Simple Daily Emotions Chart for Children (revised)

This is a  quick revision   of    post:  “Daily Emotion Chart for special needs kids.” the chart is deliberately  simple following the K.I.S.S  method.  Although it was inspired to help  a  child with special needs,   anyone could use it modify it or make their own.  The next post will feature a new simple feeling chart or tracker that is better suited for adolescents or adults.
Now, I have to go shovel Snow,  have a great day!
-Chris.

I have a friend with a special needs child. She told me  that, she was upset. She  unable to communicate what she saw in her child’s behaviour at home to her sons teachers at school. Her son’s teachers were having a very difficult time managing him at school. Because the child was diagnosed with a mood disorder (as well as some serious behaviour problems and patterns)
I suggested having him fill out  a mood chart to aid in comparing his behaviour with affect over time. Somewhere I found an hourly mood chart on the WEB, downloaded it, and made some copied her.
I found out a couple months later, That the teachers at the school were actually sitting down and filling out the chart with her son. My friend was filling it out the chart at home as well and sharing with case workers and her child’s psychiatrist.
~
It was the  simplest tool that helped aid  a child to communicate what he was feeling to his teachers, his mother and his professionals. A simple aid to help people get on the same page.
Sadly I cannot find the mood chart I downloaded back then, so i thought I’d take the time to create a simple new one.

View this document on Scribd

Not only does a feeling chart give the support people to  a special needs child a better understanding of what the child is thinking…

It gives a child a chance to do something many are just afraid to do…Voice what they are feeling. Express themselves confidently.

  There many kinds of charts, colorful ones…
but since i make no money for making charts, well my chart is simple.

You can download a PDF copy (readable with Adobe, Foxit Open office, etc) Clicking Here:

daily-feeling-chart-for-children-PDF

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A download is also available on the Charts Tab of Pennsylvania Echoes Blog.

UPDATE

Since the the original post  I have offered the  Daily Simple Feeling Chart for  children in a couple other formats:

 Available in  Doc(Ms Word) and Odt formats (Open Office / LibreOffice  Writer Formats)

•  MS Word Doc Format: Daily Feeling Chart for kids (Ms Doc)
•  Writer Format:  Open  document Format: Daily Feeling Chart for kids (OpenOffice ; LibreOffice)
• for  blogs or editing: below is an html code block(for copy/paste) : 

Mood definition… a disorderly description, Reposted

Reposted
“Mood definition … A Disorderly Discription by a Bipolar Disorder Manager..”
was origionally posted on 5-10-2009

 
You wake up one morning.

• You feel happy,loving, humorous  optimistic.
• Your confidence and self worth are high.
• You are motivated.
• Your body feels healthy and energetic
• You are  thinking is clear, focused,  positive.
• You are not concerned witht bad thoughts.
• Your impulses are strong and up mind/body feel crisp.
• You  look outside your window and everything appears crisp , bright and colorful.

You are  in a “good mood”or an up mood.

You don’t need all these attributes to be in a “good” or “up” mood, when you wake up. You may be happy and thinking positive, but not feeling energetic…. You might feel very energetic a little confident and optimistic  and not particularly impulsive.
However, these attributes are loosely tied together… or appear commonly together in feelings … and we describe them as “being in a good mood”.
An Up mood.

You wake up one morning,

• You feel sad, lonely, or pessimistic.
• Your confidence and self worth low.
• Your body feels, detached, achy, and slow. Your  thinking is disinterested and unfocused .
• Your  thoughts are  self defeating..
• You feel detached.
• You look outside you window  and everything looks hazy and dull.

You are feeling down or in a down mood.

Just the same as an up mood, not every trait is necessary to “feeling down” or “feeling low”. You may have mildly self defeating thoughts, your body may feel achy and slow, you may feel extremely detached and disinterested…. and may not feel sad at all.
but your mood  is still described as down.

When  your over- all mood is very up… its referred  manicy and when it is really down your mood is depressed.

The word “mood“, much the same as the word “mind” is an abstract description.. It is an organization (or integration) of traits that are otherwise difficult describe. There exists no exact physical or concrete  thing called “mood”.

Even more difficult to describe is a mood disorder diagnosis. a diagnosis, such as “Bipolar disorder , “is made by matching a person’s intrusive traits with criteria in the DSM- IV . A mood disorder is not something you can see with an x-ray such as a spine injury. However, “mood disorder“is description is as real as description as  “mind”… and it is a diagnosis to be taken as serious as any medical diagnosis that is easier to see wit an X-ray or MRI.

For someone  diagnosed with a mood disorder…
These mood traits and the  behaviors linked to them are pushed to further extremes, until they become extremely intrusive in their life.

• An extreme up mood or “manic mood” for example may lead an individual to have super- high  self esteem in denial of any consequence and lead to reckless behavior.

• An extreme down mood or “depressed mood”  may have lost all self worth , have intense self defeating thoughts leading them to suicidal behavior.

These is usually a periodic conditions.. but it requires a life time of management.

The exact cause of Bipolar disorder and other mood disorders is not entirely understood yet. Western medicine and scientific evidence strongly supports that  they are biological, in origin.

From a Holistic point of view… we may say that the body, mind, mood, behavior, interaction with people and environment, all are components that act in an integrated fashion as whole of us.
When I, consumer who  manages Bipolar disorder , has these mood traits that are very intrusive at a given time, the mood distortions can throw all  integrated parts of me  off. In periods when this happen  I am described as being “symptomatic“… the symptoms being the intrusions. Each  consumer who manages a mood disorder has a unique  set of symptoms.

Sound complicated? no real concrete definitions?
Defining “Mood, “mood disorder and Bipolar disorder… just a simple component to be integrated with the whole of “Living with Bipolar Disorder”.

There  is  wisdom to be  gained:. Our perception of reality and our perceived personality  are all determined by all the components of us in an integrated fashion.
Just as my choice words to describe “mood”.
 
 

Thanks for re-reading my post and thanks if you are reading it for the first time.
please take a look at the list of posts in “Maslows Toolbox” on the left hand column:
a collection of posts and tags that I hope are helpful for mental health – wellness tool building.

 

S.A.D. Seasons change and so doth mood.(revised)

(This  post is a revised repost about S.A.D.)
‘Twas a dark and stormy Autumn   night”… as I  write from Pennsylvania.
the daylight lessens each day as we head towards Winter. I like Autumn, but many others I know, Diagnosed with Mood disorder or Bipolar disorder often slide towards depression, fatigue or low energy at this time of year.

In fact many people with no mental health diagnosis will start to feel depressed, extremely fatigued, or sleep excessively in the Fall and Winter.

For those with extreme intrusive symptoms  a diagnosis of  S.A.D…
or Seasonal Affective Disorder may be made by a health care professional.

Hourly Mood and Symptom Chart

Mood charts and symptom charts are simple tools for tracking symptoms over along period of time. But many mood disorder managers may experience intrusive mood fluctuations or other symptoms (anxiety for example) in  shorter periods of time.
Mental Health  Consumers  diagnosed with  Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder, Personality Disorders, Post-Traumatic Disorder, for example, can experience fast changing moods, energy levels or anxiety. Mood can shift to extremes, multiple times a day,
In any case, rapid cycling of moods can be debilitating, making it difficult to function through ones daily life.

I thought it might be helpful to create a downloadable  chart for tracking  moods and symptoms  hourly, or over  intervals over a day. This mood chart is for those who are trying get a handle highly fluctuating moods.

Hourly mood and Symptom Chart

                    

So I made a simple chart for tracking mood and symptoms hour by hour if necessary.
the left thumbnail is a view of this chart.
the right is an example of what one might look like filled out.
(sorry if it looks a little clumsy.)

The chart has enough columns to chart 48 hours. Since charting hour by hour may be a bit tedious for ones needs , the top row is left blank so one could label the time slots  that suits them best.

you may download this PDF mood chart freely r if you wish,
I made and its free. click the link below for PDF
(readable with Adobe Acrobat, Foxit reader, Open office etc.)

Hourly mood and symptom tracking chart PDF

Also the chart  available  in MS doc format and Open Office odt (writer format).

• Ms word Doc format: Hourly mood and symptom tracking chart (Doc)
• Open Office Writer format: Hourly mood and symptom tracking chart (OO -writer )

As always these charts are to encourage your own creativity in making tools  in wellness management.

Checking in on Depression and wellness

I don’t always want to know I am depressed.
I’ll deny it even when I feel miserable.

If I admit it to myself, I have to deal with, the hard to shake notion that” my occasional depression is a weakness of mine”.

If I admit it to others I have to deal with that, that hard to shake notion, that “my depression is a weakness’.

Or I have to deal with other people trying to fix me, or worrying, or giving me there advice on how to cheer up today.

my being depressed…. is scary.
It is the nature of those like me who manage bipolar disorder to deny our unstable moods from time to time.

But this morning, after taking a walk I realized I am feeling depressed.
Because it is difficult to tell how my bipolar disorder affected mood is sometimes, I have a series of personalized tricks to see how I am thinking.

Checking in.

“checking in” is a couple personalized tricks to catch how my mental wellness is at the present moment… at any moment.

1. social checking

I  goto  a convenience store at least once a day, to by what ever.
My normal personality is to have a short polite conversation with the cashier.
When I leave  the convenience store, I ask myself ,

• did I make  eye contact with the clerk?
• did I have my normal comfortable chit -chat?

If I  answer “no” to these two question I know I maybe becoming withdrawn…
when I am withdrawn I know that my awareness of my inner world of restless thinking is greater than being tuned in with my outside world.

Today  I made i contact and conversation, but I felt a bit uncomfortable.

2. Check in with my core.

• I check my head…
  do my thoughts seem to be swirling around,
  are my thoughts consuming, hazy,
  or taking the place of my outside perception?
• I check my  breathing…
  am I breathing from naturally from my belly or from my chest?
  Is my breathing spontaneous and fluid or does it seem choppy?

If  my thinking is “loud” and restless and my breathing choppy like today….
than I meditate, do a breathing exercise…. and assess how my mood is
When I know I am becoming withdrawn, I make interaction with others, or outside when i can.

today I am depressed….
I did some writing (journaling), resting, meditating (which is brutal when my thinking and breath are jumping around to begin with)

I affirm myself on my strength and values and acknowledge my limits and fears.

And now I am going to watch the football game on TV.

I maybe depressed tomorrow, or I may have taken enough steps to pull my mood back to stable.
and some days one just let depression run its course.

wellness management is not an exact science.
but I am aware of my health, and taking care of my health.

Seasons change and so doth mood.

‘Twas a dark and stormy night Autumn night”… as I  write from Pennsylvania.
the daylight lessens each day as we head towards winter.

I like Autumn, but many others I know, Diagnosed with Mood disorder or Bipolar disorder often slide towards depression, fatigue or low energy at this time of year.

In fact many people with no mental health diagnosis will start to feel depressed, extremely fatigued, or sleep excessively in the Fall and Winter.

For those with extreme intrusive symptoms  a diagnosis of  SAD…
or Seasonal Affective Disorder may be made by a health care professional.

It is believed by many doctors that:   mood and energy levels are dramatically change  with sensitivity to season (also including S.A.D and seasonal depression)  are caused by a disruption bodily hormone cycle.
too much melatonin created in the brain, seems to be the biggest factor .

treatments for seasonal depression, S.A.D.

1. Let there be light Light!

• there is less natural light in  Autumn and winter (in fact this is believed to be the major trigger of  S.A.D and the like)….
• use increase light indoors: using brighter bulbs and or more lamps.
• get as much natural light outdoors as possible.  Sun light is the best treatment.
• many find it most important to get a lot of light in the morning to start the day (artificial or natural).

2. Let there be Blue light!

• Sunlight is the most important treatment for SAD.   getting as much as possible….
• many have found that  soft blue light bulbs, for no more than twenty minutes twice a day help with fatigue and SAD. Note: that too much direct blue light can be harmful to eyes.

3. Exercise.

a regular routine of light exercise in the morning.
walking, jogging or exercise outdoors is ideal since it is more time in natural light.

4. the doctor.

doctors can prescribe treatment  such as light therapy or medication, if necessarily.

I ..myself… am very sensitive to temperature. When the temperature drops I tend to sleep longer, and my entire body including my thinking  slows down.
So I start my morning with a long hot bath or shower, and dress to stay very warm.
So I’d advise others who are also sensitive to seasonal factors to think the same way.
Our interaction with our environment, including light and climate temperature, are integral  parts of us we must factor in or wellness.!