Mood disorder charting/tracking & dysphoria

[Guest Cyd]

Hi folks,

Anyone here have a mood disorder and use some kind of mood charting/tracking system? I've been charting my moods ever since my diagnosis with bipolar disorder and PTSD over seven years ago. My "mood chart" has actually grown gradually so that it's now waaaaay more than a simple chart of how I feel each day. I chart moods, meds, food, sleep, exercise, "red flag" feelings/events, various self-care and growth goals, and at least one thing a day that I'm grateful for, and I journal a LOT. I call it my Self Chronicle now because it's so much more than a chart. (One year's Self Chronicle is about two inches thick.)

Anyway, in discussing last month's chart with my therapist yesterday, we both wondered whether it would be helpful to come up with a way to chart my dysphoria and add that to my Self Chronicle. I'm really clear about gender-dysphoric feelings being different and separate from moods, but we're both wondering about how mood & dysphoria affect each other (if at all).

If you have ever quantified and/or tracked your dysphoria, I would love to hear how you did so. Thanks!

[Guest Squallsong]

I have charted this. I used presentation as my indicator (none, some, fully dressed, and made-up) and I added a second mood score to show how that affected my mood.

Maybe a bit off topic, but I also found that my mood noticeably cycled with moon phases...higher with full and new, lower with waxing and waning. I've been curious as to whether other mood charting people have noticed anything similar.

Good luck Cyd!

Take care and be well!

[Guest Cyd]

Thanks for the response, Squallsong! Very helpful to think about dysphoria (or, should it ever miraculously happen, euphoria) in relation to my gender presentation each day. Of course, I'm FTM-ish, and have lived for 19 years as an out lesbian, so my clothing and general appearance was already on the masculine side before I had my gender epiphany--but it's remarkable how even the smallest things (how a pair of pants fits, which style of compression shirt I'm wearing, color of outer shirt, whether my undershorts creep up on me, whether I need a haircut, etc.) can impact my state of mind. That's the kind of sneaky detail I'm after in wanting to track gender dysphoria, so I can "get a bead on it" and really understand which track my gender train is on.

I haven't noticed my mood being heavily influenced by the cycles of the moon, but I'm not surprised to hear that yours was/is, as I've known others for whom that was true. We humans are mostly made of water, after all, and the moon does create ocean tides--the human body would seem like a cinch compared to the whole ocean!

Thanks again!

Peace and Good,

Cyd