Hey, how you doin'?

5 Aug 2016
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The character Joey Tribbiani famously uttered that phrase in 'Friends' to chat up any available lady. I would be delighted to have the delectable Mr LeBlanc utter those words to me, but finding the answer would be a different matter.

When I was very unwell, I would have been reduced to responding with 'Hmmm...' or 'Hneh...' Any noise really, so that I didn't have to vocalise the sheer terror I felt as I battled to remain in control of my emotions. I was also unable to vocalise that I wasn't well, because as soon as I admitted that out aloud to another human being, I would be admitting it to myself, and I really wasn't ready to do that.

As I began to accept that I wasn't well, my response would change to 'Up and down', which does nothing to describe the rollercoaster of emotions I was riding. Later it would be 'Better than I was', which was a truer representation of how things were, but open to misinterpretation by people with no interest in my wellbeing.

Finding Moodscope allowed me to put a number to that feeling. I score mainly 65 now, with an overall average of 57, significantly better than the days when 11 was an achievement. If I go above those averages, I know that I am going to crash. Too low and I know that I've already crashed. These scores are a better judge and description of how I am feeling, than I am of myself. I can also use the 20 emotions to describe exactly what is going on. 'Ooohhh, that's a bit hostile'; 'I'm proud of that' etc. and then do something to reduce the negative and increase the positive.

Now, as I find myself in recovery and trying each day to maintain my wellness, my answers to Joey's question would be: 'Taking each day as it comes'; 'On the mend', and my favourite, via Douglas Adams: 'Mostly OK'. Sometimes I am not, sometimes I have a bad day, but that is the thing about recovery, you have to take the good with the bad.

So, if Joey asked you, how would you respond?

Rats

A Moodscope member

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Moodscope members seek to support each other by sharing their experiences through this blog. Posts and comments on the blog are the personal views of Moodscope members, they are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice.

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