After looking at various press releases and trend forecasts for the wellness trends of 2022, we share with you two of these trends that we found to be among the most profound and accessible – trends which encourage us to practice self-reflection, to look inward, for the improvement of our overall well-being.
Mood or emotion journaling
A mood or emotion journal is used to write about difficult emotions that you are experiencing. While you can buy a premade journal in some local stationery shops, you can also simply use a blank notebook.
Choose to do this practice when you have a bit of quiet time for yourself. If it helps create a more comforting atmosphere for this time that you’re carving out for yourself, you can add a lavender candle and some flowers to your space, and you can also sip on warm tea while you write.
If you need some ideas on how to start mood journaling, it is suggested that you try answering the following questions in your journal: What difficult emotion are you feeling? What caused you to feel this way? What kind of action did this emotion cause you to take? Are these emotions appropriate for the situation? Is what you’re feeling a distress to be tolerated or a problem to be solved?
For the last question, it is also suggested that you write down the coping mechanisms that can help you to tolerate difficult emotions, for example a self-care practice like going for a nature walk. Or if it is a problem to be solved, you can write down an action plan, for example talking about the problem with someone you trust.
Tracking stress levels
The idea behind tracking stress levels is that it can help us to learn more about what causes our stress, how we respond, and how we cope with it.
You can track your stress levels using a smart watch or by simply writing it down in a journal or blank notebook. It is recommended to track your stress levels for about 2 weeks for better understanding. Again, if it helps, try to write your notes at a quiet time during the day and create a comforting atmosphere using items like a candle, warm tea and flowers.
The suggestion is to note down: the cause of your stress, for example I got to work late; the symptoms of stress that you experience, for example sweating or feeling a tightness in my stomach; and what you did to cope with this stress, for example I ate a chocolate to comfort me.
It is then suggested that you take some time to look over your notes: try to notice if there were any particular days/times when your stress levels were higher, for example weekday mornings; identify what was happening in these moments, for example I was stuck in traffic; notice if your symptoms of stress were more physical or whether the stress affected your thoughts/feelings more, for example it was more physical as I was sweating; and then looking at your notes on how you coped, think about which ones worked and which ones didn’t work, for example I spoke to my supervisor about it and he gave me some good advice which is helping me.
Source: Seychelles Nation