3 Reasons Why You Should Start Tracking Your Mood Today

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Three reasons why you should start tracking your mood today:

Have you ever wondered why you tend to be more productive and engage in unpleasant but necessary chores when you are in a good mood? And do you ever notice when you are in a bad mood, you watch tv shows and wind up staying in bed most of the day?

Psychologists say that mood greatly influences the way people react and respond to activities and feelings created in the process. They define mood as “a number of persistent feelings that accompany our perception and evaluation of incoming stimuli.”

Researchers confirm that mood actually plays a large role in how people spend their time and manage their daily activities. That is why health advocates and researchers underline how essential physical health is, but also stress on the importance of taking care of your mental health.

“These findings clarify how emotions shape behaviour and may explain how humans trade off short-term happiness for long-term welfare. Overcoming such trade-offs might be critical for our personal well-being and our survival as a species,” discloses a Stanford Psychologist.

Moods are fluid, and change throughout the day. Moods can last longer than emotions, and can represent our overall mental state for a period of time. That is why it is vital to take time and track your mood patterns to observe any drastic changes and how it affects your life.

Here are three reasons why you should start tracking your mood today:

1. Know what you need to take good care of yourself

We all play different roles in our lives—as daughters, as parents, as workers, as friends, as colleagues. Sometimes, we can get lost in these various roles and responsibilities while forgetting the most important role we have to play: being ourselves.

With the help of a mood chart, you are able to recognize how these various roles and responsibilities make you feel. When you track these daily, you can get a better understanding of what you need to feel your best. Does working from home surrounded by your family make you feel anxious? Maybe it’s time to dedicate your own work space. Feeling alone, especially now? Maybe it’s time to reach out to a friend? Take the time to recognize your patterns, and find out what brings you joy, and elevates your mood.

2. Recognize patterns and assess if change is needed

A famous quote from Mahatma Ghandi states: “your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.” This quote illustrates how connected and cyclical our mental framework, and systems can be.

Your thoughts and actions could be influenced by many factors. It could be the amount of sleep you are getting each night, or your blood sugar levels, or the amount of interactions you get online vs in person. There are so many factors that could affect your mood, and tracking your daily habits/ mood, could help you realize your triggers. Recognizing your mood changes and realizing how they affect your wellbeing could help you make positive changes in your life, so you can maintain better moods and good feelings.

3. Draw support from people who matter & track your mood

Mood tracking can help us identify our mood patterns and allow us to make positive changes. Perhaps sleep consistently affects your daily mood, instead of overwhelming yourself, share your patterns with those closest to you. They might have some insight for you, or perhaps, they’ve experienced similar mood swings or changes. This step can help you determine whether you need to visit your GP, or seek medical attention if your moods are worsening consistently.

There are a number of tools out there that help you track your mood. One effective writing tool is the My Health Journals’ dedicated mood section. This sedition is simple and easy to use for accurate mood tracking. All you have to do is take note of the time of the day, and assess if you are feeling sad, angry, irritable, content, or happy, etc. Also, make sure to consistently use the Sleep and Food Intake section in conjunction with the Mood section, so you can accurately assess whether your sleep, or food habits are interfering with your mood. At the end of the week, review your emotions, look for potential mood patterns and see how it affects your overall well-being.

  

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