If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders, then taking some time to track your emotional patterns can be a helpful tactic. We all experience peaks and troughs in our mood, but when these become too intense or unpredictable, they can make daily life an ongoing battle.
Here’s a look at how monitoring your moods can help you to regain a sense of control and understand your emotions better. If you would like some more tailored support and advice as you unpack difficult emotions, you might be interested in our therapy service in Manchester city centre.
What are the benefits of mood tracking?
Helps you to communicate with others better
The way you are feeling is reflected in the way that other people react to you, and this can create a negative spiral if you are feeling down. Positive social interactions are one of the cornerstones of good mental health, so check in with yourself before you reach out.
This personal reflection can also clarify your thoughts and feelings, which makes you more capable of opening up and talking about what you are going through with a trusted friend or therapist.
Helps you to pinpoint triggers
There might be one or two triggers that are disproportionately responsible for your mood swings, and tracking your mood will build awareness of them.
Helps you to understand how to improve your mood
Sometimes we can overlook how much influence basic factors such as sleep, activity levels and diet can affect our moods. Tracking your emotional patterns can make it easier to understand how these factors are linked to your mood changes.
Helps you to cope better with negative feelings
Negative feelings can lead to unwanted behaviours and entrench bad habits. Tracking your feelings gives you more insight and control over how you react to them, making it easier to put positive coping mechanisms in place.
Mood tracking techniques to explore
We are all unique, and so there’s no prescriptive method of tracking your moods: you may need to try a few different approaches before you find something that works for you. Here are some of the most common techniques.
Keeping a journal
Writing is a brilliant outlet for buried feelings. Let yourself write freely at a time when you are free from interruptions such as last thing at night, or carry your journal around and write whenever your moods are overwhelming. Note how you are feeling, any potential triggers, and what coping mechanisms you used.
Mood tracking apps
If you are more comfortable with technology, you might prefer to use a mood tracking tool on your phone. There are various options, with some basic free versions available and more complex subscription models.
Mood charts or wheels
If you are very busy and don’t have time for writing or apps, use a chart or mood wheel to rate your mood. This could simply be a scale of one to ten; emojis; or colours.