When you are depressed, it’s really easy to slump into doing very little. Stay indoors, overeat and watch TV all day. But we all know that doesn’t help, we need to do something about being depressed rather than just accept it. And being proactive, is better than just reacting to each downer as they happen, at least IMHO.

Moodscope has been really useful in helping me to be proactive in managing my moods: in May my Affectogram gave me some good pointers as to why my scores had been lower than usual for a while: I had some very weak “Positives”, notably Strong (38%), Active (40%), Enthusiastic (46%) and Proud (46%). My worst negatives were Afraid (57%) and Upset (62%).

In late May and June I took some small steps to improve my positives. Recalling that my last CBT therapist emphasised the link between enthusiasm/motivation and energy levels, I looked for things that I’d enjoy and look forward to. I joined a local book club, which has given me a good night out every month, pointed me at some good reads and introduced me to new friends; I scoured theatre and concert programmes and booked up for quite a few, and have seen a few gems; and I got really proactive of organizing holidays and short breaks. Other things, like losing a lot of weight/ improving my fitness/cutting down on the drink and doing some good fundraising work for a local charity have really improved my feelings of being “Strong” and “Proud”.

This appears to have had some effect: my latest Affectogram shows all my “Positives” over 60%, all my “Negatives” are below 50% ( although my “Afraid” and “Distressed” scores are still in the 40s, i.e. too high) -  and my average overall score has increased by about 6 percentage points in 6 months.

Has this “solved” my problems? Of course not - there’s a lot more to do. And could it be a temporary improvement? Quite possibly. But it IS progress. And I’m happy with that.”

Oldie but Goldie

A Moodscope member