On 3 Ways We Can Control Our Moods

Depending on where you are with the mood, you can do three things:

Prevention

Prevention is the set of skills that have to do with how you maintain positive momentum and redirect negative momentum. It includes things like: self maintenance (what you do to take care of yourself), knowing high risk situations and warning signs (being able to "see it coming"), and cues (knowing exactly what you do that tells you exactly how you are doing- for ex. on the manic scale an 8 means what?). Finally, it means those plans that you are going to follow once you "see it coming." Prevention means becoming an expert on you with some degree of efficiency and expertise.

Coping

Coping is what you do when you know "its here." It means limiting the damage and beginning the process of positive momentum. A lot of coping is tied up with how you process your experience and the plans you have for support when you can no longer trust the way you process your experience. It means knowing that because something "feels so" does not make it so. It means having a sounding board- whether it is a script or series of statements you do or another person you can trust- that helps to clarify reality when it does not seem so clear. It is trying so hard not to leap and find yourself dealing with consequences of your mood that you really don't want to see happen.

Learning

Learning has to do with how you view the "finished product" and what you learn that you can use next time. It means seeing mistakes and seeing successes. It means viewing your experience not just as a source of deprivation, but also as a possible opportunity to learn more about life.

Author: Therese Borchard in Huffington Post. Ms Borchard also writes her blog, Beyond Blue, on beliefnet.com