In my last post I wrote about the diary I kept for 2 years; it was the key to working out what caused James’ mood swings. We made some breakthroughs just by reading it back from time to time, but most progress came from charting the data in an Excel spreadsheet. This gave us a clear, visual way to see the relationships between triggers and symptoms. We discovered a couple of major depression triggers this way, and also found that small things that were minor irritations would snowball with other events added in.

The trick for us was to discover which triggers were the most important ones, where the threshold was before they would have an impact, and what we could do to reduce their effects.

Here’s an example. We used to have a busy social life. Through my diary, I began to notice that 2 days after a meal out, James would spiral downwards very quickly and experience a period of depression for 5 or 6 days. It was a very strange, but consistent pattern. We eventually discovered that certain food additives were a trigger; things like preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors. Adjusting our lifestyles and upending our diets was difficult, but by doing so we pretty much eliminated one of his major triggers.

Another example is our “feral hour”, around dinner time when the kids are tired, hungry and cranky. Very loud noise is another trigger, since it causes James to become very irritable. If it becomes all too much he will disappear until the kids are calm again. He can now recognize when his irritability is rising, and so takes preventative action. The key is that we have agreed that he can do this when needed, so I don’t feel resentful for lack of help. Leaving me to handle “feral hour” alone is better than suffering another bout of depression.

This knowledge continues to be very helpful to us. We know the little things that can snowball, and we take action when, or before, these little things happen. It’s a preemptive strike, so to speak. Whenever a trigger or potential trigger comes along we have a specific plan to remove its effects. As a result James’ depressive and manic episodes have become more intermittent.

Click here for the fourth post in this series, Keeping Your Mind Together.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published the Time Use Survey for the U.S. in 2006. The chart for leisure time on an average day, for ages 15 and over, appears above.

The most striking thing about the chart is its neat division down the center. Just over half of all leisure time is spent consuming TV. TV makes up more than all of the other leisure activities combined. If you add in use of the computer for leisure, then total “screen” time is getting close to 60% of the pie.

I posted recently about the rubbish being shown on TV. It is full of stress and negative energy. Good news and happy endings just don’t sell. TV is especially unhelpful for us people with mood disorders.

My wife Anna told me tonight that the type of TV program that I watch has a big impact on my mood. A movie that is very violent, dark or disturbing can trigger or worsen a depressive episode. Even the nightly news can trigger symptoms like anger and irritability. At the same time relaxing in front of a comedy or light, airy movie can be helpful. It took Anna about 5 years to figure this out. Longer for me.

In your life, how much time do you spend on the right hand side of the pie? How much can you move across to the left, and what other categories of leisure can you add in that will benefit your health?

On a slight tangent, I’m interested to hear how other parents manage leisure time for their kids.

I’m not saying that I’ve sorted it all out, but for the moment I like the rules in place for our 3 kids (ages 4, 7 and 9). Firstly we don’t distinguish between TV, DVDs, Nintendo, etc. We let them have 45 minutes of “screen time” on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 1 hour 20 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays. Mondays and Tuesdays are “screen free days”. The exceptions are schoolwork and “typing tutor” (which is gathering dust).

Looking at the above chart I can see that we are strict parents, but it’s fair to say that the kids have a good balance of leisure activities. Much better than I do! And of course, if I’m alone at home with the kids and I’m ill, the screen rules disappear.