{"id":156,"date":"2015-05-17T14:25:11","date_gmt":"2015-05-17T14:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/?page_id=156"},"modified":"2018-04-01T14:12:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-01T14:12:00","slug":"mood-swings-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/mood-swings-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Mood Swings &#038; Anxiety: Journaling for Depression and Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Speed Sense for AdSense WordPress Plugin: https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/speed-sense\/ -->\n<div id=\"ssp0\" style=\"float:left;margin:10px 10px 10px 0;max-width:970px;width:100%;\">\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" id=\"adsgoogle0\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 100%; height: 250px\"  data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5877597362749779\" data-ad-slot=\"2816458245\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Many people have asked about mood swings and anxiety.\u00a0 That&#8217;s why we&#8217;d like to share our perspective on the importance of keeping track of your mood and anxiety by journaling and specifically how it can help you.<\/p>\n<div class=\"AW-Form-341207382\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">(function(d, s, id) {\n    var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n    if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n    js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n    js.src = \"\/\/forms.aweber.com\/form\/82\/341207382.js\";\n    fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, \"script\", \"aweber-wjs-c0ty2hg9p\"));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ApIVOxjhjhw\" width=\"660\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Two important points:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>1. It&#8217;s imperative to track your moods and anxiety.<br \/>\n2. And it\u2019s so important to document your thoughts and your process of working through them to resolution.<\/p>\n<p>If\u00a0you have read some of my other articles then I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ll know that I am referring to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).\u00a0 If not, you can <a href=\"http:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/an_introduction_to_feeling_good_and_panic_attacks.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here<\/a> and access an intro to CBT (opens a new browser window so you don&#8217;t lose your place).<\/p>\n<p><em>Let me discuss an example that illustrates the usefulness of tracking your moods and anxiety (and mood swings and anxiety).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever worked\u00a0in a\u00a0job\u00a0that requires you\u00a0to keep a log of completed tasks throughout the day then you may have had the experience I am going to discuss.\u00a0 Imagine throughout the day that you have written down all of the things that you&#8217;ve done.\u00a0 An example from the workplace could be responding to emails, dealing with phone calls, working on a draft report.<\/p>\n<p>Then later in the day you come back to that list, and you\u2019ll likely have noticed that probably much more was accomplished than what you thought before consulting the list. It can be quite encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>By tracking things in this manner you have a reference point to see what you have accomplished. It can be very encouraging to see how you have improved.\u00a0 This is the same with\u00a0any mood swings and anxiety.<\/p>\n<p><em>Allow me to expand&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You see we often don\u2019t realize that our moods and anxiety are improving when they are. For instance we don\u2019t often note that our anxiety levels are decreasing even when they are because we want to see everything in absolutes.\u00a0 Seeing things in absolute terms is a Cognitive Distortion called <a href=\"http:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/cognitive-distortions-anxiety.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Black and White Thinking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you don\u2019t always see patterns in your emotions and in turn your thinking that can be influencing your anxiety and mood.<\/p>\n<p>A form of journaling called a Daily Mood Log allows you to have a reference point by tracking your mood, anxiety, emotions, and even depression.<\/p>\n<p>A Daily Mood Log can point to certain times throughout the day and week when you are more anxious and possibly illuminate some environmental factors as well as situational factors contributing to your anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>As Dr. David Burns, M.D. indicates, <em>\u201cThe Daily Mood Log may seem simple, but it\u2019s a very sophisticated tool for changing how you think and feel.\u00a0 It will be the cornerstone of your treatment, as well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For in-depth examples of the Daily Mood Log you should check out Dr. David Burns\u2019 book: When Panic Attacks: The new drug \u2013 free anxiety therapy that can change your life.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0a simple adaptation that you can with today is journalling how you are feeling throughout the day and noting any thoughts that you are having so that you can then pin point the cognitive distortions in your thinking.\u00a0 You can then substitute healthier beliefs.\u00a0 You might also note what you were doing when the feeling and thoughts occured to see if there are particular triggers.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not suggesting you can completely eliminate all mood swings and anxiety as some are a natural part of anyone&#8217;s life.\u00a0 Rather, at times you might be able to eliminate unnecessary triggers in your environment, and sometimes you can\u2019t, but you can always come up with a strategy. For more information about strategies that will help with your mood and anxiety,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/when_people_and_situations_cause_you_anxiety.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here<\/a>.\u00a0 Or, alternatively, feel free to sign up\u00a0for\u00a0my free newsletter (below).<\/p>\n<div class=\"AW-Form-341207382\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">(function(d, s, id) {\n    var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n    if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n    js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n    js.src = \"\/\/forms.aweber.com\/form\/82\/341207382.js\";\n    fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, \"script\", \"aweber-wjs-c0ty2hg9p\"));\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>Reference<\/strong> (Mood Swings &amp; Anxiety)<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Burns, D. D. (2006) When Panic Attacks: The new drug \u2013 free anxiety therapy that can change your life. (pp. 76- 90) New York, NY: Broadway Books.<\/span><\/p>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/apis.google.com\/js\/platform.js\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"g-ytsubscribe\" data-channelid=\"UCJfm1Oh6tZl2clckmX3pQ7w\" data-layout=\"default\" data-count=\"hidden\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n<script id=\"godaddy-security-s\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.sucuri.net\/badge\/badge.js\" data-s=\"221\" data-i=\"cfb2b3c6bbd25e7a29b59a6904ea23c6336163afd4\" data-p=\"o\" data-c=\"d\" data-t=\"g\"><\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many people have asked about mood swings and anxiety.\u00a0 That&#8217;s why we&#8217;d like to share our perspective on the importance of keeping track of your mood and anxiety by journaling and specifically how it can help you. Two important points: 1. It&#8217;s imperative to track your moods and anxiety. 2. And it\u2019s so important to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[29,1515,1514,979,1516,1438,975,1513,977,1512,1440,1439,982,974,983,1517,981,976,978,980],"class_list":["post-156","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1607,"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156\/revisions\/1607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panicattackrecovery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}