Porpoising Today

Been porpoising in and out of stress today, mostly work related.  I have a project that is important and is due later this month.  It feels like it's not gelling like it should be at this point.  That looks like a should statement, but the real issue is overgeneralizations.  We'll never get this done.  It's going to require all my time between now and the due date to complete.  Neither of those is true, those are just thoughts that pop into my head.  I'm countering them by focusing on the scope of the project, which really is manageable.  Another way I can address these is the so what if we don't get it done, then what? That's not the best way to approach this because it really is a high priority item for the group.  I'll stick with assessing the scope and the team that is available to help.  I do have to put in extra time between now and the due date, but that's typical for projects like this.  I'll get through this.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had an OK Day Today

I was feeling kind of stressed this morning and tracked it down to should statements regarding inputs to my project.  Other people "should" have gotten me their inputs.  I was able to successfully challenge these should statements, though it wasn't a slam dunk.  I thought about it, and it would have been nice if they had gotten me their inputs, but they didn't and not due to lack of trying.  I know they all tried and kept me in the loop.  They let me know early when there was going to be a problem and that's what they really "should" have done.  I was able to  work around their inputs.  On one more note, the schedule was very aggressive, which is obvious in hind sight.  When I stated this wasn't a slam dunk, what I meant was that it took a couple of hours for this logic to sink in.  That's typical for me.  Sometimes counter arguments take a while to sink in.  The trick for me is to keep at it.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Been Updating the Website

Lots of little things to update.  Yes, I did think I'll never get this done, but I'm much better at handling thoughts like that these days.  I updated every screen shot on the site, I re-did the Contact page to better reflect the contact screen on the app, I updated the home page and created two tools pages, one for Journaling Tools and one for Thriving Tools.  I added pages for the 4 new tools, including screen shots, I deleted the old Support page (replaced by the Contact page), and had to re-build the navigation bar.  It's been a while since I did any edits to the page so I forgot how to edit the website, but I was able to figure things out fairly quickly.  There is still more tuning of the site to do because it's built for the Android version.  I need to update the text a bit more to apply to the iPhone version.  I started doing that with this update, but still have some more things to do in that regard.  Check it out...
http://www.moodsentry.com

One more thing.  I didn't update the screen shots on Apple's app store.  I won't be able to do so until my next binary update.  Store policy that started this past January dictates that I can't change the screenshots one I post the update on the store.  I may release a simple update to let me change the screenshots.  Of course, I could live with the old screen shots.  We'll see.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Reviewed Several Entries This Evening

I spent some time reviewing several of my entries this evening and believe I can see a difference between how I was when I made some of these entries and how I am.  However, I still see room for improvement.  I have a tendency to take things personally and can see that in some of my entries.  Based on my recent experience with the job offer I rejected, I can still see some of that.  However, I recognized it this past time around and did an OK job keeping those thoughts under wraps.  I only think I did OK because I still knocked myself off-axis for a few days taking the offer of a demotion personally, rather than just a business decision on someone else's part.  However, my point with this entry is to let you know that stopping and simply reviewing multiple entries you make in the app is a good thing to do every now and then.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Still Working the Updates

I realized that I need to update the screen shots on the Android and iPhone markets, as well as on the website.  When I realized that, I caught myself slipping into some Overgeneralizations of the type "I'll never get this done."  Meaning that I won't update everything I need to for this release.  I also had a should statement like "I should have thought of this before I released it."  I caught both and was able to counter the overgeneralization with some simple analysis.  I just ran a mental note of which pictures I need to update, as well as which verbiage.  I'm good as long as I get it done fairly quickly.  Regarding the should statement, I asked myself what harm have I done?  None that I can think of, so why "should" I have done it.  It would have been good to think of this before the release and upload new screen shots while waiting for the new version to work its way through the process, but there's really no harm generating the screen shots and uploading them after the new versions have been released.  I'm feeling fairly comfortable with this.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

New Version is Released

I released the new version on both Android and iPhone this evening.  As stated earlier, rather than one tools list there are now two.  One list is for Journaling tools which provide different structures for capturing your thoughts.  The other list is for Thriving tools which provide different ways of preparing for the future.  There was a bug fix in the iPhone version in regards to the text box that displays the reminder time.  Also, the hints were updated a bit in some of the tools to provide a touch more detail on how that specific tool functions.  Let me know what you think.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

New Tool: Barriers and Breakthroughs

This is a new tool that will be in the next release.  This is a two window tool, like the Event Log.  The top window is for entering in thoughts that serve as barriers to actions of feeling good.  The kind of thoughts that may be getting in your way of doing things.  The lower window is for those thoughts that will help you breakthrough those barrier thoughts and achieve what you'd like to achieve.  There is an example, and like all examples probably tells you more about me than you care to know.  I hope this tool helps.  Expect the updates to be released this week.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

New Tool: Event Prep

One of the new tools that will be in the next update is called Event Prep.  I created this for myself to help me prepare for upcoming events.  It's a three window view, like the contacts page, only you can create new entries like you can in most of the tools in Mood Sentry.  When you create a new entry, you'll be prompted for a title, then you previous experience in similar events, and finally how you  would like things to go this time.  That's only two windows.  The third window is intended to be filled in after the event, so I don't have you fill it in for a new entry.  This may be a tool that is really for me more than anyone else, but who knows, perhaps you need a little fore-thought before attending future events.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Working on a Core Belief

I think I have this core belief that I'm no good.  I'm working on this via the Observations tool be cause it seems to fit how I want to address this thought.  The Essays tool might also be a good choice, due to it's free form, single window structure, but I think the Observation tool is simply a better fit.  I'm not sure I've nailed the thought exactly, but I think I'm close enough.  I address some questions in this entry, such as "is it a fact or belief" and "does it help me?"  I then start listing evidence to the contrary.  I'm still working on evidence to the contrary.  Once I get a few more items in there, I'll work on where this may have come from.  I'm thinking it's driven mostly by my natural tendency toward all or nothing thinking.  I'll see how it develops.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Submitted the Update to the App Store this Evening

It usually takes a few days for them to review, so expect the update early next week assuming everything checks out at Apple.  When the iPhone version is approved, I'll upload the Android version and release both at about the same time.  There may be one more mod I do to the Android version in the mean time, just a formatting change.  In the meantime, I'll be using the 4 new tools on my version of Mood Sentry.

It feels good to be at this point.  A lot of my thoughts are driven by forecasts, which can get extreme as goals/deadlines near and drive different types of distortions such as over generalizations ("I'll never get this done" or "this always happens"), Magnification (getting stressed over something small that's not working), and more.  I'm better at dealing with these thoughts than I used to be, but they still manifest.  Lots of stuff going on at work as well as with this app, so I'm turning in for the night.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Been Testing the New Update, it's Looking Good

I have been testing the next update, and it's looking good so far in terms of bugs.  Pretty clean.  I often get anxious around the time of a new release, my typical forecasts of things not working well or never getting done.  The app helps me manage those thoughts.  Of course these days I have a lot going on at work too.  This creates even more stress, but also gives me the incentive to knock something off my plate.  I know it will feel good to get this next release out the door and get one thing off my mind.  Other than that, I've been working with Mood Sentry to help manage this short term, stressful time, and all I can say is it helps.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Work is Really Starting to Pick Up Now

When this happens, my distortions really kick in and my stress really picks up.  To combat this in the recent past, I've made use of my Prioritization tool.  I've said before and I'll say it again, I've never been too confident with that particular tool.  It either seems too specific, or too general to function.  I'm not sure which.  However, when ever I really need it, it seems to provide enough direction that I'm able to focus on the things I need to focus on, and able to put off or delegate the other things.  The other tool that comes in handy in times like this is the Daily Goals tool.  That's almost a no-brainer.  Setting goals for the morning before I get to work can really help because once I get into work, things can get hectic and throw me off task.  Having a pre-made list helps.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had Lots of Challenges Today

I have a lot of unrelated tasks to address at work, and it seems all have interactions that in my mind have the potential to turn confrontational.  Thus, my day was fraught with forecasts of conflict and doom.  What do I do?  It depends.  Sometimes I procrastinate and find something else to work on while other times I just jump in.  The thing is that jumping in rarely results in a negative experience.  I have some custom entries that relate to stuff like this, which now that I think of it I should review before turning in for the night.  Procrastination really doesn't do much for me except lengthen the amount of time to forecast conflict and doom.  When I catch these forecasts I can counter the thoughts, but I think the better thing to do is get the interaction over with ASAP.  I'll make forecasting a special topic for myself this week and make sure I address it in some way every day.  I can create new entries and/or update existing entries.  Perhaps I'll share something on this blog.  We'll see.   Mood Sentry is pretty handy for recording what's going on in my head at any given moment and reviewing the record at a later, less hectic time.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Thinking About Tomorrow

Per my evening reminder, I'm thinking about tomorrow and what thoughts might pop up.  Already I'm forecasting conflict and failure.  I have a couple of meetings for which I'm forecasting conflict and I have my project financial data to retrieve and review which I forecast will be terrible.  Here's how I counter these thoughts...

Regarding the meetings, I've met with these people multiple times over the past month or so and they have never been confrontational.  They are dedicated and sometimes a bit intense, but never confrontational.  If there is an issue, we'll resolve it in a professional manner.  There's one more interaction that I MAY have tomorrow, and that one involves a customer.  However, this customer has been very easy to deal with and if he doesn't like how I marked up the document, we'll try something else.

Regarding the financial data, I track that weekly.  Because I do that there is rarely a big  surprise from week to week.  If there is a big surprise, it is most likely an error that I can correct.  Worst case, an error may take a couple of weeks to correct in the system.

There's really no reason to be stressing about tomorrow.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Still Testing the Next Update

I'm still testing the next update, and didn't make the progress I thought I would.  Sometimes I get distracted when I'm on the computer, and sometimes I spend time working on new features rather than just getting what I have debugged and out the door.  Tonight I had an issue with my test database that really had nothing to do with the app and everything to do with how I created the test database.  It took me a while to figure that out, which resulted in a few distortions such as "I'll never figure this out" and things of that nature.  Glad to say I'm back on track and will use the Daily Goals to keep me on track tomorrow.  Other than a thorough technical checkout and updating the documentation, I think the next update is about ready to go out the door.

How is Mood Sentry working for you?  What features would you like to see?  See the following for information on contacting us, or use the Contact Us page in the References section of Mood Sentry.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

How Did Things Go Today?

I just reviewed my evening reminder.  It has a lot of stuff in it, and I decided to customize the reminder for myself by removing the "Review My Experiences..." line.  I rarely do that so why have it there?  The rest of the items I usually do, so I'll keep them.  Today went pretty well.  I got a lot of stuff done but did have some challenges forecasting conflict and doom.  Looking back, the forecasts were all for naught.  Things are stressful right now, and I don't see that ending anytime soon.  I need to remember to use the app, and in particular the Daily Goals and Prioritization tools.  Those tools have really come in handy during high tempo, stressful times at work.  At least for me they do.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

The Cost Benefit Tool

I don't use the Cost Benefit tool that often.  I tend to not buy into the Cost Benefit format in terms of convincing me to change my thought patterns, but I can buy into in in terms of motivating me to keep trying.   As a result, I probably have fewer entries in the Cost Benefit tool than I do in any of the other tools, except the Ideal Self tool.  I still review what I have in the CB tool because it helps me look at my thoughts in a different perspective.  I tend to have more costs than benefits, but that is probably due to focusing on negative thoughts.  Now that I write this, I'm wondering if I can use the tool to encourage positive thoughts.  I'll think about that.  The benefits of such an entry would probably out-weigh the costs.  I'll see if I can come up with a positive thought for this tool.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Ideal Self

I added the Ideal Self tool to help me focus on what/who I want to be.  I did this because I had spent so many years thinking of myself as depressed, that I had a tough time visualizing myself as anything but depressed.  So, I added the tool to help me define what I want to be.  I don't visit this tool as often as I thought I would.  I spend most of my time with My Experiences, Observations, and Essays.  However, I do have a few entries in the Ideal Self tool and I do find it beneficial to review these every now and then, and even update them as needed.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had a Stressful Day

My stress was mostly due to forecasting.  I just kept thinking that my meetings and contacts with others were going to get out of hand.  I had one meeting in the morning that felt kind of odd in terms of being run by someone who's under a lot of stress and thus imparting that on others.  But the rest of my meetings were fairly benign.  Actually, most were quite nice.  I caught myself forecasting and did challenge many of those thoughts, but I still felt uneasy during most of the day.  This is one of those things that I need to keep addressing.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Took Today Off

It looks like things will be picking up at work in the next week or so, so I took the day off today and spent some time hiking with my wife.  I'm still having issues with the job situation (rejected a job offer), and spent a great deal of time during the hike thinking of work related stuff.  While doing that, I periodically found myself identifying cognitive distortions and addressing them real-time, in my head.  I seem to get better at this as time goes by which kind of makes sense in light of the frequency in which I use Mood Sentry.  By the end of the hike I was feeling better and ruminating less.  That's a good thing.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Lots of Work on the Next Update Today

It's pretty much done, except for some final tweaks and checkout.  The main thing with this release is that we've split the Tools list in two.  We'll have journaling tools and thriving tools.  The journaling tools include the Event Log, Observations, Cost Benefits, and Essays.  There are 2 new ones, Auto Thoughts which is a 3 panel view to help capture and analyze your automatic thoughts and Barriers and Breakthroughs, which is a 2 panel tool to capture thoughts that act as a barrier to action or feeling good and thoughts to help you break through those barriers.  Regarding thriving tools, In there we have Daily Goals, Prioritization, and Ideal Self, plus two new tools: Event Prep and Task Timer.   The event prep is a three window in which you identify previous experiences with events similar to an upcoming event, how you would like things to go for the upcoming event, and finally capture how things actually went. The Task Timer tool is a two window tool in which you predict how long a task will take and what you expect to accomplish, start the timer, and when done stop the timer and record what you actually did.  There will be some additional code clean up too in this next release.  Look for it in the next couple of weeks.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Worked My Experiences this Evening

I took my time and reviewed My Experiences this evening, focusing on the things that have been bothering me most at work over the past week.  It helped.  How?  By getting me to focus on my thoughts through specific lenses, such as Mental Filter.  Looking back over the past week I could see that I was focused on the things that didn't go well with the job opportunity.  There were things that did go well, such as I aced the interview and I did in fact get an offer.  I also thought about how disqualifying the positive can combine with my All or Nothing thinking to drive some anxiety related to project status.  Each distortion presents a lens through with I can look at the thoughts that drive my feelings.  The lens may apply or it may not.  Reviewing My Experiences makes me apply them all and identify which, if any, apply to a particular thought pattern.  How about you?

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Still Stressing on the Job Rejection

Sometimes I have a tough time letting things go.  Rejecting that job offer is one of them.  Let's see if I can do some analysis real-time.  I feel coerced/betrayed by the company for trying to get me to accept a demotion for a job I really wanted.  I think there's a should statement lurking in my thoughts, such as they should have offered me the job at my current level, or they shouldn't have tried to get me to accept a demotion.  There are other thoughts in my head too.  I'll never move out of my current position, or I'll be stuck here for the rest of my career.  Those are over generalizations.  Regarding the should statements, it would have been great if the company had offered me the position at my current level, but they have an agenda and it is not just about me.  The company is doing this for just about every position that is being offered.  Regarding stuck at my current position, losing one opportunity does not mean that I'll be stuck here forever.  There are other things I can do, such as keep my eye on the company job board for potential opportunities.  I can even apply for jobs outside my company.

Self talk like this helps, a bit.  However, I'm still a little sore about the job offer.  Some things take time to get over.  I think if I keep addressing these thoughts that I'll get over this a bit quicker.  Technically we'll never know unless I can turn the clock back and see how long it will take to get over this slight without trying, but that can never happen.  I'll keep working on it because I believe that working it will help.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

The Ideal Self Tool

I added the Ideal Self tool to help me focus on what/who I want to be.  The reason was that I had identified myself as a depressed person who tried to hide it from others for quite some time, and I needed something to help me think of myself as something other than that.  So, I created the ideal self tool based on some books I read such as The New Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.  I figured documenting what I want and reviewing it every now and then would put my focus on the future I want rather than the past I was trying to leave behind.  It helps a bit, and may help more as I progress in my recovery.  How does it work for you?

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

References

I included references that we think are helpful for people using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  Two of the references are related to CBT, one is related to resilience, and the other two are related to this app, Mood Sentry.  I find it useful to review the first three references every now and then.  The other two references are really there for people other than me.  One refers to this blog, and the other is a Contact Us sheet.  Are there any other references you think might be worth while?  Let me know.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had a Better Day Today

I'm still off-axis at work due to rejecting the job offer, but I'm getting better.  I know it's not personal, and have even started an entry in the Event Log for this item.  This is helping me identify my thoughts and see how valid they are.  It's been a while since I've entered an event.  Mostly I've been working with the Observation Log and Essays tools, which are usually the first tools I go to.  However, this recent item is perfect for the Event Log.  I'm trying to capture what's really going on in my head these days, which is tougher than I anticipated.  However, capturing what I can in the Event Log and revisiting periodically is really helping me.  I think that one of the benefits of having a phone based app to help capture your thoughts is persistent access to the Event Log.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Tough Day at Work

I turned down a job opportunity today.  I knew I was going to do this, and tossed and turned last night thinking about it.  I had my typical forecasts of conflict, but did not experience any, which is also typical (the experience is not like the forecast).  The reason for turning the offer down was that it would require a demotion.  I really wanted the job, but not enough to justify the demotion (one step down in grade).  I found myself using should statements, such as they should have offered the job at the higher grade, which didn't help my mood.  I caught a lot of these distortions but my mood was still sour for most of the day.  Lots of anxiety and depression.  I've journaled some of these thoughts in Mood Sentry this evening and I'm feeling much better now.  I'm still a bit anxious about the whole ordeal, but I think I'll get a much better night's sleep tonight.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Preparing for Tomorrow

On Sunday evening I like to review My Experiences with Monday in mind to get myself ready for work in Monday.  I like to think about what might come up.  For tomorrow, I identified some should statements regarding something I need to respond to first thing in the morning, some forecasting regarding some other activities I need to perform, and even some labeling, which is something that rarely comes up.  I thought about some counter thoughts for each and then used the daily goals tool to capture the more important items I have for tomorrow.  Doing this helps me feel better prepared for tomorrow and helps be sleep better.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Tools

I have multiple tools in the Tools listing, and it's going to increase with the next release.  Why so many?  Because one size doesn't always fit all.  I use them all.  Each tool has its own characteristic and thus may or may not feel "right" when I'm trying to capture a thought.  Sometimes I'll start an entry in one tool and after a couple of iteration on that entry I'll realize that it's a better fit in another tool.  It just depends on the thought and how I interpret that thought.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

A lot of Forecasting Today

I reviewed Mood Sentry in the morning like I have been doing, but I still had a lot of forecasting regarding a phone call I needed to make.  I needed to tell someone something I didn't think they wanted to hear.  I caught myself trying to motivate me via thoughts like  "cowboy up" and "just do it." However, those thoughts really weren't helping.  It wasn't until I reflected on my past experiences delivering bad news and the responses I had, and using motivational thoughts such as "I'll feel better once I make contact," that I was able to buckle down and make the call.  So how did the call go?  It was a non-event.  I need to use Mood Sentry a little more often when I have days like this.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Using Daily Goals

The Daily Goals tool only has three lines for listing things to accomplish.  I thought about adding more lines when I first created Mood Sentry but I figured that three was good enough because as I accomplished things I could simply change the entry on that line to something else.  Three was not an overwhelming number and helped keep me focused.  I also used my Mid Day reminder to prompt me to review my Daily Goals and modify them if needed.  This worked fine for a while until I found myself with lots of little things to address on any given day.  Rather than adding more lines, I decided to list multiple items on one line.  I grouped them logically, such as work related things on one line and  home related things on another.  I still do this today, even though my workload has lessened.  If you think 3 lines to enter things to accomplish is not enough, go ahead and list 2 or 3 items on each line.  See how that works for you.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.