Tracking Your Moods

One of the most important ways to manage bipolar disorder is to keep track of how you're feeling. To do it properly, you need more than a general sense of how things are going.

The Mood Chart for Bipolar Disorder is a daily log written by you. It is a record of daily events, such as arguments, that affect you emotionally, the medications you took, and what type of mood or moods you experience during the course of the day.

A Clinical Self-Report is also written by you. It is a record of symptoms experienced since your last doctor's visit. You'll benefit from writing down a few key facts about events in your day.

Creating a written record is a good way to see things clearly and accurately. You will also learn how the patterns and events in your daily life affect bipolar disorder. Your mood chart (download) and clinical self-report will provide you and your doctor with specific information about how your medication is working as well as the challenges you face and the progress you are making.

Here is an example of a completed mood chart.

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Reviewed: 03/2006