Keeping track of your emotions and moods can be a valuable aspect of self-care. Apple Health offers a straightforward method for logging your emotional well-being. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
Step 1: Open the Health App
Begin by opening the Apple Health app on your iOS device. Once you’re in, scroll down the home page until you locate an option that says ‘Logging Your Emotions and Moods.’ Tap on ‘Get Started’ to initiate the process.
Step 2: Choose Your Logging Method
On the next screen, you’ll be presented with two options:
Log an emotion you’re currently feeling in a specific moment.
Log your overall mood for the entire day.
Select the option that best suits your preference.
Step 3: Adjust Your Mood
Regardless of your choice in the previous step, you’ll encounter a graphic representation on the next screen. This graphic resembles a pulsating flower, accompanied by a slider beneath it.
Slide the toggle along the slider to indicate where your current mood falls on the spectrum. The options range from ‘very unpleasant’ to ‘unpleasant,’ ‘neutral,’ ‘pleasant,’ and ‘very pleasant.’
Step 4: Specify Your Emotions
After selecting your mood on the slider, tap ‘Next.’ Now, you’ll be prompted to provide more detailed information about your emotions.
Choose from a list of common emotions displayed on the screen, including ‘Angry,’ ‘Anxious,’ ‘Scared,’ ‘Overwhelmed,’ ‘Sad,’ ‘Discouraged,’ and more, depending on the category your mood falls into (e.g., ‘Unpleasant’).
Step 5: Identify Relevant Life Areas
Following your emotion selection, tap ‘Next’ again. You’ll now have the opportunity to identify which areas of your life are affected by these emotions.
Options include personal life, fitness and health, relationships (romantic or otherwise), work, and study. Select all the areas that apply to your current emotional state.
If you’d like, you can also type in additional context or thoughts to provide more detail about what’s impacting your mood.
Step 6: Save and Set Reminders (Optional)
After completing the emotional checkup, you’ll have the option to set up reminders to log your mood regularly. You can choose to receive reminders at specific times, or you can skip this step if you prefer not to be reminded.
Logging your moods and emotions in Apple Health can be a valuable tool for self-awareness and tracking your mental well-being over time. By following these steps, you can easily incorporate this practice into your daily routine and gain insights into your emotional patterns and overall mental health.
