This App Will Help You Get In Touch With Your Emotions

How are you? This question seems simple enough, right? And one that many of us encounter on a daily basis.

But how often do we actually take the time to check in with ourselves and ask: How am I really feeling? The truth is, the answer can be surprisingly complex. From moment to moment, our emotions can vary greatly, culminating in a kaleidoscope of feelings throughout a single day. We recently discovered How We Feel, a wellness app that helps us keep track of these feelings, and we can't stop using it.

Courtesy of How We Feel

If you want to get to the bottom of your emotions, tracking them can be incredibly powerful. By monitoring our moods over time, we can start to spot patterns and recognize what triggers certain feelings—allowing us to gain insight into our emotional intelligence. Plus, understanding how we’re feeling also helps us make better decisions and respond more appropriately in any given situation.

Next time someone asks "How are you?", don't just answer with "I'm fine." Take the time to really ask yourself: How am I doing today? And then get to the bottom of your feelings with the help of How We Feel.

How We Feel was founded by Ben Silbermann (co-founder of Pinterest) and Dr. Marc Brackett (Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence). I got a chance to sit down with the duo just on the heels of the announcement that they were this year's App Store's "Cultural Impact" Award. When asked about their mission and impact, their energy was visible and contagious.

"We hope to create a more emotionally literate world," said Silbermann and Brackett. "That means showing that it's ok to talk about your feelings, even when they are unpleasant. It means encouraging people to approach their own and others' emotions with curiosity, not judgment. And it means teaching people healthy strategies to deal with the twists, turns, and speed bumps we all will encounter."

Courtesy of How We Feel

Tracking our feelings isn't something new. However, what makes How We Feel unique is that its intuitive design allows us to log and reflect on our moods in unprecedented ways.

"Designing a simple and beautiful interface to navigate through all the different emotions was really tough. There isn’t a “visual language” for emotions. Should we use emojis? Words? Shapes? We tried lots of different iterations before we landed on the colorful shapes you see in the app today. It was a very tight collaboration between our scientists, designers, and engineers."

This sleek emotional well-being journal gives you the digital tools to capture and make sense of your feelings so that you can better understand yourself. And what's more, it introduces tailored activities you can implement in real-time to help you feel more in control of your life.

"We all hear that technology is harming emotional well-being. For example, we know that social media can make young people feel less-than and anxious. But we also think that technology can be part of the solution! How We Feel takes advantage of the fact that your phone is always with you. This means that we can ask you how you’re feeling in the moment, rather than relying on your memory of an event. It also means we can give anyone access to very high-quality resources for free!"

Want to start mapping your moods? Here are 10 ways checking in with your emotions can help improve your life:

1. Recognize triggers: Keeping tabs on your moods can help you spot patterns and recognize what triggers certain feelings.
2. Make smarter decisions: Knowing how you’re feeling can help you make more informed decisions, especially when it comes to situations that require a lot of thought.
3. Be kinder to yourself: By understanding how you feel, you can start taking action to be more compassionate towards yourself and others.
4. Build emotional resilience: When we know our emotions better, we are better equipped to cope with the ups and downs in life without getting too overwhelmed or discouraged about them.
5. Respond more effectively: If you’re aware of your emotions, you can respond to them in a way that is more helpful and constructive.
6. Be present: When we focus on our emotions, we are better able to be present in the moment and savor them instead of letting them pass us by.
7. Improve relationships: When we have a better handle on our emotions, we can relate to others more effectively and build healthier relationships.
8. Enhance creativity: Mapping your moods can help improve your creative thinking by giving you greater insight into the ebbs and flows of your ideas and inspiration.
9. Boost productivity: By monitoring how you feel, you can adjust your work habits and environment to suit different moods and get more done.
10. Promote health and wellbeing: Tracking your emotions can help you build better self-care practices that reflect your overall well-being.

Overall, checking in with ourselves is one of the most fundamental skills we can develop when it comes to living an emotionally healthy life. So the next time someone asks you "How are you?", answer from an informed place and let How We Feel help you get there.

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Featured photo via Burst/Pexels.