[token451]

I just started using a mood tracker application about two months ago and while I can totally see the correlation between stress, anxiety, and depression, I'm not really setting any other patterns off mood. Has anyone who has used a mood tracker been able to clearly see their mood shift patterns? How long did you use it before you were able to identify any?

[CopperStar]

I don't think I could successfully keep a mood tracker, because I would constantly be going back and forth between giving a damn and not giving a damn. Maybe I could turn it into my pdoc and be like, the days that are blank, those are the days that my mood was "doesn't give a damn". The other days are "hates the world" "loves the world" "possessed by spirits" and "was fighting the new world order in youtube comments".

[~Christina]

Im old school and I do mine with pen and paper.. I started to notice patterns after about 3-4 months..

I tried the apps but it annoyed me and caused anger and anxiety which effected how I felt at the moment so it wasn't a good thing for me.

Pen/ paper.. takes me a couple minutes right before bed and I don't stress over it .

[Imah]

Originally Posted by CopperStar

I don't think I could successfully keep a mood tracker, because I would constantly be going back and forth between giving a damn and not giving a damn. Maybe I could turn it into my pdoc and be like, the days that are blank, those are the days that my mood was "doesn't give a damn". The other days are "hates the world" "loves the world" "possessed by spirits" and "was fighting the new world order in youtube comments".

LOL! Did I write this?! <3 the things we bipolars share with each other!

God didn't break the mold with bipolars - he duplicated it again and again! We are never alone! Where else can we find the randomness of ---- "hates the world" "loves the world" "possessed by spirits" and "was fighting the new world order in youtube comments" ---- written by another person, and it could be me.

Originally Posted by token451

I just started using a mood tracker application about two months ago and while I can totally see the correlation between stress, anxiety, and depression, I'm not really setting any other patterns off mood. Has anyone who has used a mood tracker been able to clearly see their mood shift patterns? How long did you use it before you were able to identify any?

How often do you cycle? Are you taking meds? Once I stabilized on meds, my mood flatlined at baseline. It got so boring that I quit using a mood tracker.

I used a mood tracker to track my moods when I wasn't taking meds. It was obvious then.

[NoIdeaWhatToDo]

I've been thinking about getting an app for mood tracking. I'm sure some are better than others. Is there one that rises above others for people?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I really like imoodJournal. It sounds like iphone but is really iphone and android. It's fast, easy, has reminders 3 times per day (that you can shut off), lets you #note details about each entry (I quit doing this because I didn't see a lot of value; I have to hand my phone to my therapist and let him scroll around for him to see the correlations of mood to words which isn't the best feature) and it's easy to graph; you email it to yourself and I don't have a spreadsheet so I just quickly use Google sheets, make the chart, print it and am done in 2 minutes. This one is good if you cycle a lot and need to make several (as many as you want) entries per day. I will admit to giving up a few days in frustration because it is never going to be easy to chart mixed at its' worst but since I HATE rating things it's got to be a fairly good program because I do use it. It did cost I think $2.

There's one called Daily Mood journal I would use if I were only charting 1-2 times daily; your notes show up on the graph. With multiple notations per day it was too messy to read.

I've heard Optomism is good but it won't run on my old iPhone.

I tried about 4 out at once to figure out which was the best for me. The other 2 weren't worth even mentioning.

I've used them all, and my favorite was iMood. Lots of features, a little costly, but you know bipolars, we will buy anything!

[token451]

What patterns did you see, if you don't mind me asking? I can easily see the correlation between stress, anxiety, depression, and happiness but I haven't been able to clearly make out any cycles.

I use optimism and love it.

I have mood tracked for years. Im glad I have, it has been helpful.

When I am more stable I tend to do it once or twice a week rather than every day. My mood doesnt change every day anyway.

[Crazy Hitch]

I remember using one but there wasn't much fluctation at the time because I was probably pretty much like you where environmental factors and meds weren't changing a hell of a lot and nor was my mood, at the time that I was using it either.

Was advised today to start tracking one again.

I've tried to use it but at the same time i was so unstable that it changed daily without correlation to anything at all. i should probably try it now that I am fairly stable.