When was the last time you paid attention to your emotional health? Paying attention to your nutrition and fitness may come as second nature, but tuning in to your moods and emotions isn’t something many of us do on a regular basis.

But here’s the thing: your emotions play a significant role in your mental health and wellbeing. And while monitoring your stress levels and engaging in regular self-care are two well-known ways to look after your mental health, they don’t give you the opportunity to really pay attention to your moods and how different people, places and situations affect you emotionally.

That’s where mood tracking comes in. A simple activity that involves noting down your moods and the different triggers associated with them, mood tracking has come to the forefront recently thanks to its inclusion in Apple’s upcoming update to the Health app. But if you don’t have an iPhone, don’t stress – mood tracking is a powerful tool you can use just as effectively with pen and paper.  

“For better heart health, people usually know what steps they need to take, from eating well and exercising to checking in with their doctor regularly – we wanted to bring that same level of awareness to mental health,” explains Dr Lauren Cheung, a women’s mental health expert and a senior manager on Apple’s clinical team.

Set to be introduced as part of iOS 17 this autumn, the new State of Mind tool will allow users to log their emotions by picking a spot on a scale ranging from very pleasant to very unpleasant. The update will also give users the option to reflect on the factors that are influencing their mood in that moment – including spending time with family and travel – and describe their feelings, such as gratitude or fear.

While Apple users will have to wait until later this year to get access to the new tools, you don’t need technological assistance to make the most of mood tracking. You may not get the insights that’ll be offered as part of the new feature, but you might just get to know yourself and your emotions that little bit better – something that can offer a surprising number of benefits. 

Something as simple as identifying how you’re feeling can have a surprisingly big impact on your wider wellbeing.

“Many people don’t know there are really important benefits to identifying your emotions,” Dr Cheung explains. “Reflecting more deeply on your feelings and labelling them can improve self-awareness and emotional regulation – and it’s been shown in studies to decrease symptoms of depression and improve psychological wellbeing.”

Christian Walters, a psychotherapist at the therapy brand House of Self, agrees, adding that mood tracking can help you to feel more in control of your feelings during moments of heightened emotion – for example, when you’re stressed or upset.

“Mood tracking can help us to grasp a better understanding of the emotional terrain within our inner landscape and increase self-awareness as a result,” he says.

“Actively logging how you feel can help you to regulate and improve emotional reactivity, uncover challenges or patterns in your behaviour and validate your life experiences. Ultimately, keeping track of your mood can help you to feel more in control and offer a vital space for self-reflection.” 

Knowing how big a role your emotions play in your mental health and wellbeing can explain why mood tracking is such a powerful tool despite its simplicity.

“Emotions play a vital role in how we experience ourselves and the world around us,” Walters adds. “How we manage our emotions can have a huge impact on our overall mental health and can serve us both positively and negatively depending on a multitude of factors that are attached to each of them as they arise (and our perception of them).

“Emotions are, as they say, ‘energy in motion’ – e-motion – so it’s always a good idea to keep them flowing whether that’s talking it through with friends or loved ones or reaching out for more professional support, whatever you do – keep them moving. Repressing how we truly feel can play havoc with overall mood and be detrimental to our mental health.” 

If you want to start tracking your moods straight away, using an emotion wheel is the best way to get started.

How to use an emotion wheel     

“One of the best places to start when it comes to identifying your emotions is by simply naming them – using an emotion wheel can help you find the words to describe how you’re feeling and help you to validate what you’re experiencing,” Walters explains.

Once you’ve identified your emotion, you can then use a journal to reflect on how you’re feeling, including any potential factors that may have triggered it (you can use your phone’s Notes app or voice recordings if you don’t want to physically write in a notebook, Walters adds).

Remember, this isn’t just for traditionally ‘negative’ emotions: whether you’re feeling happy, sad, angry or flat, tracking your emotions will give you a greater insight into your moods over time.

Plus, it’ll get easier the more you do it. “When we begin to gain a better understanding of what an emotion feels like, we can better prepare ourselves to cope in more healthy ways when the more challenging ones pop up,” Walters says.  

Want to learn more about looking after your health? Check out our new podcast The Gut Life for helpful tips and tricks to help you look after your gut this summer.

Images: Getty