For example, when I first started mood journaling, I referred to Geoffrey Roberts’ Feelings Wheel to help me label and articulate my emotions. You can even read back old entries to remind yourself of things you can do to calm yourself down or make yourself feel better. You may also consider asking yourself why you are fixated on a particular prompt, which may help you open up further. I sincerely hope you find them helpful for getting clear on what is bothering you and for healing inner pain. A mood journal is similar, but since it’s focused on your emotions, it’ll bring clarity to how to improve your mental health.

When alone or unable to access care, I’m able to self-soothe and build a stronger, more confident relationship with myself. There is a two-page template for each of the following emotions: worry; fear; nervousness; loneliness; sadness; anger, plus a flexible template with space for children to add their own emotion. Mood journaling is the act of logging your mood so you can recognize trends, triggers, and use of your energy. It doesn’t have to take more than a minute, especially if you have a key/legend on your past emotions.Happiness also didn’t resonant for me so I tapped into calmer positive emotions, like relaxation, joy, and pride. This SEL PDF download contains 32 pages that you can use to create personalized journals for your students. The quality of these bonds depends on the readiness of the caregiver to respond to the baby’s needs. I journaled to keep note of my triggers and if I started to notice columns and columns of depressed, I made more plans to practice self-care. On the mood journal template, the children can circle whether their emotions were positive or negative.

The second part of gaining distance, according to Jacobs, is “knowing that your feelings are only one possible reaction to a situation and not the only ‘right’ reaction.I made the mistake of going in with an intention to feel a certain way (aka to feel better), and it backfired by tripping up my ability to be authentic about the process. Not only does this remind you that there’s life beyond bad feelings, but it also serves as an emotional anchor, according to Jacobs. Knowing what each other’s needs are and figuring out how and whether you are able to meet those needs can establish an incredibly strong partnership and help avoid resentment and emotional pain,” says Neidich. This activity can help to build self-awareness and resilience in KS2 children resulting in them being better equipped to manage uncomfortable emotions when they arise, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.

Maybe it wasn’t really the mess your kids left in the kitchen that prompted that after-dinner blow up, for example, but the stressors you experienced at work that day. That is, of course, much of the point of journaling to process inner pain, but do take a minute to check in with yourself. Journal prompts are a way to get started writing easily so you can sort your thoughts and feelings out on paper. In creating these pages, we wanted to find a way for children to express their feelings when they needed a place to share.

Online positive affect journaling in the improvement of mental distress and well-being in general medical patients with elevated anxiety symptoms: A preliminary randomized controlled trial. When you can recognize these trends, you can work to eliminate or avoid certain triggers — or focus your energy on how best to respond next time. Plot twist: I tried positive journaling in the fiery timeline of our Lord COVID-19 and found it incredibly invalidating to my own nonpositive emotions. D, in her valuable workbook Writing for Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions.

Whether it was new emotions I wanted to explore more or new emotions that arose because of the news cycle, I revisit my emotional wheel each month and decide how it may look or need to look for the next. Further support in the form of a mental health professional is recommended for heavy emotional pain.It may be easiest to start with emotions that feel polar opposites, although this isn’t always the case. Consider what healthy coping mechanisms you have at your disposal (better self-care, perhaps, or time with good friends), and take care to implement them.