[fern46]

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.

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]

Originally Posted by raging vortex

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

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I have to set a reminder to do it. I kept a journal regularly for a year or so and then stopped because I was euthymic for a long time. Then I got sick again and wished I had seen it coming sooner. I'm back at it now and know I need to do it especially when I don't think I need it.

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

[Soupe du jour]

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.

[FluffyDinosaur]

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).

[Miss Laura]

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.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

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.

Woah, that's a lot of features. I'm glad to know there is such an option for those willing to invest the time. I like to have a lot of data points, but sometimes something a bit less complicated makes it easier to see trends. I'm torn.

Thanks for the info Soupe!

[Victoria'smom]

I use emood, I go back and forth using it.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by FluffyDinosaur

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).

Thanks for this. Quality and energy level are the exact features I felt were lacking in most charts. They speak to impact and impact is what matters in my opinion. I'm a big footnote person as well. Data without an explanation is lacking as we forget so much as time passes.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by Miss Laura

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.

Thanks Miss Laura. Charts like these seem to be the standard I've found.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

I use emood, I go back and forth using it.

Thanks MM! I'll check that one out.

[*Beth*]

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.

[swimmingly]

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.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by swimmingly

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.

My kids are young, but they watch me filling out my journal. I explained what I'm doing and why in a kid friendly way. I went through something similar to my mother's illness. She ran from it. I want my kids to see me doing the work and to know why so that they can own it if one day they find themselves in my shoes. I don't share the details of my charting though. They don't need to know that. I feel you on that for sure.

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!

[fern46]

Originally Posted by BethRags

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.

In my humble opinion, pattern insight is our number one survival tool. Meds, coping skills, therapy modalities, etc. all have their rightful place. However, one cannot know how to best leverage any of those tools unless they have insight and the ability to see themselves.

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!

[busymomof5]

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.

[Rick7892]

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.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by busymomof5

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 have trouble with numerical scales, so I don't do mood charts using that method.

[FluffyDinosaur]

Originally Posted by BethRags

I have trouble with numerical scales, so I don't do mood charts using that method.

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.

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

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by fern46

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.

Wondering how this is going? I don't use mood charts, I'm not sure how I missed this post! (Maybe I was feeling more grrrr and probably quiet than my ''usual'')

I also sometimes think that mood charts tend not to be holistic and that episodes can be triggered from any part of ourselves.

[fern46]

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.

[bpcyclist]

I prefer to write detailed notes and observations.

[*Beth*]

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.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by BethRags

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.

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.