Does journaling help people understand themselves long-term?

Many people journal regularly — writing about daily events, emotions, decisions, or reflections. Writing itself often feels helpful in the moment, but I’m curious about what happens over longer periods of time.

After months or years of entries:

* Do people actually gain new self-understanding from journals? * Do you revisit old entries and notice patterns in thinking or behavior? * Has journaling ever influenced a later decision in a meaningful way? * Or does it mostly function as a temporary mental release?

One thing I’ve noticed personally is that journals tend to become archives rather than tools for insight. It made me wonder whether the missing piece is reflection across time rather than individual entries.

I’ve been exploring this idea conceptually and put together a very early explanation page while organizing my thoughts (not a product launch — just context for the question):

https://ai-jounal-website.vercel.app/

Curious how people here think about journaling — especially those who have kept journals for years.