Christmas Gift for Grandparents That Can’t Be Wrapped.

If It’s Your Own Story

Maybe you’re the one with the stories. You’ve always meant to write them down. There’s a notebook somewhere with a first page and not much else.

Here’s the good news. You don’t have to write a book.

You can just talk, and record it. About how you grew up, the people you loved, the things you got up to, and what life has taught you. Your story, in your own words and your own voice, is enough.

And the research suggests the telling might be as good for you as the keeping is for them.

Try one question from the list below each time you sit down, and record your answer. There’s no right order. One question at a time, your story builds itself.

20 Questions the Research Points To

Not all remembering is the same. Researchers have looked at why people look back, and which kinds of remembering are linked to feeling good. Here’s what they found, and the questions that bring each one out.

Ask one, press record, and let the story go wherever it wants to go.

1. “This is who I am”

What it activates: a strong sense of identity. Remembering who you’ve always been, and what has stayed true about you.

Why it’s good: a study following older adults over time found that remembering to understand yourself is linked to better wellbeing.

What three words would your friends have used to describe you at 20?
What were you known for in your family growing up?
What’s something you’ve loved your whole life, from childhood to now?
Which values have stayed with you through everything?

2. “I got through it”

What it activates: confidence. Remembering how you solved problems and came through hard times.

Why it’s good: the same research links this kind of remembering to better wellbeing. Looking back on what you managed reminds you what you’re capable of now.

What’s a hard time you got through that you’re proud of?
Who or what helped you most when things were tough?
What’s the best decision you ever made?
What did you learn from a time things didn’t go to plan?

3. “I remember that day”

What it activates: joy. Reliving one specific, happy moment in detail: where you were, who was there, what you could see and hear.

Why it’s good: in a study of active older adults, life review that focused on specific positive memories reduced low mood and improved life satisfaction.

Tell me about one perfect day from your childhood.
What was the happiest day of your working life?
When did you laugh until you cried?
What’s a holiday or a trip you can still picture clearly?

4. “My whole life makes sense”

What it activates: perspective. Seeing your life as one story, with chapters, turning points and a thread running through it.

Why it’s good: a review of 15 studies found that looking back over your whole life had a bigger effect on wellbeing than remembering single moments.

If your life had chapters, what would you call them?
What was the biggest turning point in your life?
Which decade of your life was your favourite, and why?
Looking back over everything, what are you proudest of?

5. “This is what I can pass on”

What it activates: purpose. Knowing your experience is useful to someone younger.

Why it’s good: older adults who shared their memories with teenagers said it gave them a sense of contributing to the next generation.

What’s a skill or a recipe you’d love to teach us?
What advice would you give someone starting out today?
What do you know about love that took you years to learn?
What do you hope our family never forgets?

A gentle tip: the same research found that going over old grudges, or only dwelling on what’s been lost, is linked to feeling worse, not better. If a conversation drifts there, it’s fine to acknowledge it, then gently steer back to a happier memory or what got them through.

Talk, Then Keep It

A good conversation is a gift. A recorded one is a gift you can give again and again.

That’s what we built FromBeyond.co for, and there are two ways to use it.

Together. A son or daughter, or a grandchild, sits alongside. Choose a question and give it to Nex, our guide. Nex asks follow-up questions, listens, and captures the answers as a script in the storyteller’s own words. Then they record it in their own voice and face, and the whole family can watch it, wherever they live.

On your own. Take your time, one question at a time, whenever you feel like it. Give Nex a question, answer it, and Nex asks a little more and captures what you say. Your story comes together as you go. You don’t have to write a thing.

Either way, the conversation that’s so good for you becomes something your family can keep. See how it works.

Want more questions like these? Email hello@frombeyond.co with “Life story questions” in the subject line, and we’ll send you our free question pack, The Questions We Never Asked. We’ll only use your email address to send it.

Whose story would you love to hear next?

Keep reading

Alice Footer, Co-Founder of FromBeyond.co

FromBeyond.co helps families ask the questions that matter, and keep the answers forever, in the voices they love.

Telling Your Story Is Good for Your Health