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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 18:22:52
I have been reading blogs like The Quantified Self, etc., and I figured since the doctors don't know much maybe I'll get somewhere by tracking my moods in relation to other data. So far I am tracking overall mood, anxiety, irritability/rage, exercise, hours slept, meds, menstrual cycle, hours spent socializing, and time spent meditating. I figure I'll just graph it all and see if there are relationships.
What do you guys do?
Posted by gadchik on April 18, 2012, at 19:31:20
In reply to Do you track yourself?, posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 18:22:52
I dont track myself,however,I think this is a great idea. Esp since I only see my pdoc every 6 months.Im surprised pdocs dont suggest this to their pts.At my last visit,I tried to explain this fleeting agitation that waxes and wanes.If I'd track the feelings,etc.I could better explain things.I may try this too.
Posted by Emme_v2 on April 18, 2012, at 19:39:00
In reply to Do you track yourself?, posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 18:22:52
> I have been reading blogs like The Quantified Self, etc., and I figured since the doctors don't know much maybe I'll get somewhere by tracking my moods in relation to other data. So far I am tracking overall mood, anxiety, irritability/rage, exercise, hours slept, meds, menstrual cycle, hours spent socializing, and time spent meditating. I figure I'll just graph it all and see if there are relationships.
>
> What do you guys do?
I use the mood tracker on healthyplace.com. I looked around on the Internet and like that one the best. You fill out a little online form for each day, rating your mood and anxiety, noting your sleep and meds. There's also a text box into which you can enter whatever notes you want for the day. You can then display a calendar and a simple chart.emme
Posted by sleepygirl2 on April 18, 2012, at 20:05:46
In reply to Do you track yourself?, posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 18:22:52
I did for a little while, with a free app called "moody me".
Posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 21:04:07
In reply to Re: Do you track yourself? » Raisinb, posted by Emme_v2 on April 18, 2012, at 19:39:00
I've tried a few online mood trackers but for some reason nine of them clicked with me. I wanted something I could totally customize. Also draw pictures. So I got some graph paper, colored pens, and started making up symbols and diagrams.
Have you found that the mood tracker gave you new insights?
Posted by Emme_v2 on April 18, 2012, at 21:32:29
In reply to Re: Do you track yourself? » Emme_v2, posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 21:04:07
> I've tried a few online mood trackers but for some reason nine of them clicked with me. I wanted something I could totally customize. Also draw pictures. So I got some graph paper, colored pens, and started making up symbols and diagrams.
>
> Have you found that the mood tracker gave you new insights?Well, it basically confirmed my suspicion that the onset and remission of my depressive relapses are quasi-random. Remission can be abrupt (wake up one day and it's gone). Onset does seem to be related to fatigue and just general depletion sometimes. Stressful or potentially upsetting things that one would think *could* be triggers for relapse don't necessarily coincide with relapses.
The meds keep things in check most of the time, for which I'm grateful. They do work - I don't have prolonged severe depression as I once did. But I tend to keep my doses on the low side to avoid side effects, with the result that I'm more vulnerable to short term interruptions in mood than I would be at higher doses. It's a compromise I've chosen to make.
So anyway, the mood tracker is something I can show my doctor so he knows what's been going on.
Posted by bleauberry on April 19, 2012, at 5:18:43
In reply to Do you track yourself?, posted by Raisinb on April 18, 2012, at 18:22:52
Keeping track of things on a daily basis is extremely helpful for many people.
The is how, for example, you might identify a food that is giving you trouble that you never suspected. As you review your diary you might notice something like a worsened mood every time after you ate a certain food the day before.
Lyme folks claim they have bad flare-ups on a full moon. I've been tracking myself for a year. I feel best on full moons. My worst tiimes, and it is very consistent and predictable, is during the halfmoon leading up to a full moon, and during the half moon after a full moon.
The amount of sleep you got, what time sleep started....I mean, all kinds of things play into the diary keeping thing. This is how we can spot patterns or clues and gather new information about ourselves that we didn't know. Any of which might be very helpful to help improve our strategy and quality of life.
As time passes....months, years....we might forget the details of what happened last time we tried XYZ med, or we might have forgotten about a certain side effect or something. keeping track of things we can go back in history and refresh ourselves in detail of where we've been compared to where we are now.
Even of a bad day I can look at my past and realize that even during this badness I am better than I was 2 years ago....but you don't really grasp that until you read your notes of 2 years ago.
This is the end of the thread.
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