Bipolar Disorder

Coping with bipolar disorder is something that you should do in many ways.  One of those ways, as we have discussed includes monitoring your symptoms.  While we discussed several reasons why you need to watch for the early signs and symptoms of bipolar, it is also important for you to see how your treatment is working.

To monitor your own treatment of bipolar disorder, you need to use a mood chart.  There are several useful, easy and quite effective ways that you can do this.  A mood chart helps you to track the way that you feel on any given day.  By keeping track of this, you can better see the ups and downs of your condition.

Your doctor may ask you to keep a mood chart especially at the beginning of your treatment.  But, it is best to continue with it for the long term because it provides you, your family, your friends and your doctors with help in spotting episodes of mood changes.  When all of these individuals can pull together, you’ll see remarkable benefits in your daily life.

What Is It?

A mood chart is a simple diary.  You will use it to keep track of your mood changes, your daily feelings, the things that you do and the way that you sleep.  It is quite an effective tool when put to good use.  Here’s what to include in your mood chart for starters:

• The way that you feel that day, including any feeling changes.  If you wake up in a great mood, record this.  If later someone angers you, record this too.
• Your activities also need to be recorded.  If you go to work, write it down.  If you decide to spend the day in bed, this too needs to be recorded.  Being able to track the things that you do will help you and your doctor to spot triggers and to spot oncoming severe mood swings.
• Sleep patterns are very important to the bipolar patient.  You should track the changes that happen in your sleeping because it will trigger differences in your overall well being.
• Medications and side effects should also be considered daily.  If you take your medication and in an hour feel like you need a nap, this should be recorded.  It is very important to remember to include changes in your overall response, too.  If you begin to have new side effects or ones that are worsened, this needs to be considered.
• Life changes and life events that are significant should be noted.  Sometimes, the death of a loved one or the stresses at work can lead to mood changes that can be severe.

Most days, you’ll record a normal day.  Many times you won’t have a lot of details to incorporate into your mood chart.  Other times, though, you may find the need to include many details. 

There are a number of different types of charts on the market that can be quite useful to you.  Select one that your doctor tells you is the right choice.  It will ultimately provide you with the best record of how to manage your mood swings by keeping track of them.

If you don’t want to do this on paper, you can make a virtual diary on a document that you keep on your computer too.  To remember to do this tracking, simply take note of it the same time each day, perhaps after you eat a meal.  Diarize it!  You’ll be rewarded with the answers that you need for daily life management.