The Mood Meter
The Mood Meter
What is it?
The Mood Meter is a tool that helps people of all ages build self and social awareness. It helps us understand how our emotions influence our thinking and behavior, and it empowers us to recognize and label our full range of emotions, and manage them more skillfully. These skills help us get along with others and make better choices in our lives. Emotions can be understood as the degrees of pleasantness we’re experiencing, combined with the level of energy we have.
How it Works:
The line on the Mood Meter that runs from left to right represents how pleasant a person feels, ranging from extremely unpleasant on the far left to extremely pleasant on the far right. The line on the Mood Meter that runs up and down represents how much physical energy a person feels in their body and mind, ranging from extremely low on the bottom to extremely high on the top. When the lines intersect, four squares (quadrants) are formed – each marked by a different color. The red quadrant is unpleasant, high energy emotions like anger, frustration, and fear. The blue quadrant is unpleasant, low energy emotions like sorrow, disappointment, and loneliness. The green quadrant is pleasant, low energy emotions like peacefulness, balance, and serenity. The yellow quadrant is pleasant, high energy emotions like happiness, joy, and excitement.
Using the Mood Meter with
Dr. Robin Stern
Mood Meter Basics:
The Mood Meter is made up of four different colored quadrants, each representing different types of feelings.
Blue – lower energy, degree of unpleasantness (like sad or lonely)
Red – higher energy, degree of unpleasantness (like anger or fear)
Yellow – higher energy, degree of pleasantness (like joy or excited)
Green – lower energy, degree of pleasantness (like included or relaxed)
Why it Matters:
The Mood Meter shows that there is a space for all emotions – and, that all emotions are okay. Even unpleasant emotions, though they may feel uncomfortable, can serve us in certain situations. Part of working with the Mood Meter is developing strategies that can help us work skillfully with some of those feelings in order to achieve our goals. Experiencing a wide range of emotions is part of the human experience – and, being smart about our emotions is part of being emotionally intelligent.
Mood-Meter-Strategies-2.pdfMood Meter Strategies