The Importance of Mood Tracking and Thought Records in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Over the past decades Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has received a lot of attention and research efforts regarding its effectiveness. It stands out as a widely practiced and highly effective approach. At its core, CBT aims to address negative thought patterns and behaviours, offering practical tools to promote lasting change and improved mental well-being. Mood tracking and thought records are important tools used to facilitate improved self-awareness and to support cognitive restructuring. Below I will highlight the reasons why these tools are so important:

What’s Mood Tracking

Mood tracking involves recording feelings/emotions for several weeks. You can use journaling, apps, or simple charts or lists to do so. It’ll help you to identify patterns and triggers influencing your moods. By regularly monitoring your emotions, you will gain valuable insights into the factors influencing your mental wellbeing.

Some important functions of Mood tracking are:

1. Self-Awareness

Tracking moods helps to understand emotional ups and downs. You’ll become more attuned to your feelings, recognise subtle shifts and potential triggers for these changes, both positive and uncomfortable.

2. Identifying Patterns

Consistent mood tracking can often uncover recurring patterns, such as specific times of day, situations, or stressors triggering particular emotions. This awareness will help you to anticipate and manage these triggers more effectively, as coping strategies can be tailored to individual triggers.

3. Objective Reflection

Recording emotions provides an objective lens through which will help you to reflect on situations and experiences. This distance from immediate feelings allows for a more rational analysis of thought patterns and behaviours, which can be helpful at times.

The Role of Thought Records

Thought records are structured tools used in CBT to examine and challenge negative or distorted thinking patterns. In therapy we will use the thought record to identify automatic thoughts associated with a particular situation, evaluate their accuracy, and, if possible, develop more balanced perspectives.

Here's why thought records are so important:

1. Cognitive Restructuring

A thought record will enable you to identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, common in anxiety and depression, and replace them with more helpful thoughts. By looking at negative automatic thoughts (NATs), you’ll learn to recognise unhelpful thinking styles and develop healthier ones.

2. Behavioural Change

By reframing thoughts, it can be easier to behave in a way that’s more aligned with your wants, needs, values, and goals.

3. Empowerment

Engaging in thought records can feel empowering as you take an active role in your experience of the world. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by intrusive and depressive thoughts, you’ll have developed the skills to challenge and reframe them, giving you more control and resilience.

In summary, mood tracking provides the groundwork for self-awareness and identification of emotional patterns and thought records offer a structured approach to challenge and reframe unhelpful thoughts. When you use mood tracking and thought records in your daily life and make it a habit, their positive effect will be significantly more.

Hopefully this was helpful to make more sense of these two tools, which can be slightly tedious at times but engaging with them will make a huge difference and is 100% worth it!

If you would like to discuss any of the above further, please contact me.