Mental health and well-being are just as important as a good fitness program. Unfortunately, you probably know many people who pay more attention to their outside appearance than to their mental health. Your mood determines your energy levels, where you focus your attention, and your actions. However, you may not know how much your mood affects your actions. Therefore, tracking your mood allows you to observe yourself after the fact without judgment and helps set the stage for mindful change.
What is the Difference Between Mood and Emotion?
It’s easy to confuse mood and emotion and think of them as the same. Although they are related, there is a distinct difference between them.
An emotion is a short-term feeling typically directed at a person or situation. Emotions can often trigger facial expressions and changes in body language.
A mood is a state of mind that is less intense than an emotion. Conversely, a mood doesn’t need a trigger and can last longer than emotions, for example, from a few minutes to several weeks. Also, several things can affect your mood, such as sleep, diet, medication, and other lifestyle factors. Furthermore, your current mood can affect your decision-making and how you react to situations.
Sometimes, you may not know why you’re in a particular mood. However, there are ways you can learn more about yourself and how you react to different circumstances.
Tracking Your Mood
All you need is yourself, a few moments to reflect, and somewhere to record your thoughts, such as a notepad, journal, or an app.
When starting, it may be hard to fully articulate your feelings beyond the basic emotions such as being scared, sad, angry, or happy. You are not alone. In fact, Dr. Gloria Willcox, a psychotherapist, found that people seem to be at a loss for words when describing how they feel. Therefore, she created the Feelings Wheel to help people identify and explain their feelings.
The ideal times to record your mood are as soon as possible after an event, at the end of the day to review the entire day, and when you periodically review several weeks or months at a time to look for patterns and triggers.
It can certainly feel frustrating at first. However, have patience with yourself and take it slow. Make sure to record as much information as you can. Not sure what to write? Here are some details to record in your journal when tracking your mood:
- The date and time
- Your current mood
- External factors such as your circumstances and surroundings
- Internal thoughts
If you’re tracking your mood after an event or situation, you should include the following:
- How should you have reacted?
- What mood should you have felt?
In no time, your journal will have a lot of thoughts and feelings that describe your mood and how you’ve felt or reacted to many situations. In fact, there are benefits to having this information, especially if you want to change your behavior. Let’s explore five of those benefits.
1. An Easy Way to Self-Understanding
You are probably focused on many things during your day that may go on for a long time without noticing how you’re feeling. Unfortunately, your mood impacts your behavior even if you aren’t consciously aware. However, you can focus on your emotions if you routinely track your mood. This creates a deeper connection to yourself, which can help you learn how to respond appropriately instead of becoming overwhelmed.
At first, you may have a general sense of your mood. However, tools such as the Feelings Wheel can help you best describe your emotions. Therefore, you can provide more context in your journal. The more information you can record about your mood, the better understanding you will have about yourself and your emotions.
2. Encourages Healthy Communications
People who understand their emotions and can associate them with their experiences can communicate better about their feelings. However, people who express only a few emotional states often struggle to communicate their feelings to others. In fact, one study suggests that training people to expand their emotional vocabulary can help them respond more appropriately.
Reflecting on your feelings can help you understand how people and places impact you. This will allow you to set appropriate boundaries with people negatively affecting you. On the other hand, you may find certain people or places that bring you joy. Therefore, you may want to try to create opportunities to spend more time together.
3. Tracking Your Mood Helps Recognize Patterns and Triggers
Emotional triggers are people, situations, memories, or events that cause a strong emotional reaction within you. Unfortunately, triggers can create patterns that dictate how you act in a specific situation or with a particular person. By identifying the factors that trigger you, you can take appropriate action. Furthermore, reinforcing your reactions can help break these patterns that are affecting your mental health.
Unfortunately, that’s a lot to remember. Research shows that most adults can only memorize 5 to 9 items for a short period. Therefore, it won’t be easy to recognize your patterns and triggers as they’re happening if you try to remember everything. Fortunately, tracking your mood provides you with context to review your emotions and reactions over some time.
4. Learn How to Manage Your Emotions
You can develop plans to mitigate negative emotions with a better understanding of how your emotions are triggered. While you cannot completely control what happens to you, you can control how you react and respond. Tracking your mood in a journal frees you from having to remember everything. Therefore, your brain is free to focus on planning instead of remembering.
Although you can learn a lot through tracking your mood, sometimes you may need professional help. Therefore, you should talk with your physician or a qualified mental health provider about any questions you may have regarding your mental health or a medical condition.
5. Achieve Your Goals Faster
One study shows that when individuals are more optimistic, they take in more information from the world. As a result, they can make better choices.
The more you learn about yourself and how you react, the more you can confidently navigate your life. An appropriate response can help you avoid setbacks while working towards your goals. On the other hand, if you don’t know yourself well, you risk frustration, negative self-talk, and potential setbacks. It doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t reach your goals. However, it may be more challenging and take longer.
The Takeaway
Tracking your mood can improve your emotional intelligence. Understanding yourself helps you interpret and respond appropriately to your emotions. Checking in with yourself at least once a day could improve your emotional state and the quality of your life.
Tracking your mood can help you track and guide you during your discovery and transformation to manage your emotions better. So start tracking your mood today by asking yourself, “How are you?”
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your mood, sleep, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
