mood charts?

I do it on a spreadsheet in excel. I'm sorta anal like that. My pdoc likes it, it helps our session go quicker since I'm usually running high and talk too much and skip around from subject to subject.

She was able to determine my cycle, which is about a 1-2 day cycle.

Hey, closure. What I do that is easy for me to keep up with and really simple is that I mark how I am doing on a calendar. I have one of those pocket calendars that cost a $1 or $2 that I keep and each day I just right - good day, bad day - up or down, if I had to take Ativan, if I was crying, if I was manic, etc. It is so easy to do. For example, if I was manic that day, I go to that day and write Manic. How easy is that? It works best for me because it is fast. And if I forget to write down a day, I just go back and write it in. It really helps me and my pdoc. He suggested that I do it that way since it is so simple to do.

Anyway, you just need to find which system works best for you. They really do help though. That is how we discovered that I was a rapid cycler. Good luck. And give it a try. You will be glad you did.

Have a good day.

Missflip

Here is a website that has a check list as well as a mood chart.  I have been using mine for over 7 months now and it helps me to see how my moods are.  It is hard to remember from the top of your head, especially if you are having mood swings.

http://www.bipolar.com/resources/helpful_tools.html#MoodChart

http://www.bipolar.com/pdf/bipolar_mood_chart.pdf

This is just one sample, there are plently of other versions online!

Many books on managing bipolar have their version of a mood chart included, and here's another one from the web:
www.manicdepressive.org/moodchart.html

serafena