MoodMapping the New Emotional Intelligence

New Blog at MoodMapping.com

2011-07-25T08:28:00.000+01:00

This blog has moved to Wordpress - on my website! - yes I am sorry blogger -you have been a good friend
However I am continuing the bipolar blog on www.bipolarassociation.com
Also for more information about workshops for Moodmapping - go to
http://www.meetup.com/MoodMapping-Workshop-group/

Workshops are the first and second Saturdays of the month and every Tuesday evening, - email me to let me know you are coming along
liz at lizmiller dot co dot uk

Workshops for 2011

2011-01-19T15:38:00.001Z

MOODMAPPING ™

The dates of the workshops in the coming year are as follows, each one focusing on one aspect of mood mapping
5th February, Saturday - Bipolar and MOODMAPPING™
8th February, Tuesday - Teaching and MOODMAPPING™
19th February, Saturday - Anxiety and MOODMAPPING™
5th March, Saturday - Creativity and MOODMAPPING™
8th March, Tuesday - Team and MOODMAPPING™
19th March, Saturday - Procrastination and MOODMAPPING™
2nd April, Saturday - Bipolar and MOODMAPPING™
12th April, Tuesday - Teaching and MOODMAPPING™
16th of April, Saturday - Anxiety and MOODMAPPING™
7th May, Saturday - Creativity and MOODMAPPING™
10th May, Tuesday - Team and MOODMAPPING™
21st May, Saturday - Procrastination and MOODMAPPING™
Maximum 10 people per workshop
The cost is £20 (Saturday) - £30 (Tuesdays) From 10 - 4.30 pm In Fulham
Booking - please email me the date(s) you are interested in attending

Mood Mapping - Available Now!! UK and International readers

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller http://www.lizmiller.info/ www.lizmiller.co.uk www.moodmapping.com

Moods and Creativity Saturday's workshop

2010-10-20T22:09:00.000+01:00

I have been sceptical about the relationship between mental health problems and creativity. For the most part - mental health is associated with poverty, difficult life events, and lack of opportunity. How this balances with a romantic view of the artist as a creative genius starving in the attic, dying for his art.

Nonetheless there is a link between creativity, poverty, depression, bipolar temperament

Saturday's workshop discussed creativity and moods. The bigger the moods, the greater creativity as long as you are in control of your mood. MoodMapping helps you manage your moods better, if you can increase your moods and stay in control you can harness your moods to your benefit. Creativity needs an quick mind, an ability to change direction and look at situations from different angles. The ability to handle big moods distinguishes people who keep fighting and push ahead from those who succumb to life's challenges. Being overwhelmed by life events will not help you manage the inevitable crises in your life. Winners need to be able to carry on when everything around them crumbles. However you feel, you have to keep trying and find a way to manage how you feel.

MoodMapping helps people be more objective about how they feel. This process can help you increase the size of your moods as much as it can help reduce them and make themm easier to manage. The trick is to get out of your comfort zones.

The next workshops is about team and moods - if you manage your own mood and if you can manage the moods of your team, you will win. The Apprentice shows time and time again, when you manage the mood of your team, you have a 90% chance of winning the competition

Mood Mapping - Available Now!! UK and International readers

(c) Dr. Liz Miller www.moodmapping.com

Employers and Bipolar disorder

2010-06-20T12:37:00.000+01:00

Employers and bipolar

1 in a 100 people have bipolar disorder and it is becoming more common. This may be because Stephen Fry, following his documentary The Secret Life of a Manic-Depressive has made fashionable or it may be a real increase reflecting our increasingly chaotic lifestyles.

Last year GPs wrote 391 million prescriptions for antidepressants. This has doubled in the last 10 years and suggests that at any one time over 4 million people are being treated for depression.

Dr Liz Miller has studied mood, mood disorders, bipolar disorder and depression for the last 15 years. She has developed the Miller moodmap. This plots mood on two axes, how much energy person has and how good or bad they feel. The Miller Mood Map shows the four basic moods, Stress and Anxiety; Exhaustion and Depression; Action; and Calm.

According to the model developed by Dr Liz Miller, bipolar disorder means extreme, unstable and difficult to manage moods, while depression represents extreme exhaustion. We always have a mood, and most of the time we manage it well enough without outside help. Nonetheless, there are times when it may not be so easy to manage our moods. At this point we need to become more proactive and start looking at how we can consciously manage moods more effectively. This is where Moodmapping comes into play. Moodmapping provides a tool that enables people to map their moods, look at the causes of why they feel the way they do and look at strategies that will help them feel better. This not only improve their mental health and well-being but also improves people's ability to work effectively and efficiently.

A good manager and employer knows almost intuitively how their workforce feels. However it is no longer easy to spend the time with employees to get to know them as well as one would like. Moodmapping is a way enables employers to understand how people are feeling quickly and easily. Changes in mood come before changes in behaviour. We start feeling bad before our productivity drops off. By being more aware of their employees moods, it is possible to take action before the employee does themselves or the company damage.

If you have an employee with bipolar disorder or depression, 99% of the time he or she will work effectively, creatively and efficiently for you. However as an employer, you need to be aware of what look for and what do should someone's mood change dramatically. By planning for this in advance, and agreeing a course of action with your employee you can head off most disasters before they happen.

By understanding mood better, and how different people respond to their circumstances, it becomes easier to have a happy and productive workforce, than if you leave it until somebody has become seriously ill.

Above all you need to be aware of what happens when someone's mood changes. You see her behaviour change. Someone who is normally calm and happy may become quiet and withdrawn. Equally they may become overexcited, they may be staying late or leaving early. These changes in behaviour follow changes in mood.
The key is talking to your employee sooner rather than later, asking them what is happening in their life both work and at home and how they are feeling. Once you start communicating you can start managing what is happening.

As an employer you have a duty of care to make sure the work you expect employees to do does not make them ill. The most important step you can take is to be more aware of how they feel. Moodmapping is a quick and easy way to understand mood.

Mood Mapping - Available Now!! UK and International readers Click here for Blackwells Click here for Waterstones Click here for Play.com US readers: buy from Amazon.com Click here Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller http://www.lizmiller.info/ www.lizmiller.co.uk www.moodmapping.com

Diet, bipolar and moodmapping

2010-06-20T09:55:00.002+01:00

I am frequently asked what I eat. This may even come with a request for a meal by meal breakdown of my menu over the week. It always strikes me as a somewhat strange and personal question. Not least because I hope that no one is quite stupid enough to eat exactly what I do and expect to get exactly the same results.

We are all different although there are some general principles which I believed apply to everyone.

My rule of thumb is, nothing with a barcode! that is if it does not look like food it probably is not food!
Factories do not produce food, they process material. I have a packet of cakes, made by a well-known manufacturer, kindly given to me four years ago in my top cupboard. I still have them. They look exactly the same today as they did when they were given to me. anything that last that long without decaying is not food! it is some kind of weird material that does who knows what, to your insides. if it doesn't look like food it probably is not. Food comes from trees plants, vegetables and occasionally fish

In short Avoid processed food. If something similar not around 10,000 years ago then you probably should not eat it. I've never seen a Kit-Kat Tree, nor a fizzy drink come from anything other than a can.

I take omega three fish oils, and multimineral multivitamin supplements. I'm not certain there is any great buried in one brand over another providing you choose a reputable brand.

Usually these requests come after somebody has seen the programme Stephen Fry and the secret life ofthe manic-depressive. In the little bit of the programme in which I figured, Stephen and I are seen shopping in Borough market for oily fish. Stephen explains that I manage my bipolar disorder without medication.

Staying well with bipolar disorder depends on more than diet. living a healthy life is crucially important. This includes diet and exercise drinking plenty of water, making sure that one surroundings are as nice as possible, having a good social support network, having plenty of strategies to manage difficult situations and being able to do the kind of job and live the kind of life that suits your personality.

All of this is explained in the book Moodmapping by Dr Liz Miller. Self management is a frequent theme of our workshops on moodmapping.

The reason you may want to learn to moodmapping, is to increase help you increase your understanding of how you feel and therefore manage it better.

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. Moodmapping is a way to monitor your moods just as a diabetic would monitor their blood sugar. I do it so that you now, but it is difficult for me to imagine how I could possibly live without mood mapping. I use a wide range of healthy foods and no two days over the same. however every day I do check my mood at least once probably more frequently.

By knowing how I feel, I can manage my moods before they become extreme and before they become out of control. This enables me to live without bipolar disorder. After all bipolar disorder is only a name for extreme unstable unmanageable moods. And if your moods are reasonable stable and managed then I think it is fair to say that you have cured your bipolar disorder!

This does not mean that you may not have a vulnerability, in this area. Just as somebody who has injured their back, will always be vulnerable to a further back injury. However if they exercise, make sure the posture is good and avoid doing something that might cause further injury, there is no reason why they cannot live pain-free lives doing just about anything. 10 years ago I ruptured 3 discs! I now run four or five times a week, and as long as I do not lift anything heavy I am fine.

The next course is on Saturday 3 July and it would be lovely to seeyou there.

Mood Mapping - Available Now!! UK and International readers

Click here for Blackwells Click here for Waterstones Click here for Play.com

US readers: buy from Amazon.com Click here Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller http://www.lizmiller.info/ www.lizmiller.co.uk www.moodmapping.comMood

Mood Mapping Workshop Sat 5th June 10.00 - 5.00pm Fulham

2010-06-03T06:07:00.001+01:00

Are your moods holding you back? Do you have days when you feel you can conquer the world, followed by days when you hardly want to get out of bed? Are there days when you have so much to do that you are overwhelmed, and other days when you can calmly work and nothing is too much trouble?

What is going on? In one sentence - your moods are getting in your way! The difference between those days, that are in all other ways the same, is not what is going on in your outside life, but what is going on inside you. And it is also probably true for you, that this has been going on for a while. And the problem is more likely getting worse than not, as the pressures around us increases, the pressure to perform, the pressure to keep your job and keep everyone happy around you increases year by year and even month by month.

This is the Miller moodmap.

How does that help?

The Miller moodmap forms the foundation of the moodmapping training. We believe that once you understand your moods once you know what is causing them, you can start to manage them. There are four basic moods,Action, Stressed, Depressed and Calm. These moods affect how you feel, how you think and how you behave. If you wake up in a good mood you know it is going to be a good day, equally if you wake up feeling anxious to know that the rest of the day may be difficult.

This is not rocket science! For the most part you already know everything you need to know and you already know what you should do. If only it was that easy! Moodmapping takes what you already know, looks at it in a different way and helps you make use of it in a practical everyday sort of way. For example, feeling anxious makes people look at life in a negative way. On the other hand if you were suddenly to wake up in a calm relaxed state, you could look at problems in a calm relaxed way and in that state of mind work out the best way to solve your problems, and do it.

Mood mapping helps you get to that calm relaxed state into the mood for action that helps you to sort out your problems. It helps get you out of the anxiety depression loop that traps so many people in permanently negative state of mind. Above all it helps you understand how you feel and why you feel that way and what you can do about it. It also helps you know what works. There is no point persisting in doing something if it isn't helping! Moodmapping helps you work out whether or not something is working for you and helps you find something different if that's what you need. There are five keys to mood, your surroundings, your physical health, your relationships, your strategies and what you know and your personality. These five keys help you manage your mood and keep ahead of your game.

This Saturday you will learn how to moodmap and how to use this technique to help yourself and the people around you feel better.

Most of us do not have the time or money to see a therapist will personal coach regularly, we have to manage ourselves. If you are a manager in the business, you have to help manage your staff, if you are a therapist your clients want therapies they can manage themselves.

Moodmapping is new and it is different. It is about helping yourself and helping the people around you. You start by learning exactly how you feel now, recording it, making a change and then working out whether you feel better or whether you need to do something different. Because unless you measure how you feel you can't be sure that you really feel better and that what you have done has made a difference.

You can give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. You can have therapy and feel better for a week. On the other hand, you can teach someone to fish and they can feed themselves. You learn moodmapping and help yourself feel better more energetic for the rest of your life. Even more exciting, you can teach moodmapping to the people around you, and they too can start to feel better.

This Saturday, you will spend the day with people like you want to learn something new and want to help themselves. You will do different exercises that help you understand how you feel now and where you are now. You get a workbook that can form the beginning of your own personal journal of self-management.

By the end of the day you will

- Know how to Mood Map
- Understand what causes Mood
- Learn strategies to change your mood
- Understand the effect of moods on the people around you
- Understand a little about extreme moods
- A brief introduction to personality

The workshop runs from 10 AM until 5 PM ,

The price is £80 and there are concessions available.

Please e-mail me at Liz@lizmiller.co.uk if you think you can be helped by a concession.

All you need to book your place is to reply to this e-mail and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday

For more information

go to www.moodmapping.com and sign up to our newsletter

and best of all see you this weekend!

With best wishes

Liz

Dr Liz Miller

Mood Mapping workshop in Fulham this Saturday 5th June

Time: 10.00 - 5.00 pm
Location: Fulham - 38 Harwood Rd, Fulham London SW6 4PH

Telephone 020 7736 6924 or 07957 489961

The nearest tube station is Fulham Broadway - (Wimbledon Branch of the District Line)

come out of the Mall, turn Right then left down Harwood Rd - half way down on your right

Meetings on Tuesday

2010-01-24T15:50:00.000Z

The next meeting of the Fulham self help group is on Tuesday - apologies to everyone who has emailed and not yet received a reply

Glad to say that now the snow is melted and the cats have recovered from my young's nephew's visit, normal service is resumed

Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

UK and International readers

Click here for Blackwells
Click here for Waterstones
Click here for Play.com

US readers: buy from Amazon.com Click here

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
http://www.lizmiller.info/
www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

Starting a Mood Mapping self help group

2010-01-19T08:10:00.002Z

Fifteen years ago, I preferred to starve than eat in front of people I didn't know. I could not even say my name to a group. Now I volunteer to talk to audiences of 10s, 100s if not 1000s. Over the last ten to fifteen years, I learnt the social skills, I should have learnt as a child. I worked hard to change because "Someone needed to do it". When Soames Michelson became too ill to faciliate groups the Doctors Support Network groups, I had no choice but to step up to the plate.

A self help group believes that together you can help each other more than each of you can do as individuals on your own. In a group, you "Gain by Giving".You too can start a self-help group and here are few tips.

A group needs to be as open and as inclusive as possible. It is like a family. Once you are committed to someone, they are part of your team. Not everyone will not be helped by your group, for example, addicts may be better with Alcoholics Anonymous and you would be wise to point them in that direction. As long as this is done with good intention, and openly and calmly communicated, the group survives. For the most part, you want to include everyone who wants to come along. Some people learn quicker than others and everyone can help the slow learners. The fastest people are at their best when balanced by slower more thoughtful people!

Keep it Simple! Keep coming back to the reason you are together

Know what you want to do,
Have your first meeting - at your house or in a coffee bar. Email people you know with your idea, start a blog, email people you know. If your idea is good, it will catch and you will soon have people coming to you, and it will spread by word of mouth

Meet at least every month, in my experience every two weeks is best. Weekly meetings can be too intense unless you have plenty of experienced group members.

Stay calm! You cannot argue with distress.

Groups create an energy. You need at least two people in the room who can direct that energy, maturely, intelligently with compassion and reason.This allows one person to help another group member individually when necessary.

Develop "group rituals" - set activities you do each time you meet

Go round the group and let everyone introduce themselves and describe briefly how they are and what has happened to them
Read out loud a chapter from Mood Mapping or other books
Have plenty of refreshments
Be nice to each other!

Communicate, communicate, communicate!

Communicate regularly - keep everyone up to date- monthly newsletters are hard work but help bring people together - just a quick hello and an anonymised summary of recent meetings
Just do what feels right, keep doing it, keep talking, be creative and keep the energy flowing!

We have to learn to fit in within a family, group and community. Some families function better than others, some groups work better than others. If humanity is to solve its problems we need to learn to work together. If we can't communicate we can't learn. Humans are a social species and we do our best work when we work together. Even Einstein needed feeding!
Groups are a great place to learn to connect and communicate with people at any age. Most people learn to communicate as children, but not everyone! I can testify it is never too late to learn, it is just easier before you have too many ingrained bad habits!

and finally, thanks to the commentator on the last post, who suggested this post!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

UK and International readers

Click here for Blackwells
Click here for Waterstones
Click here for Play.com

US readers: buy from Amazon.com Click here

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
http://www.lizmiller.info/
www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

Happy Christmas and have a great new 2010

2009-12-26T07:24:00.002Z

I apologise to everyone who didn't get a Christmas card - this is going to be as good as it gets in 2009. By next year I will send a reusable, recycleable, all purpose card with provenance, suitable for all occasions including a refreshing newsletter out to everyone I know. There will be a prize for those people who actually read the Round Robin enclosure. On second thoughts, I won't print it off, I will put it up at a secret webaddress, and let people claim their prize themselves. In the meantime, this is a quick summary of the events of last year, made into a sandwich - Good News, Bad News and the Positive Consequences of both.

The Good News

MoodMapping on the shelves! yes it was not easy, as Liz Gough my editor tells anyone who will listen

Lots of wonderful comments from the press - here are a just a few

The Sunday Times pleas ignore the sarky comments - some people just can't stand a winner ;-)

CNN which later got linked into the Huffington Post

Chris Evans Drive By

The Independent

and the News of the World - from Snappy to Happy - great headline!

And a nice email from the Mental Health Tsar, Louis Appleby

Dear Liz,

Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your book. I think it is very well written and remarkably positive.

With best wishes.

Professor Louis Appleby

National Director for Mental Health

The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL

Other Good News includes Andrew Hall my nephew graduating from Nottingham - well done Andrew. He is now in China exporting British goods to China. My neice Catherine becoming an officer in the RAF

The Not so Good News

Father died on Christmas Eve. He believed that you should always do the right thing whether or not you got the right result. And by living honestly by those principles he deserved better from life. But we are not living in a world that rewards good and honest service, and cherishes truth and fairness, instead we live in a time that encourages status, greed and ambition. Perhaps it ever was thus.

I still have to work. Sales of MM began with a fizz, within six weeks of its releases it reached number 20 on Amazon rankings, sales have now "flattened out". Time for the hard work - "backfilling" the business as it were. Running workshops etc, not quite as glamorous as giving press interviews but much more fun!

The Positive Consequences

I am ready to spend next year talking about, writing about and teaching MoodMapping, running Workshops, answering emails and doing what I can to make the world a better place

I have a meeting with my publishers with a view to a second book - Matrix Psychology - Dating, personality and how to have an Obama quality relationship

I need to publish my father's book, because I promised I would and never waver in the belief that doing the right thing for the right reasons will, in the end, change the world for the better.

And get on with doing what is important in life, even if its not always immediately financially rewarding

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;♦&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
Mood Mapping
Dr Liz Miller

MoodMappping: How to Map your Mood

2009-12-19T23:36:00.007Z

MoodMapping is new and different and it makes a difference!

This book should have been written twenty years ago. MoodMapping should be something we all take for granted! yet somedays it feels like pushing water uphill! People don't believe anything there is anything left to learn, least of all something as basic as MoodMapping.

MoodMappers, I need your help! Moodmapping needs to go into schools, prisons, asylums and be available in every doctors surgery!!! We need to know how to manage our moods! and although lots of people do this intuitively, lots don't!!

How to Map your Mood

Moods have two parts - how much energy you have and how good or bad you feel. This gives a simple cross - you can draw a Miller Mood Map anywhere! You need a pencil and a piece of paper

The upright line represents how much energy you have. The top point on the line is you on the best and most energetic you can remember feeling and the bottom point represents you at your lowest energy, when you could not even lift your head - you may have been in deepest despair or in the middle of a caribbean beach holiday, so laid back you were, literally, horizontal. Most of the time you are somewhere in between.

The horizontal line shows how good or bad you feel. On the far left, is you at your very worst, when life was as bad you can possibly imagine and then some. On the far right is heaven, your very best moments, as close to complete bliss as you expect to experience in this life.

Mark a point on the vertical line to show how much energy you have at the moment, and mark a point on the horizontal line to show how good or bad you are feeling at this moment in time and join the two. That point represents your mood at this moment

Well done - You have done your first Miller Mood Map! Do this two or three times a day, and start to see how you are feeling from moment to moment, day to day and on different days in the week. See how your maps related to what you do, what you eat, who you talk to and so on. Knowing how you feel and how it changes is the first step in understanding who you are!

The book tells you more about MoodMapping. It is full of strategies and these are some of the wonderful things that people have been saying about the book

"You have brought it all together in a very readable / graphic format that helps you remember the key points. For the first time in 14 years I feel optimistic!!! A million, million thanks!"

" I just wanted to say that I'm finding your book 'Mood Mapping' very inspiring and helpful to me personally. A few things in my psyche are certainly falling into place! I've been sharing your book with a couple of friends, and whom I think would also greatly benefit.

So thank you!"

But can I really change my mood? Exercise in Instant happiness

2009-12-19T23:08:00.004Z

Recent feedback - great book, very engaging but I don't believe I can change my mood like that

Answer - Yes you can! and by mapping your mood you prove to yourself that it is possible. Of course if you want to change your mood, you have to do something to change your mood. Otherwise, as Jamie Oliver knows, it is a case of "Same ingredients + Same recipe = Same results!"

It is not good to sit by the edge of a swimming pool, saying "I can't swim, I can't swim, I can't swim" Because the only way to learn to swim is to get into the water and start splashing around.

This is a simple exercise called "Instant sunshine" which shows you how to change your mood instantly

First map your mood, so you know where you are now.

Step One - Smile and lift your chest up, arch your back upwards, breath from your lower chest and keep smiling.

Step Two - Carry on with what you are doing and while you smile and lift your chest up, run an inner dialogue that goes something like
" I am happy because .... " and think of a reason - which can be anything
Sitting at my PC - I say to myself
"I am happy because I like my new picture" "I am happy because I have got an email from Fiona" "I am happy because I enjoyed the sunshine today" "I am happy because my central heating is working" "I am happy because I don't have to see my father until Thursday" "I am happy because my friend is happy" "I am happy because I got a Christmas card from Stephen and Michael"

All conversation with myself takes place with a smile and starts with "I am happy because..... "

It is impossible to keep this up for long - but even a few minutes has a wonderfully positive effect on your mood. You will feel happier at the end of this exercise. Remap your mood and see the effect for yourself. This is the aim of MoodMapping - so you can see how you feel and improve on it!

And the first step is put your toe in the water, because Yes you really can change your mood, you can do it and you don't have to wait for something good to happen to you. If you feel good and powerful, you will get better results, on balance you will get better results than if you feel bad. MoodMapping helps you check it out! You need to know how you feel when you do your best work! so you can do more good work - MoodMapping helps you find out exactly how you feel, why you feel that way and what to do to get to feel the way you want to feel.

Jump in, get MoodMapping and enjoy the water!

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
Mood Mapping
Dr Liz Miller

www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

More about Mood Mapping

2009-12-05T03:57:00.005Z

A Q&A with Dr Liz Miller, author of Mood Mapping

What is Mood Mapping?

Rather than using words, Mood Mapping is a way represents your mood visually. You mark your mood on a map or chart, in a way that describes how you feel, without using words. You can compare your mood at different times of the day and between one day and the next. It is new, and it is revolutionary. People who use it, start to see their moods differently. They realize that they are more than their mood, and their mood describes how they feel. Once you understand how your mood works, you never go back!

We have a mood, all the time, every day. Most of the time, we are not aware of how we feel because we feel all right. We notice our mood, when, for example we are in “the wrong mood” to do something. We might need to concentrate to finish a report and we are waiting to find out whether we have a job offer following an interview. Waiting for the news may make us either too anxious or too excited to work. Mood Mapping helps you understand how you feel and work out what you need to do, to calm down and get in the right mood to work. Moods have an enormous influence on how we think, how we feel and how we behave. Nonetheless, a mood is just a mood, and with the right strategies, it is almost always possible to improve your mood.

In this book, I am interested in helping people understand their moods better and to manage them more easily.

Why did you write Mood Mapping?

As a doctor, 40% of consultations are to a greater or lesser extent based around mental health and psychological problems. These problems are just as severe as physical health problems, and they rarely need medication or drug treatment. Mood Mapping helps people understand why they feel the way they do, and gives people strategies to manage their feelings and moods.

All too easily doctors resort to prescribing antidepressants or drugs for anxiety when people can, with the right approach and encouragement, deal with their problems without medication. Like physical health, mental health depends on living in safe and healthy surroundings, on a healthy diet and exercise, on good supportive relationships, on having the right strategies to cope with difficulties and having the chance to “be yourself!”

I wrote Mood Mapping to summarise the advice I give my patients and to show them the simple technique of Mood Mapping that helps people work out how they feel, and record it from day-to-day. If people feel happy and healthy, they rarely need to see the doctor!

In what way will Mood Mapping help someone?

The most important part of dealing with a problem, any problem is accepting and understanding the problem. In my own case, with my own history of bipolar disorder, it took me almost ten years to accept that I had a problem. I thought it was normal to be depressed. I thought everyone was depressed! It is easy to think with mental health problems, that you are the only one, or that everyone thinks the way you do. We need some an objective measure that explains what it is reasonable to expect and what you can do about it. There is no right or wrong way to live, but some ways are healthier and more enjoyable than others.

This is not a typical self-help book that points to the six or seven keys to self-improvement. Instead it is a book that helps you see where you are in the world, and gives you some suggestions to help you feel better. Everyone’s Mood Map is individual to them, just as the solutions you find to your problems are individual to you. One size does not fit all!

How does this book compare to other books about Mood?

Mood Mapping is the first book to concentrate on Mood as the basis of “how you feel”. Almost all other books about Mood, describe mood largely as the result of how you think. Mood Mapping sees mood as the underlying trait and “how you think” depends on your mood. If you are anxious, your thinking will be more negative than if you are feeling calm and peaceful. Undoubtedly, you can change your mood by changing the way you think but your mood comes first. There are five main keys to your mood, which is the most important for you depends on you. Some people put relationships first other people put the need to be creative and to express themselves. Mood Mapping describes the five main areas that affect mood, Surroundings; Physical Health; Relationships; What you know and how you think; and Nature and self-expression; yet each one of us individually, would put them in a different order!

Mood Mapping looks at where our moods come from, and what we can do about them and how we can improve our own mental health and the mental health of the people around us.

You have a chapter on Personality, how does Personality fit in with mood?

The commonest mistake we make in psychological terms is to confuse mood and personality. What people see of a person, their Persona, is a combination of their mood and their personality type, but mood is not personality. Personality describes the approach you take, to other people, to yourself, how you see the world and how you tackle problems. Mood describes how you feel. All too often personality questionnaires contain “mood questions” such as “Are you normally a happy person?” This is the same question as “Are you normally in a good mood?” This relates to your mood and attitude, rather than your personality. Your personality describes your approach, do you internalize problems, or like to talk about them. Do you get on with doing something about what is happening or do you like to know what it happening before you step in? It helps first to understand your moods and then you can see what is mood and what personality is. Your “Persona” is that individual combination of mood and personality that other people notice about you, and determines how you see the world.

What do you want people to take away from Mood Mapping?

Mood Mapping is the first book to look at how you can manage your moods, as opposed to managing your thinking. Moods affect thinking, and thinking affects mood, yet moods also depend on your surroundings – it is difficult, but not impossible to be miserable on a yacht in the Caribbean. Your physical health affects how you feel, a bout of flu takes the edge of your performance. The strategies we use to tackle problems, and this is the area where other books and psychologists concentrate and finally we have to have the freedom to be ourselves.

The message is Mood Mapping helps manage the way you feel. You affect the way you feel, by how you think about problems, through your surroundings, your physical health, your relationships and making sure you express the real the you, not the person that other people would like you to be. Mood Mapping brings together those five major keys to mood. Mood depends on many areas, and it is rarely a single problem. You have to do what you can, where you can, to help yourself in your personal circumstances! Mood Mapping helps you become more aware and more in control of the different areas of your life.

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
Mood Mapping
Dr Liz Miller

When you cant do a Mood Map

2009-11-21T06:44:00.004Z

What do you do when you wake up in the morning and you can't even do a Mood Map?

If you are someone who is highly motivated and who does the impossible, what do you do when you can't even manage a Mood Map? What is going on? Should you make yourself Mood Map, are you being lazy, or should you go back and hide under the Duvet?

What do you already know?

1 - You are not lazy - you bought the book, you are reading it and doing the Mood Maps - you are not lazy! 90% of book owners never read their books. You are not lazy.

2 - It is far more likely you do too much. Doing is how you express yourself, and not being able to "Do" means you can't be you and that adds your misery

The Chapter on Moods and Personality is probably the worst in the book. Not because I don't know what I mean, but because I find it hard to explain what I mean. The next book will hopefully put that right. Nonetheless, understanding your personality type helps you discover how to manage your moods better. Your personality type reflects how you are when you are at your best, happiest and most fulfilled.

If you are a "Doer", you need to "Do" things to feel good about yourself, you are used to working through your problems. "Doing" makes you feel good.

On the other hand if you are a natural "Being", you have to feel right before you start. You are at your best when you are watching, curious, leading a gentle life and seeing how the world is meant to be. Then when you feel right, you can do whatever you want.

If you are a "Doer" you are not lazy! At least you are not naturally lazy, although you know you can fall into bad habits, because if you could do stuff, you would be out there doing it, not needing to read a book about "Doing"

(For the record, if you are "Being" you are also not lazy, because lazy people don't read Mood Mapping)

So what has happened? What has happened to the human dynamo you were a couple of years ago?

Should you make yourself do more, or accept that today, and maybe tomorrow and even the next day or possibly the rest of the week, you are going to have "Me time"

No one can keep going, week after week, year after year without paying a price for it. There are limits to how much any one person can do. Each of us has a "Capacity for Work" and if you keep doing more than you are physically or mentally able to do, year after year, you will get ill, with minor infections, exhaustion and then more major illnesses.

If you have reached the point where you cannot easily do a Mood Map, you are almost certainly exhausted. If you are exhausted, you need to rest and you need to sort out the problems that have led you to being exhausted

The cause of your exhaustion, may or may not be your job. But if you love your job and it fulfills you, offers you opportunities that you have never had before and even pays you for letting you do something you love, the chances are the problem is not your job, even if it looks to the rest of the world as though it is hard work and highly stressful.

Have you done the exercise on Day 5 and see where the major problems are. If it is not your job, maybe it is your relationships? All too often, especially people who are "Talker Doers" run into problems with relationships. They know everyone, everyone loves them, they have lots of friends but deep inside they are lonely, they are looking for that special person, who makes you feel special and stand out from the crowd.

There is no simple answer - it has taken you years to reach this point, you are not going to put that right overnight

Here are one or two things you can do immediately

Make a Stop list - give yourself chance to draw breath

Yes Hide under the Duvet for a couple of days, and then reassess

Start Omega 3 essential fatty acids - fish oils or flaxseed oil

Most of all look after you and pamper yourself until you get some energy back. Anyone who has gone out, bought a book, is reading that book and doing the exercises, is not lazy! In one sentence

Take the day off, watch a movie or even just hide under the Duvet for a couple of days - its OK, the world will not come to an end because you look after yourself

If you carry on, when every bone and every cell in your body is crying stop - you will damage yourself. Don't take medication, don't flog a dead horse! or least a tired one, just give yourself the break you need.

If it lying on the beach or hiding under the duvet gets to be a habit and after a few days you still don't feel better, come back for some more suggestions - email me, or add a comment. In the meantime, do the simple things and have some fun!

Mood Mapping Workshops

2009-11-15T17:53:00.003Z

Free Meditation workshop from www.Meditationjoy.com
find out about different ways to meditate and develop the calm within!

Mood Mapping workshops - these run from 10.30 am to 5.00pm in Fulham
Cost iro £15

5th December 2009
9th January 2010
6th February 2010

By the end of the workshop
you will be able to Mood Map

Understand why you feel the way you do,
Be able to manage your own moods
Help other people to manage their moods

and if we have time, we may even start to explore Personality a little

You will need, a copy of the book and a notebook for notes!

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com

Find out more - Buy the Book!
Mood Mapping -

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Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info

www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

Free Meditation workshop 21st November 2009

2009-11-15T13:51:00.003Z

Try Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful way to become Calm - it is an everyday skill that you need to use every day, especially when faced with bureaucracy, with poor service or anything that makes you stressed and angry. You will find plenty of uses for your new skills

Further information from Joy of Meditation

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com

Find out more - Buy the Book!
Mood Mapping -

Click here for Play.com

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Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info

Workshops London and Bristol

2009-11-11T07:12:00.001Z

Workshops

Saturday 14th November - Bristol see
http://www.avlll.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=37

I am running a workshop at 10.15 at the conference in Bristol - you can book
on line - although details of the workshop are not yet on the website

The whole day costs £65 but if you just want to come to the workshop, email
Ian Crane - address on the website

Saturday 5th December 10.30 - 5.00pm in Fulham, London £15
Saturday 9th January 10.30 - 5.00pm in Fulham, London £15

Also one to one sessions from £60 an hour, with concessions

Liz
.

Mood Mapping Courses - Update - 1st Saturday of the Month

2009-11-04T10:15:00.010Z

Learn Mood Mapping 1st hand

Places are available: up to 10 people

7th November
5th December
9th January (because of the Bank Holiday)

10.30 - 5.00pm
in Fulham

Be the Early Adopter in your neighbourhood

Email me at liz@Lizmiller.co.uk if you would like to come along

You will

Learn how to Map your own moods,
Understand what causes your moods and the 5 keys to mood
Understand what area or areas of your life cause you most trouble
To gauge other peoples' mood
To learn to influence other peoples' mood

The book is the Course manual, please bring your copy with you - with additional notes as needed,

Most of all, it will be fun!

£15 or thereabouts to cover lunch, teas and coffees

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com

Find out more - Buy the Book!
Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

Click here for Blackwells

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Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info

MoodMapping starts this Saturday 7th November First Saturday in the month

2009-11-03T05:11:00.003Z

Hi Guys,

Yesterday Chris Evans gave us the thumbs up!!! 6.05 Drive By

and in the Sunday Times, Evening Standard, Independent - you name it Mood
Mapping has been there!

MoodMapping courses in Fulham - First Saturday in the month from now on!!

10. 30 - 5.00pm with an hour for lunch (sandwiches - provided)

Email liz at lizmiller dot co dot uk

www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

Who finds Mood Mapping Helpful? Testimonial from the Philippines

2009-10-18T03:55:00.003+01:00

One of the joys of the Internet is the way in which we can exchange greetings and information across continents. I received this comment from the Philippines!!

Comment from the Philippines

I really do not have any question. I just want to thank you. Because of your book, I was able to develop the ability to navigate through my moods. Your 4 quadrants have helped me track my moods. My greatest discovery though is that I can adjust my mood and not be a slave of it. If I am sliding to negativity, I can adjust it back to something positive. If I know I have low energy, I adjust the rhythm of my hectic life. It's as if I have a dashboard inside my mind to do adjustments when unlikely times come.

Once again, thank you.

JP V

Philippines

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com

Find out more - Buy the Book!
Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

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Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info
www.lizmiller.co.uk
www.moodmapping.com

Launch Party - great fun!!!

2009-10-18T03:53:00.001+01:00

Many thanks to everyone who came to the Launch Party on Saturday - it was fun, and I loved coming downstairs the next morning, to find the place full of flowers - many many thanks to everyone. I understand why Ivana Trump spent $1,000 dollars a week - flowers make you feel better.

Sunday morning I felt like a Book Star!! and with Mood Mapping well reviewed in the Sunday Express, written up in Red Magazine and the photographer from the Independent on my doorstep, I felt wonderful. I now understand a little why people have such a craving for celebrity status, my cup overflowered!

Being lauded by people who have never met you feels great. Equally, I can understand that being damned by people who have only ever repeated rumours about you is horrible in equal measure. What goes round, comes round and perhaps the institutions of this country might bear that in mind before they lay into innocent people with such unholy zeal.

Meanwhile, I hope I was good enough in my previous lives to allow this brief taste of Book Stardom to continue a little longer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com

Find out more - Buy the Book!
Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

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Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
www.lizmiller.info

Talking Points 7 Children, The inner child, Long standing anxiety and depression

2009-10-01T04:42:00.004+01:00

Children and Mood Mapping

Dear Liz

My question is
I'm working with my children's primary class on an emotional health programme. Could you suggest some ways that I could present the ideas in mood mapping to them, but in a format more suited to the 5-9 age group?
Many thanks for your help!
A

~~~~~~~~~~

Hi A ,
Yes definitely, you can use Mood Mapping! - I have used it with children
I find that you need to act out the moods for them - they may immediately understand the chart but if you can act the different moods for them, they pick up on them quickly. And are happy to join in.

Then add in some simple strategies - such as talking to someone they trust or making a plan.

As you know, kids tend to like to do things! And join in physically if possible.

Children are naturally good at recognising different moods. If you start teaching them calm by whispering or playing "Sleeping tigers" they will often quieten down, become calm and sometimes even fall asleep!

They recognise active - running around the playground and they do recognise fear - especially if you can find examples that mean something to them - Again they also recognise misery and can pick it up in someone else. They are often a lot more naturally empathic than adults!

You sound as though you have an excellent programme - because children need to learn mood management early! Its no good waiting until they are in trouble later in life. I believe that we should be teaching Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, ie reasoned thinking and NeuroLinguistic Programming, ie effective use of the imagination to children as part of their education for life. Mood Mapping is the same, it is learning to recognise moods, nothing more!

Many thanks for your email - I hope this helps
Best wishes
Liz

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Liz,
Thanks so much, that's really helpful! I'll get hold of the book when I can, to enable me to understand as much as possible. I'm a kinesiologist, so coming at it from that angle, but the more input I have the more I can pass on to the children. I absolutely agree with you that if we get them sorted now, they won't need to be dysfunctional adults later, it's so important!

The new Scottish Curriculum for Excellence have included emotional health as part of their core studies, which is so wonderful. Though I do wonder how the teachers are going to deliver that effectively, given how stressed and messed up most teachers are! But, it's a start.

Very best wishes,

A

*************************

Mood Mapping and the Inner Child

Question = Does mood mapping work if a person is not particularly good at analysing themselves, and perhaps still very much in their inner child, through past abuse trauma? can mood mapping help to release trapped emotions in any ways?

thank you

Dear B,

Mood Mapping is about helping cope with the present. It is about raising awareness of how you feel now. In one this is what matters, because if you feel good and feel stronger in yourself you are better able to cope with what has happened in the past.

I am not in favour of too much digging around in past events, because I believe our brain is best placed to sort this out and that we only have to deal with consciously when it gets too bad. We have been around for millions of years and terrible things have happened to us. We need to be able to get on with our lives in the present and in the future. I believe Mood Mapping helps that to happen.

Terrible things do happen, and it is easy to feel trapped by the past but that by focussing too much on the past it is hard to move forward. Personally I have found that making the effort to forgive people is helpful.

Regardless of how personal events feel to each of us, for the most part other people are driven by their own motives and have things going on their own lives that we cannot begin to understand. Most people, however horrible and nasty they appear, and however personal their attack seems, just do not understand the damage they are doing to the people around them.

Bullies can rarely see what they are doing wrong. Even convicted paedophiles do not think they have done anything wrong. And from the "victims" perspective (I hate the word "victim" perhaps "bullee" is better), I believe the best way forward is to forgive the bully because otherwise the bully can go on hurting their victim for years to come. If you can forgive that person, you gain strength from that act of forgiveness. This does not mean it is easy. Loving support from close relationships helps

and we all still need to make sure we do our best to stop it happening again. Nurturing hurt makes the pain worse. It has to be left in the past, so the mind and body can heal and move forward into the future.

Nurturing the inner child is important - we would all benefit from a little more play in our everyday lives. Everyone is so serious - no wonder we are miserable and spend so much time surfing the Internet!

I hope this helps

Best wishes

Liz

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Dr Liz

your replies make good sense..and thank you. I use zpoint process to clear anything that troubles me...( another form of energy psychology , like EFT..but with no tapping and it really does work!)

it fits your criteria of not having to dig around in the past..or even enjoy being a victim..its a superb tool in fact...and might well compliment your approach..I am interested to look at your mood mapping though.

I also totally agree about work..I have often thought that people actually work far too many hours..and invariably many people hate their work too! Not a great combination for good mental/emotional health!

look forward to learning more and very good luck with your newsletter and website etc.

*****************************

Longstanding Anxiety and Depression

Dear Liz ... I have just happened upon your wonderful website . I have suffered anxiety/depression (manifestations feel more anxiety based) for 20 years now. I have had several major depressive episodes and am currently battling one that has lasted 5 + years now !! For me the worst symptoms are crippling muscle tension in the scalp and neck and chronic exhaustion/ tiredness.

I have taken several coursee of anti - depressent - venlafaxine, Seroxat,Citalopram, etc etc ..
nothing has worked for me ..they just dont seem right either ! I have recently just started meditation/tai chi type classes and also psycho-therapy - trying to throw the kitchen sink at it !! I feel so tired and in so much pain most days that I struggle to make it along to these classes...

it just seems like a a never ending viscious circle... ie I try and help myself .. am determined to help myself but soemetimes just pushing myself can make me worse.. I know that yielding and acceptance are big part of recovery ... but anything else you can reccomend ?? anyone I can go and talk to ?? any advice would be gratefully recieved. I, like you have found
the medical fraternity to be on the whole pretty bloody useless ..
especially Psychiatrists !! in my experience they seem to be pretty much
the worst of the lot ..

C
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi C,
I am a great believer in fish oils and st John's wort. 2-3 gms of cod liver oil, from Boots or www.mind1st.co.uk or vegepa. Definitely keep on with the fishoils and multimineral multivitamins

In the long term good physical health helps good mental health and the first and easiest thing to do, can be to start fish oils, very little effort, once a day and over the following three or four weeks you wil feel the benefits.

Finding out the cause of your problems and managing it, is important. These things do not come out of the blue

Depression is largely exhaustion and all too often we have lost the ability to relax - so yes, acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude are important!

You mention work, I think a significant amount of poor mental health starts out as bullying at work - and I don't think that psychiatry has much to offer in those situations because it treats mental illness as a personal failing of the individual

I am sure it is worth your while reading the book! because it does give lots of strategies to manage mental health

vbw

Liz

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Mood Mapping - Available Now!!

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10th October - Saturday from 6.30pm Party!!

2009-09-25T06:39:00.002+01:00

Time for a party

Celebrations as it seems like an age since my last party

From

If there are any singles, have you thought about a spot of Matrix dating??

Matrix Dating assumes that we are all one of four types and that relationships work best when opposite types are attracted to one another. There will a quick and easy system of sorting yourself into one of the four basic types, Bold Extrovert (yellow), Shy Extrovert (Green), Bold Introvert(Red) and Shy Introvert(Blue). Each type will be given a coloured dot for the back of their hand, forehead, lapel etc. In order to make a Matrix date, you need to pair up with your opposite Green with Red, and Blue with Yellow.

Talking points 6

2009-09-05T08:27:00.002+01:00

Saraswati from the Yoga studio has kindly put together these points to combat stress. Yoga of course, is a great way to counteract stress, just a few exercises for even a few minutes a day can make a difference. Saraswati's website is here www.theyogastudio.org.uk

A quick look down this list shows you lots of ways to manage your mood, which is of course the goal of mood mapping - putting you in charge of how you feel!

The next meeting of the Tuesday night group Bipolar Association is 8th September and then 22nd

Ways of coping with stress

1 Clear some clutter from life

2 Save time for things you enjoy, not just work

3 Do something creative

4 Have a warm bath if wound up

5 Have a shower if tired

6 Practice breathing to a count of 3 or 4

7 Take short periods of complete relaxation

8 Become aware of situations which cause stress for you

9 Repeat a mantra when going to sleep

10 Work out the root causes that repeatedly cause stress, do they still apply

11 Confide with close friends, talking helps release stress and lets you see things more objectively

12 Learn self massage or have or give a massage

13 Learn a mantra to repeat silently use in stressful situations

14 Realise you have a choice in how you act, speak or think, take a moment before acting in stressful situations to think about the consequences of your actions

15 Use some music to relax you

16 Do some physical activity when very wound up, work stress out of your system

17 If possible find something absorbing to concentrate on ie a good book or film

18 Train your mind into thinking positively about yourself and your life

19 Practice yoga postures, breathing exercises, relaxation or meditation daily even 10 minutes

20 Treat yourself, look forward to your treat and remember it when you are under stress

21 Try to avoid letting too many stressful situations build up in your life over a short period of time

22 Gradually cut down on stress inducing “crutches” ie tobacco, caffeine, alcohol

23 Slowly build up a sound nutritious daily diet; lack of proper nutrients creates stress in the body

24 Experiment with vitamin and mineral supplements, you may be lacking something

25 Do not try to change your life overnight: every change causes stress

26 If you are in a relationship / job / situation that causes great pressure and makes you miserable try to find ways to improve it. If all else fails leave!

27 Make sure you have enough sleep, you should not need an alarm to wake you up

28 Eat regularly, being hungry puts the body into a state of panic

29 Check your posture often, holding muscles tense unnecessarily causes stress

30 Avoid situations / people that make you feel stressed, be more assertive

31 Learn to appreciate yourself and believe that you can achieve fulfilment by taking life gently; peace of mind comes through relaxation not worry

UNHELPFUL THINKING

Below are types of unhelpful thinking that lead to worry and create an uncomfortable internal world. When noticing any of the following start three three breathing. As soon as possible put alternative kinder thoughts in your mind. It might help to ask yourself “What would a contented person think in this situation? What would I think in this situation if I were feeling really well right now?”

TYPES OF UNHELPFUL THINKING

Taking the blame

This involves taking responsibility for something when it is not yours eg “he was really angry I wonder what I can do to make it better?” – not your problem!

Mindreading

This involves believing that you know what other people are thinking eg “she thinks I am fat/thin/ stupid. He doesn’t like me”

Discounting the positive

This involves rejecting good things as if they did not count eg “She only said that to make me feel better. He was just being polite. Or anyone can do that”

Emotional Reasoning

This involves mistaking feelings for facts eg I know everyone can see how I am feeling inside. Or I am angry inside so it must be someone’s fault

Catastrophising

This involves believing one thing going wrong is a total disaster “everything is ruined” “I will never be able to show my face again”

Over-generalising

This involves assuming that because things went badly once they always will eg spilling a drink at a partly means you are “always clumsy”. Or failing to see a joke mean that you are always stupid or dumb

Predicting the future

This involves thinking things such as “I will always be on my own” “I will always be shy”

Labelling or name calling

This involves being mean to yourself eg thinking “I am useless/ stupid / ugly. Other people are horrible / hostile / superior”

Wishful Thinking

This involves supposing things would be better if they were different eg If only I were more attractive / wittier / enlightened / famous / rich / etc

Taking things personally

This involves supposing that some body else’s actions were directed at you personally eg When someone looks distracted while you are talking, assuming it is because of you

Talking Points 5 Grantham meeting

2009-09-05T08:01:00.004+01:00

The 49 people who came to the workshop on Saturday make it the largest workshop on Mood Mapping yet. Well done Grantham! many thanks for your hospitality. By the end, everyone had a Mood Map and we went through a couple of strategies for managing anxiety.

"Thought tagging" which is a technique where you get a single phrase answer for any problem that you are stewing over. For example, it may be something like, being worried about whether a relative is Ok or not.

Find a phrase such as "I have done everything I reasonably can to make sure he is fine and I have to wait" Make the phrase suit your own circumstances. Then everytime your brain comes up with worries about your relative, you repeat your phrase. Don't enter into discussion with the voice inside your head, just keep repeating your phrase. Because if you start arguing, the voice inside your head will win! its been arguing with you for years now and it knows every weakness in your argument. Just keep to your phrase. In marketing terms it is called "stone walling", Just stone wall the voice inside your head and sooner rather than later it will get bored and move on.

Mood Mapping, the book includes this and dozens of other strategies to help you manage your mood - from drinking a glass of water, to helping you decide who you are.

It was great to meet everyone in the Grantham workshop, and I felt like a proud parent when 49 people succeeded in drawing their first mood map. I am working on a short video with my friend Ashley Pollack so we can demonstrate Mood Mapping on the Internet.

Whilst in Grantham I couldn't resist this photograph. Grantham has two famous "sons" Newton and Margaret Thatcher. Newton stands with his back to the Town Hall, and this is Margaret Thatchers place of birth and original Grocers Shop!

Definitely worth a picture, even though Roger did worry that the middle of the road, was perhaps not the best place from which to take it. If you look carefully, you can see the plaque on the corner just to the right of the post besides the first floor window

Talking points 4

2009-08-13T13:05:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks for joining Talking Points. Talking Points is a group of people with an interest in finding out more about Mood, through reading and discussion of ideas.

My interest in mood stems from my own bad experiences and subsequent research. I have a book coming out in October call Mood Mapping by Dr Liz Miller (that's me ;-) The book is about mood, and shows how mapping your mood can help you become more aware of your mood. It is also packed full of original strategies to help you manage and improve your mood.

The way Talking Points works.

You can email me a question at Liz at MoodMapping dot com and then my reply goes on the website, with a title. When other people have a contribution, please add a comment. This will work a bit like a discussion forum and if this works, we could migrate it to a discussion format in the future.

In the meantime, if you are happy for an anonymised version of your question to appear, let me know. Otherwise, I will try and make it clear, what I think you are asking about in the answer. This helps other people with similar questions, and hopefully everyone will add their experience.

Mood is everywhere, and in one sense, everything we do is an attempt to help ourselves feel better, directly or indirectly. Sometimes mood is overwhelming and there seems to be little we can do about, other times we hardly notice it.

Being able to manage your mood, is a sign of mental health and not only improves your sense of health and well being but also helps improve performance by providing the tools to improve your focus and performance.

Understanding mood is the start of self knowledge

I look forward to hearing from everyone. If you want to keep the correspondence private, please let me know by indicating this in your email

With best wishes

Lizzie

Talking Points 3 - Postnatal Bipolar disorder

2009-08-10T12:24:00.001+01:00

I believe the key to overcoming depression, whether it is postnatal or due to other causes, is to treat it as a form of exhaustion, either physical or emotional, or both.

Self Management needs to look at surroundings, physical health, supportive relationships, good coping strategies and being able to express yourself and be at ease with who you are.

The simplest easiest change to make is to start taking omega 3s 2gms a day. Once you start to feel better from that it gets easier to take the next step.

The most important part of coming off medication is to get yourself right first and then to do it slowly - see www.bipolarassociation.org "Coming off medication"

Bipolar disorder is essentially unstable and or extreme moods. The basis of mood management is to manage moods while they are still only small swings and by a healthy lifestyle build in resilience

Many thanks for your support

With best wishes

Liz

Talking Points 2

2009-08-09T16:51:00.001+01:00

Thank you for your email.

Some physical illnesses are linked with depression such as a low thyroid hormone level and low iron levels anaemia and diabetes. But I presume these have been excluded by your doctors.

Pain is also cause of depression. And antidepressants can help to keep chronic pain under control. If you look at PET Scans of the brain in people with depression and chronic pain, they are similar. Both have similar effects in terms of lack of energy, poor sleeping and so on.

Exhaustion also leads to depression, and there is no disgrace in taking life easy for a few months in order to recover. Some days staying in bed is OK! in the states they call them Duvet days, and sometimes we just need them!

Antidepressants are stimulants, but in the longer term they can make peoples' mood less stable, even to the point of getting bipolar disorder. They need to be treated with respect!

You are right to be looking at alternatives. Omega 3 fish oils, 2 gms a day. Specific postural exercises with Alexander technique, egoscues, www.egoscue.com pilates, and yoga can help significantly with chronic pain. These are better than aerobic, energy based exercises or strength exercises, if you have pain. Avoid exhausting yourself at all costs! even if it means you feel like a slob - better to be a healthy slob than an exhausted workaholic.

Keeping to a healthy diet helps, plenty of veggies and nuts. Caffeine frequently makes pain worse, so avoid tea, coffee, cola drinks and anything with artificial sweeteners. Avoid processed food and sugar as much as possible, the same for alcohol.

In addition, make sure you get plenty of sunshine - coming from "Down under" you are programmed for it! and the British summers are particularly bad. You might find light boxes or light visors helpful. I use a light visor in winter from www.lumie.co.uk

My book Mood Mapping, coming in October does have a lot of strategies in it you may find helpful.

These days I work largely in Occupational health, you would need a referral from your employer. I don't see private patients, for a number of reasons. Next month (September) I will start a clinic to discuss mood problems (Fulham clinics). I don't know any doctors to recommend outside my own area, so that is not a lot of help.

From what you have said, I would look at postural exercise, plenty of omega 3s and oily fish, a natural healthy diet and plenty of rest. You sound as though you tend to push yourself, if you can do it, you make yourself do it. You always need to leave some gas in the tank! Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!!

Learning to rest and relax is an important part of mental health - you would not expect an athlete to train 24/7 so why we always expect ourselves to be able to function to the highest level all of the time beats me ;-)

Let me know how you get on.

Best wishes

Liz

Talking Points 1

2009-08-05T09:11:00.002+01:00

Hi Q,

Thanks for joining!! - You are the first person to join, Talking pooints. I have just set up the website and thank you for being an early adopter! The intention is to have a newsletter/blog/email which discusses mood and the impact and difficulties of mood management. I have a book coming out with Rodale, MacMillan in October on Mood Mapping, and I want to develop the concept of mood.

So much of our life is made difficult because of problems managing mood. The book is revolutionary (I hope!) because it describes a new approach to mood and looks at how much our mood affects our ability to enjoy life, to learn, to have relationships etc etc. Mood Mapping is one of very few books that has mood as its primary subject. Although other books have mood in their title, they are largely related to the effect of cognitive behaviour therapy on mood, rather than mood itself.

As Q, you are the first person to join Talking PointsI will send you a free copy of Mood Mapping when it is published in October.

My own interest in mood comes from having experienced bipolar disorder for ten years, between the ages of thirty and forty. I am now clear of it, medication free etc. However mood affects everyone and I have used Mood Mapping in a number of companies to help manage the mood of the company - mood affects top end as well as bottom end performance!

Out of interest what brought you to the site?

Best wishes

Liz

Dr Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com
(copyright)

Mood Mapping in Grantham

2009-07-30T13:58:00.003+01:00

Hi
I will be talking about Mood Mapping and self management of bipolar disorder in Grantham at the end of the month. If you are around it will be great to catch up with you

Dr Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com
(copyright)

What is in a mood?

2009-07-27T12:18:00.006+01:00

Mood mapping helps you know how you feel, know what you can do about and know how the people around you feel.

Just about everything changes the way we feel, and almost everyone likes to feel better. Mood is affected by five keys, surroundings, physical health, relationships, knowledge and nature.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8169641.stm

Joanna Lumley and the ghurkas is a "feel good" story - we have a relationship with Joanna Lumley, who fought their corner against the wicked Government. Ghurkas who have served this country, can stay here if they want to.

This a feel good relationships story with a happy ending and we feel good for reading it

This, on the other hand, is not such a good story

MPs urge rail franchise reforms
The report called National Express's rail operation a 'high profile failure'
The rail franchise system is "a muddle" which allows train companies to "take advantage" of passengers and needs reform, a report by MPs has warned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8169529.stm

Bad trains are dirty and smelly and we know we are being ripped off. We read it because we want to know how badly we are being ripped off, and want to know what else can go wrong in our lives? As there is not a lot we can do, impotence adds to anxiety. There is something fascinating and irrestible about anxiety, the charm of mulling over unpleasant thoughts, at least while we can worry we are still alive! It shows we still care. Cept worrying is not good for us.

To be honest, unless you travel on trains and can be bothered to fill in a complaints form, there is not a lot point reading that story. But Joanna Lumley is third on the page, after Afghanistan and trains.

It matters what you read, because that affects how you feel. And how you feel decides how you think and what you pay attention to. If you are in a good mood, you pay attention to good things, and in a bad mood bad things. Given the popularity of bad news stories, this suggests that most of us are feeling anxious most of the time. Feeling anxious most of the time is not good for mind or body

If you want to feel better, you have five ways to do it.

Change your surroundings, improve your health, improve your relationships, learn how to do it better and be true to you!

Dr Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com
(copyright)

Who is Mood Mapping for?

2009-07-22T14:23:00.006+01:00

Who will find it helpful?

Mood Mapping puts mood on the map.
Everyone!! especially if you are interested in

Psychology
Therapy
Coaching
Mental health
Service User
Bipolar disorder
Depression
Mood Disorder
Mood Swings
Cyclothymia,
Medicine
Psychiatry
Doctor
Teaching
Parent
Patient
Self improvement and self development
Business
Leadership
Sales
Management
Employer
Human Resources
Chairman
Meeting

and if you are just curious about what makes us tick. Moods are fundamental to everything we do and everything we say. If you don't have a mood you are dead! Mood is about how much energy you have and how good or bad you feel.

Welcome to Mood Mapping!!

Dr Liz Miller
www.moodmapping.com
(copyright)