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#1
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Do you use mood charts? If so, what is your favorite? Do you find it helps you have greater awareness before a swing? Lastly, are there any features that are the most helpful or that are missing?
Personally, I do not use them. I find my brain prefers something a little easier to use and more visual. I also feel the data is not as rich as it could be. The charts are not holistic and episodes can be triggered from any part of ourselves. I'm working with something I created for myself that I like better at the moment, but I am thinking it could be improved. I'm curious to know what you guys think so that I can consider adding your feedback into my model. |
![]() Fuzzybear, Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892, Soupe du jour
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#2
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I've never used an actual mood chart, either. back when I knew a lady called shirley, she used her own scale to tell how she wwas feeling (she'd just write the date in an note pad file, the the number on the scale) 1 being terrible, bad, 10 being the best.
I just adapt and do a version of that (I posted what I do in another thread, I believe) I think a real mood chart would be useful though. my issue would be sticking to it even with what I do now, I only fill it in " when I can be bothered", which lately seems hardly ever |
![]() fern46, Soupe du jour
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![]() fern46, Rick7892, Soupe du jour
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#3
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I also think I could benefit from having my husband look at it from time to time to see if he agrees. I want to make that process quick and easy, so I am working with something more visual. Trends are easier to see that way. If only we could wear mood rings and have them actually work ![]() |
#4
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I used to track on Mood Tracker - Help for depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder but haven't for a long time. It at least used to have a free option as well as a fee-based premium option. It appears that they've added additional features since I used it last. They also have special versions for different mood-related conditions, including bipolar disorder. The free version I used to use allowed multiple level mood ratings and even the ability to mark mixed states, also anxiety or irritability, menstruation, medications, sleep, and maybe one more thing. The current premium version offers tracking/features of all of the following (copied from their website):
Track Unlimited Customizeable Measurements: Core Mood Mixed Mood Anxiety Irritability Alcohol Use Recreational Drug Use Sugar Amount Significant Morning Event Significant Afternoon Event Significant Evening Event Sleep Hours Sleep Quality Followed Medication Plan Exercise Quality Menstruating Water Liters Area Charts Summary Bar Charts Medications, Supplements, & Exercises Email Reminders Text Message Reminders with Reply Wellness Team - Friend & Mentor Roles Journal Entries A lot, right? I assume they still have a free option. If so, I don't know if it changed. I also believe (not sure) they have an app. If so, I know nothing about it. I haven't tracked for a while mostly because my moods haven't fluctuated much for a while. Plus, when they did I sometimes found myself having to go back and correct because of lack of insight or episode denial. The latter is especially common for me when it comes to depression or mild mood elevation. I wonder what their "Wellness team - mentor/friend roles" is about. It appears that their Premium option is just under $10 per month. Last edited by Soupe du jour; Sep 04, 2020 at 07:12 AM. |
![]() Rick7892
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#5
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Yes, I use a mood chart every day. Not only was it very useful for my diagnosis, but it also helps me to track how I'm doing. It's useful for detecting early warning signs of episodes, but also for looking back, seeing whether I've gotten better or worse, how long I've been in an episode, and what may have been the cause of any changes. I tend to forget what my episodes felt like and how intense they were pretty quickly once they're over and then I start doubting whether I'm really bipolar, whether I really need meds, and so on. It's useful to be able to look back and see that I'm not imagining things.
I agree that mood charts can be a little restrictive sometimes. I get around that by making "footnotes" whenever I want to add something else, and then I just add whatever information I want on the back of the mood chart, like a journal. That way I have the best of both worlds. I like the mood chart from "Stable Resource Toolkit." For whatever reason the website seems to be down, but I was able to locate the pdf in the Way Back machine. It tracks mood, anxiety, irritability, sleep, weight, and meds. All of those are major factors for me. I use color coding (with a marker) to include quality of sleep in addition to number of hours, because the quality of my sleep varies a lot and I often sleep very badly even if I do spend a seemingly normal number of hours in bed. In addition, I add a row to track my energy level, because my energy level doesn't necessarily correspond to my sleep (in fact it often doesn't depending on my mood). |
![]() Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892, Soupe du jour
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#6
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Yes... I've used the sane one for 10 years. My Psychiatrist who diagnosed me gVe me one to use and I have used it since.
Mines consist of 7 sections 1. Mood (sever/moderate/mild depression and mania or stablility) 2. Medications took (Yes or No) 3. Sleep (Hours slept) 4. Therapy (Who, Where, How long) 5. Period (Yes or No) 6. Alcohol intake (What did I drink and how much) 7. Others (Any info I think I need to write) I do it at the end of every day. I use to have; Dailyio, Emoods and a few other journals but gave up on them. |
![]() Rick7892
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#7
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Thanks for the info Soupe! |
![]() Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892, Soupe du jour
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#8
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I use emood, I go back and forth using it.
__________________
Dx: Me- SzA Husband- Bipolar 1 Daughter- mood disorder+ Comfortable broken and happy "So I don't know why I'm tongue tied At the wrong time when I need this."- P!nk My blog |
![]() Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892
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#9
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![]() Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892
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#10
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![]() Soupe du jour
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![]() Rick7892
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#11
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Thanks MM! I'll check that one out.
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![]() bpcyclist, Soupe du jour
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![]() bpcyclist, Rick7892
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#12
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For years I resisted mood charts. I didn't understand the purpose of them. Then my therapist and pdoc strongly encouraged me to try it out. We came up with a good, basic mood chart outline and to my great surprise, charting my moods was helpful. Over the weeks, then the months, I could see patterns that I had not been aware of. It helped me to adjust meds, mostly.
__________________
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![]() fern46
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![]() fern46, Rick7892
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#13
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This is part of my new therapist's assignments for me, but I can't ever remember to do it. Currently I have the choice to use emoods or a chart for a whole month. I live with a wife and two kids and don't really want my emotions out in front of everyone so I'm leaning towards the app. It's just the remembering and being a better judge of myself. Everyone else loves to give me their input (read: wife) and tell me when I'm wrong.
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![]() *Beth*, fern46
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![]() fern46, Rick7892
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#14
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You bring up a very important aspect of charting. I wanted something very easy for my husband to review and collaborate on with me. My insight is skewed sometimes and comparing my take with his can help me see. Accepting that input can be a very powerful tool. Sometimes our support people don't know how to offer it in the most constructive way, but learning to work with it is impactful. Thanks for the feedback swimmingly! |
![]() Rick7892, swimmingly
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![]() *Beth*, Rick7892, swimmingly
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#15
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Anything we can do to increase awareness is truly golden. It was the difference between a completely devastating experience for my first episode and just a bump in the road for my second. I continue to learn every day. ![]() Thanks for your thoughts on this Beth! |
![]() *Beth*, Rick7892
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#16
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I used a mood chart for awhile, but I always struggled to label my mood on a numerical scale. I found that I often went back and made changes to previous days as I realized my symptoms had been more or less severe than I thought when compared to the current day. That made me a little nuts. Also, I often don’t realize how depressed I am or if I’m manic or hypomanic so there were inaccuracies. It was still interesting to see things plotted on a graph.
__________________
I’m |
![]() fern46, Rick7892
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![]() fern46, Rick7892
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#17
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I have used a DBSA daily paper chart for mania, depression, and anxiety that I have adapted a little for several years. It was helpful for me to review the symptoms so I was more aware of my symptoms and could be on the lookout for them.
In doing it, I discovered I have a daily pattern of struggling the most in the morning with anxiety, so I split into AM and PM. This has been helpful to me see over time because I could see how mornings were worse. Before, I would get more depressed and feel hopeless. Now, I set mini-goals in the morning when I am struggling. If I can make it to 11 AM, it will lighten up and I will be doing better. This has been helpful in reducing my anxiety triggering into depression. I haven't seen a pattern during the day for my mania/hypomania alone. But sometimes it seems my morning anxiety can trigger mania. Recognizing cycles and trying to weather the cycles is helpful for me. I don't think I would have known without charting. ![]() I don't have a smartphone, but it looks like they have some apps that would be helpful. With the paper chart, it is harder to do summaries to show providers, especially in a form that they may understand. My tables of results can confuse them.
__________________
A virtual ![]() Trying to practice coping tools to live in my own skin more gently, peacefully, & comfortably One Day a Time (sometimes one breath at a time) ![]() |
![]() fern46
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![]() *Beth*, fern46
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#18
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I have trouble with numerical scales, so I don't do mood charts using that method.
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![]() Rick7892
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![]() Rick7892
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#19
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Yes, I think if you've been depressed or manic for a while it sort of becomes a "new normal," so the scale automatically shifts because you can't relate to the old baseline anymore. Sometimes I use questionnaires like the IDS-SR to at least try and get a somewhat more objective measure of how I'm doing. |
![]() *Beth*, Rick7892
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![]() *Beth*, Rick7892
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#20
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someone should post a mood chart/ scale in this forum for us all to add to on a daily bases how we are feeling
it could be it's own thread, or a nice adition to the bipolar check-in thread |
![]() *Beth*, Rick7892
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#21
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I also sometimes think that mood charts tend not to be holistic and that episodes can be triggered from any part of ourselves. ![]()
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![]() bpcyclist, fern46
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![]() bpcyclist, fern46
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#22
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It is going pretty well. Thanks for asking. I have been able to see visually how various behaviors are affecting me over time. I then made several tactical adjustments as a result. That's helpful.
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![]() bpcyclist, Fuzzybear
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![]() bpcyclist, Fuzzybear
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#23
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I prefer to write detailed notes and observations.
__________________
When I was a kid, my parents moved a lot, but I always found them--Rodney Dangerfield |
![]() fern46, Fuzzybear
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![]() *Beth*, fern46, Fuzzybear
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#24
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What cyclist posted goes for me, too. I write on paper and make little notations to myself in addition to charting my actual moods. And of course, I note any med changes. I'm low-tech...I wouldn't feel comfortable doing an app mood chart. Actual writing is more effective, for me. On paper, I tend to recall more information.
__________________
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![]() fern46, Fuzzybear
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![]() fern46, Fuzzybear
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#25
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I'm low tech as well. I use a notebook and a pen. Actual writing helps me too. I feel more connected to the data when I take the time to write it out. I plot my info into a matrix that makes it easy to scan and see trends and then I write out all of the details to give a complete picture. That way, I can go back and see the big picture and analyze the details. |
![]() Fuzzybear
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![]() *Beth*
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