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Reading a paper on the latest in bipolar research can be a little depressing. It seems like science fiction, as there still is a lot of guesswork going on. You also might not feel that you exactly have the symptoms the patients in any bipolar research study report. How can you do some bipolar research on yourself that give benefits for you? By following a routine (or ritual) called Life Charting.
What Is Life Charting?
German scientist Dr Emil Kraeppelin is credited for not only distinguishing manic depression from schizophrenia (the popular diagnosis of the early twentieth century), but coming up with Life Charting. At the time, it was done by the treating doctor who filled in the information to be analyzed later.
Basically, you mark on a sheet of graph paper or chart the day s date on thee horizontal line and how you felt that day on the vertical. Kreapplin used a numerical scale for the vertical line. A zero meant that you felt normal (neither euphoric nor depressed). One to four meant how manic you felt. Negative one to four is how depressed you feel.
If you feel you cannot do Life Charting, since you fear that you cannot accurately diagnose how you feel, have a family member who lives with you do it. It is strongly urged that the patient try doing Life charting on his or her own. If nothing else, it sets a habit in the patient to try and think objectively how their behavior has been.
Another Benefit of Life Charting
Although life charting might seem a bit like keeping a diary solely consisting of dots, these Life Charts can greatly help your doctor in treating you. It is as if you are handing him the latest bipolar research on yourself. The doctors get to see how often and severe your mood swings are, as well as how accurate you are in being aware of what is going on within you and without you.
You and your doctor might want to do variations of the Life Charting technique to do further ands more intensive bipolar research on your condition. You may be asked to Life Chart how often you drink alcohol or do drugs or how you feel during the hours of the day, instead of the day as a whole. This can help identify any triggers for your symptoms and help you deal with or avoid these triggers.
german scientist, life charts, graph paper, manic depression, numerical scale, mood swings, vertical line, horizontal line, keeping a diary, guesswork, bipolar, doctor who, schizophrenia, emil, family member, dots, habit, science fiction, twentieth century, variations
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