Bipolar and mood journals

I was once saved from mania by a mood journal. I think you can do the same thing, if you have bipolar and are intent on regulating it. As I tracked my moods daily, I started to notice that as I was tracking my "frustration" levels on the mood journal, they started going up considerably. I noticed that my moods shifted abruptly towards a "4 out of 4" on frustration and a "3 out of 4" on grandiosity. I was escalating with my enlightened/unenlightened grandiosity. That is, I started to think that I was enlightened, or I started to think, "I've overcome the idea of enlightenment, and therefore I'm enlightened, but I've overcome that," ad infinitum. It was almost like a racing thought. I soon went to my psychiatrist who upped my meds after I nervously explained how I was feeling. He told me they would curb my frustration. It worked.

There was more going on at the time. After I went to my therapy appointment, I discovered that I had recently lost sleep because I was planning to go skydiving. Solution? Don't do anything crazy. Don't jump out of a plane. Sure, the jump would be safe, but the mania would not be. Then, I also had a problem with a mentor of mine who basically eviscerated me. Solution? Don't talk to this person again. There are lots of things you can do when your interpersonal relationships are moving towards stress.

Mood journals are available via DBSA. http://www.facingus.org. They have many questions each day you can fill out, and for me I feel proud after completing it because I'm tracking my health. If you're more private you can do it on your own, on paper. I don't think they misuse your info, but it's up to you. It is very helpful for those intent on managing bipolar.

I end this by saying good luck as you manage bipolar. For me, it's a journey. It's almost a mythic quest, minus the grandeur. It's a purpose, and a good one. I didn't ask to have bipolar, but there are things I can do about it. I can track my moods, I can go to my appointments, I can take my meds, and I can look out for stressors and life changes. Good luck to you in your journey.