5 Reasons Why Having a Mood Journal Is Great For Your Mental Health
Were you aware that a mood journal can enhance your mental health?
There are times when you’re so happy that you feel like you can take on the world, but other days you feel like the world around you is falling apart.
It’s common for your moods to shift every so often. Give yourself consent to feel each emotion. It’s okay to not be okay sometimes. It’s essential to know that every mood you feel affects the way you behave. You may not be ready to dictate how you think all the time. Nevertheless, you can take extra measures to know what each emotion indicates and how you can evaluate yourself while in that type of mood.
Here are the top five reasons why you should start a mood journal.
It Helps You Choose a Course of Action
When you know how you’re feeling, you can understand what you need better.
Think about the most recent time you found yourself emotionally spiraling. You probably felt like you could not make a decision at that moment.
When you are feeling overwhelmed, you feel paralyzed to take action.
A mood journal will aid you in taking notice of your day-to-day emotions to figure out the best ways to respond to them.
It Helps You Express Your Emotions
Suppose you are prone to overthinking and worrying about everything. In that case, you must express your emotions through writing in a mood journal.
A mood journal is a safe place where you are given the space to feel without the worry of feeling judged. It’s a process that is both empowering and therapeutic. You don’t have to bother with how someone may take your words because you’re having a talk with only yourself.
Believe me when I say that you don’t have to lug around the weight of your emotions for one more day. You’ve earned a break, so give yourself the favor of self-expression through writing.
It Supports Your Healing Process
Anytime that I’ve gone through severe trauma in my life, journaling has been a centerpiece of my healing method. Whenever I’ve tried to ignore or push down difficult emotions linked to my past, I only felt more unsatisfactory.
Mood journaling enables you to sort through the stressful events that have occurred in your life so that you can begin making sense of them.
More importantly, this therapeutic method allows you to develop a deeper knowledge of yourself, which is a main part of the healing process.
Suppose you have been striving to make sense of the trauma you’ve been through. In that situation, I urge you to start writing your way towards better emotional and mental health.
It Helps Reveal What Your Triggers Are
We all have and deal with emotional triggers. Someone may say something that triggers an emotional response that knocks you off your game.
Emotional triggers are environmental situations, words, opinions, or situations that provoke an excessive and intense emotional reaction.
When you don’t put in the effort to figure out the root of these triggers, your emotions will get the better of you.
Use your mood journal to jot down moments when you are feeling triggered. Take note of what your reaction was and how you felt. As you journal, you will commence to bring awareness to your triggers and start noticing patterns between how you behave and feel.
It Helps You Find the Silver Lining
When negative emotions get the best of you, you can’t help but wallow in negativity. In this state, it can become close to impossible to think positively. This is where the mood journal comes into play.
The more you journal, the more you gain control of your emotional state and the less stressed you will feel. Stress feeds your negativity.
Journaling offers an opportunity for emotional catharsis, which helps your brain control emotions. When you encounter troubles in life, you will be more likely to find the silver lining.
When you begin to witness the changes that transpire due to the inner work, you will feel more empowered knowing the influence on your own mood. These are the silver lining moments that you want to remember when you have bad days.