October 2006
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October 2006
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| Of Like Minds is now Mood! Over 175 articles on: Help support Mood --
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Tracking Trigger
Points to Manage Bipolar Disorder
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Have
you read these? Essential information
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For those who are living with bipolar disorder, depression or mania can seem to take over without warning. But, if we learn to recognize our early warning signs and "mood triggers," we can more effectively manage the symptoms that can cause problems in our lives. Mood triggers are outside influences that can have significant positive or negative effects on our moods. Mood triggers that may initiate depression or mania can include an argument with a family member, a night of insomnia or a problem at work. Alcohol or drugs can negatively affect our mood. Some triggers improve our mood: Taking a walk on a pleasant autumn day, having coffee with a friend…. Identifying stressors and being alert for them will help you know when you are most at risk of a recurrence and take preventative action: A restless night or being awakened early (trying to catch up on your sleep as soon as possible), getting behind on your medication (getting back on a regimen as quickly as possible.) David J. Miklowitz, PhD, in The Bipolar Survival Guide, advises that you develop a list of early warning signs that will alert you and those close to you to the possibility of an impending episode of mania, such as irritability, insomnia, elevated mood. Clues may be unrealistic thinking and speech, racing thoughts and feeling exceptionally productive. At the height of a manic episode, a person with bipolar disorder usually doesn't recognize anything out of the ordinary about their behavior. That's why it's helpful to rely on people who are close to you to help you recognize your developing mania. Involving people you trust in your care in ways that are acceptable to you can be helpful when manic symptoms occur. What to do if you think you're becoming manic
If you recognize signs that you are becoming manic and, for instance, you feel yourself becoming preoccupied with money: stay away from the mall and the bank, and have someone you trust hold your credit cards for awhile. Set a waiting period before making any purchase exceeding an amount you've preset. If you're experiencing early warning signs, avoid making major life decisions, such as those involving marriage, divorce, buying or selling a home or quitting your job. What to do if you think you're becoming depressed Depression can make you feel sad, hopeless, tired, slowed down or numb. A mixed state includes the symptoms of both mania and depression, which might include irritability and anxiety. Learning to recognize your own early warning signs of depression will allow you to use self management techniques that might improve your mood before it becomes incapacitating. You may watch for insomnia, negative or self/critical thinking, a loss of interest in things that are usually important to you, feeling hopeless, feeling unmotivated or lacking energy or having trouble concentrating. Depression makes us sleep too much or too little, crave carbohydrates, withdraw from people, and lose the motivation and energy to accomplish the things that make us feel good about ourselves - the very actions that worsen our condition! So we have to put an extra effort into doing the things that are going to make us feel better. |
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Tracking trigger points and taking action Cinda Funk, facilitator of a DBSA (Depression Bipolar Support Alliance) support group in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, encourages her group members to list trigger points and actions they can take to help prevent them from creating mania or depression. Group members have listed among their stressors:
Here are some of the ways group members plan ahead to prevent these triggers from spiraling into mania or depression:
Use mood charts to take control Keeping a mood chart can help you track day-to-day changes in your emotions in relationship to your medication regime, your lifestyle and the stressors in your life. It can help you identify when you might need an adjustment in medication, recognize what activities are resulting in improved moods, reveal a pattern of sleep problems, alert you to life problems causing mood shifts that you might want to discuss with your doctor or therapist. You can find several types of mood charts online, but you can create your own to suit your needs. It might look something like this. An excellent tool for managing bipolar disorder can be found at Working Toward Wellness, a workbook prepared by Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) can be downloaded onto your computer and you can type directly onto forms provided to track your symptoms, triggers and moods. (Or, you can print out the forms.) The bipolar disorder survival guide: What you and your family need to know, by David J. Miklowitz PhD; Guilford Press, c2002 is available from the Of Like Minds/Amazon bookstore
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Dr.
Miklowitz's outline for management calls for identifying your symptoms
of an oncoming manic episode and then creating a plan detailing prevention
measures. 
When
you recognize the warning signs of oncoming depression, make a plan of
action designed to thwart its pull. Plan to try to maintain a regular
sleep/wake cycle, balance pleasurable activities with work, spend more
time with family and friends, eat a healthy diet with more protein and
fewer carbohydrates, and try this technique to monitor your