In order to solve what is happening to us, it is first necessary to find out what is happening. Often, in consultation, many people do not know how to explain what is happening to them or what they feel and this can become a difficulty in therapy. A piece of work that you can do before delving into therapy, and that you can even do as a simple form of self-knowledge, is what is known as an emotional diary. Many psychologists request a kind of small diary after the first consultation, so if you already come with this work done, the recovery process will be faster.
Do you know how to make an emotions diary? Keep reading Psychology-Online to find out what a self-knowledge diary consists of, how to do it, with examples of how to write a personal diary and what benefits you can obtain by completing it.
What is an emotional diary?
Psychologists love self-records. These consist of write down thoughts, emotions, behaviors, situations, etc. that are happening on a day-to-day basis. That way, you can understand how you act, why, and what needs to change first.
The emotional diary would be a type of self-recording which would provide us with information about how we feel, the cause of said feelings, and the behavior we do when we feel a certain way. In some cases, you can also write down the different thoughts you have as they may be the reason for a person’s discomfort.
This type of self-registration is useful for anyone, since They help us know ourselves, but, above all, the emotional diary has many benefits for people with , lack of emotional control, negativity, among others. Writing an emotional diary is a great exercise for boys and girls, so they can learn to identify their emotions. In this article we talk about. It is also a very good exercise for adults, which can be done from time to time to see what has been changing in our thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors. Now that we have seen what the emotional diary is, let’s see how to make an emotions diary.
How to make an emotional diary?
How to create an emotions diary? It would be about taking a piece of paper and elaborating on it. a table with three or four columns.
- In the first column we will put “situation”.
- In the second column (it is optional) we could “thought”.
- In the third we could “emotion”.
- And in the fourth “conduct”.
How to start an emotions diary? You should find a time in the day when you can be calm to fill it out. This could be before going to sleep, for example. At that moment, you should review the different events of the day and proceed to fill out the table. Another option is to write it down when it happens. To do this, you can carry a notebook with you or write it down on your mobile phone. As is most practical for you. You can use templates like the one we leave below or you can use an application on your mobile phone.
- In the situation column, you would try to note the context. Examples of this could be: “I argued with my partner”, “I was in a traffic jam”…
- In the second column, you would write down what you think at that moment: “here we are again”, “they are going to kick me out for being late”, “I am useless”…
- In the third column you should try to put a name to what you feel. Do you feel angry? Frustrated? Sad? You can help yourself with their respective definitions.
- In the last column we would put what we do in reaction to what has happened and what we feel. Maybe you start honking your car or slam the door. Maybe you try or go for a walk.
After this, with your therapist or you alone if you do not go to therapy, you must reflect and analyze what was written and find possible solutions. For these solutions, an action plan must be developed. For example, instead of accumulating what I feel and avoiding talking about it with my partner, I will tell them calmly so as not to end up exploding.
What does an emotional diary give me?
What is the emotional diary for? The emotional diary technique helps you understand how situations affect you, why and what you do to manage your emotions.
- Identify and record emotions what do you feel. It also provides self-knowledge about your emotions.
- Become aware of your strategies emotional management. It would be about observing if this emotional management is being effective or if you have to look for alternative behaviors to relax. Perhaps honking is not the most appropriate way to calm down and, in exchange, you should perhaps play specific music in the car that helps you escape.
- Relate emotions to situations. With the emotional diary you may realize that on many occasions you are angry, even when the situation may not be worth the anger.
- Become aware of your internal language. If you decide to write down the thoughts column, it can also help you understand the language you use with yourself. Surely, if you have low self-esteem you are feeding it by calling yourself worthless, for example.
- Identify people who influence your emotions. Another aspect that you can discover when keeping an emotional diary is the fact that you may realize that with some people you react differently and calmer than with others.
In short, the emotion diary technique is a very useful tool to get to know us ourselves, to understand ourselves, respect ourselves and improve our attitude with ourselves and with others.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Bartolomé, E. (2015). Emotional education in twenty lessons. Planeta Spain Group.
- Ferran, S. (2004). Emotional freedom: strategies to educate emotions. Barcelona: Paidós.
- Grün, A. (2014). The school of emotions. Maliaño, Spain: Sal Terrae