Mood tracking for bipolar disorder

Here's a personal insight into how mood tracking can be beneficial for bipolar disorder and other mood disorders. A few weeks ago I wrote an article about mood tracking using the eMoods app which you can read here. The following graphs show how my moods changed earlier this year over a period of about six months: …

Bipolar eyes

Did you know bipolar disorder can affect your eyes?  I'd read about it once before - that peoples' eyes can change when they're experiencing a bipolar mood episode. I had no idea it was so prominent, though, until two separate people recently commented on changes in my eyes when I had an episode.  When I …

The descent into depression

I was encouraged recently by my psychologist to make a list of early symptoms of the descent into depression so I can look out for them as we head into winter here in Australia. I have a very strong history of winter depressions so although I'm going in armed with different medications this year and …

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder affecting 1 in 50 (1.8%) of adult Australians that causes clear changes in mood, energy, activity and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. While normal ups and downs in life are brief, the extreme shifts in mood in bipolar disorder, called episodes, usually last a …