Bipolar UK Mood Scale Our Mood Scale can help you to identify your moods. Use it with our Mood Diary to help keep track of your moods. Expand Our Mood Scale can help you to describe your moods You can use this Mood Scale with our Mood Diary to help keep track of your moods and identify any patterns or triggers. How to use the mood scale and mood diary Select the score from the mood scale that matches how you are feeling and write that in under the date of the month in the section with red (cause for concern) yellow (moving away from a neutral mood) and green (neutral mood) Record how many hours sleep you had the night before Record any medication you are taking and the dosage On the second sheet record additional notes; food and drink consumption; exercise or any notable events especially any that are particularly good or bad for you Download our Mood Scale as a PDFYou may like to view this also: Your donation will help provide a range of services offering the support people need, when they need it. You can make sure there's someone at the end of the phone to listen, a nearby group to share lived experiences, a 24-hour peer forum and more. Together, we can support the person behind the diagnosis of bipolar.
How do I know if I have bipolar? The common signs of bipolar disorder Expand Bipolar affects everyone differently and can be difficult to diagnose, but there are some common signs that can help you identify the illness. A mood scale - see our 'Could mood swings mean bipolar?' leaflet - will help you and your doctor understand your mood swings. Take a completed mood scale with you to your next doctor's appointment and tell them how you have been feeling over a period of time (you can take someone with you for support if it makes you feel more comfortable talking about it). Sometimes your GP may refer you to a specialist – usually a psychiatrist. Diagnosis should always be undertaken by an appropriately trained medical professional, who will undertake an assessment to understand a range of factors: eg. behaviour, sleep patterns, life events. It is not advisable to self-diagnose. You may also like to view this: Donate to Bipolar UK today Your donation will help provide a range of services offering the support people need, when they need it. You can make sure there's someone at the end of the phone to listen, a nearby group to share experiences, a 24-hour peer forum and more. Together, we can support the person behind the diagnosis of bipolar.
Is there a medical test for bipolar? How can you get a confirmation of bipolar disorder? Expand There is no medical test for bipolar. Instead your GP or psychiatrist will usually complete an assessment focusing on your mood swings. They will ask questions about your family history and background, your sleeping pattern, your diet and your behaviour. They may also take notes about when you first experienced symptoms. All this information is relevant to help make an informed diagnosis. You may also like to view:
Is there a cause or cure for bipolar? Do we know what causes bipolar? Can it be cured? Expand Although much progress has been made in understanding bipolar and how it can be managed, research has still not led to either a consensus on the cause or a cure. Some research suggests that there is, if not a known genetic link, then certainly an inherited predisposition to developing bipolar. It is also known that stressful life events may often precede an episode of mania, hypomania or depression. As our understanding of the function of the brain increases, more insights and more effective medication can be developed. This is why Bipolar UK works in partnership with research organisations.You may also like to see this:
Could mood swings mean bipolar? An introduction to bipolar and how monitoring your moods and behaviour can help Expand This information will be useful to you if you or your doctor are concerned about your mental health. You might have discussed the possibility of bipolar and you might have been referred to a specialist. What is bipolar? Bipolar is a severe, lifelong mental illness characterised by significant mood swings from manic highs to suicidal depression. Bipolar affects everyone differently and can be difficult to diagnose but there are some common signs to help you identify the illness. Both men and women any age and of any social and ethnic background can develop bipolar. It can be triggered when work, studies, family and emotional stresses are at their greatest. For women it can also be triggered by childbirth or menopause. The key to coping with bipolar is an early diagnosis, acceptance of the illness and adapting your lifestyle so you're in control of your symptoms. You can manage bipolar with medication, health care, therapy and self-management. The Bipolar UK mood diary will help you and your doctor understand your mood swings. Monitoring your moods Over the next month, ideally around the same time every day and not first thing in the morning, make a note of how you feel on a scale of 0 to 10 and write a brief comment about how you feel. It might also be a good idea to ask family and friends as they might be able to offer useful insight into your behaviour. If you feel comfortable, you could complete the mood diary with someone close to you. As well as recording where you are on the mood scale it's also a good idea to note • Medication• Hours of sleep you are getting• Exercise Those not affected by bipolar will usually have mood swings between 4 and 6 on the mood scale. If you have bipolar, your mood swings go way beyond these stable levels. If you experience periods of depression you may feel extremely tired and sluggish, cry a lot for no reason, lose interest in activities you once enjoyed, lack confidence, feel hopeless and have irregular eating and sleeping patterns. This would be 2 to 3 on the mood scale. If you are going high you might talk too fast, not need much sleep, have uncontrollable rapid thoughts, feel overconfident and over important, act impulsively and use poor judgement this would be 7 to 8 on the mood scale. Download this leaflet as a PDF Your donation will help provide a range of services offering the support people need, when they need it. You can make sure there's someone at the end of the phone to listen, a nearby group to share lived experiences, a 24-hour peer forum and more. Together, we can support the person behind the diagnosis of bipolar.
If I experience mood swings does that mean I have bipolar? How bipolar mood swings are classified using a the Bipolar UK mood scale Expand No, everyone has good and not so good days and experiences mood swings. The Bipolar UK mood scale is from 0 to 10 and those not affected by bipolar will experience mood swings between 4 and 6 on the mood scale. If you have bipolar, your mood swings go above stable levels anywhere between a 6 and 10. With bipolar when you experience depression it falls below 4 to as low as suicidal depression of 0. Also the periods of extreme mood usually last longer than a couple of days, more often it lasts weeks or months. Hypomania (6 to 8 on the mood scale). Someone experiencing hypomania can seem very self confident and euphoric but may react with sudden anger, impatience or irritability for the slightest reason. They may become easily distracted, more talkative or challenging. They may become more reckless than usual, which might mean errors of judgement, sometimes involving spending too much money or taking on more than they can cope with. Some people try to deal with their mood swings by self-medicating with alcohol or drugs. Mania (8 to 10 on the mood scale) Someone experiencing mania may not recognise it is happening. They may think or speak in an incoherent, rapid or disjointed way or be easily distracted. Other symptoms may include verbal aggression, paranoia and hallucinations affecting vision or perception. Grandiose delusions or ideas can occur where the sense of identity and self have been distorted by the illness. Sometimes the term psychosis (losing touch with reality) is used to describe these symptoms. Depression (4 to 0 on the mood scale) Most people with bipolar will experience severe depression at some time. Usually this will follow a period of mania or hypomania. For some people depression is more likely to occur during the winter months. Common symptoms experienced during depression include: feelings of emptiness or worthlessness (as opposed to sadness), loss of energy and motivation for everyday activities, pessimism and negativity. Thoughts of death and suicide are also common symptoms.
Introduction to Bipolar An introduction to bipolar disorder and the services offered by Bipolar UK Expand An introduction to bipolar disorder and the services offered by Bipolar UK Bipolar, sometimes known as manic depression, is a severe mental illness characterised by significant mood swings including manic highs and depressive lows. Download this leaflet as a PDF