Therapists frequently suggest tracking your moods in order to understand which triggers or situations lead to certain emotions. If you are seeing a counselor or doctor for any mood symptoms, this can be a helpful tool to update them with in between appointments, make the appointments go smoother, and assist you in staying on topic. Having your moods tracked will help you communicate how you have been feeling if you struggle describing it. It also helps to look back at your mood journal to see how far you have come and what you are capable of accomplishing.
Using a journal
A journal is a simple way to utilize a mood tracker and seems to be the most popular. You can write out the week in calendar form and write your moods in or get creative with it by using different shapes and colors to represent various emotions. You can purchase a specific mood journal online or use any notebook to customize. Whenever you customize something, you tend to feel more connected to it, which in turn will make you less likely to give up on it.
Using your phone
When you utilize apps for tracking your mood, it can be more easily accessible. Apps like Daylio (link) even turn your emotions into graphs. This uses visuals instead of just words, which can help you when you have trouble articulating how you feel. If you don’t want to download an app, you can also use the notebook feature on your phone to type out your daily moods and what is going on at that time. This tends to be helpful to those who don’t want to carry a notebook around.
Mood trackers for overall health
Mood trackers are great for physical health as well. Our physical health is directly connected to our mental health, which is why it is so important. You can customize your tracker to include what you eat, how you exercise, sleep, and other daily tasks. This helps you to understand the connections between the way you physically feel and your emotions. Once you have tracked your moods for a few weeks, you should start to notice patterns of either healthy or unhealthy habits that you can adjust to help your moods.
While everyone continues to be busy, it is easy to forget about our mental health. Regardless of the way you choose to track your moods, it is something that everyone can implement into their lives. Sometimes, you just need that little reminder!