Mood monitoring in bipolar disorder: Is it always helpful?

Mood monitoring is widely used in the treatment and self‐management of bipolar mood swings. Typically, service‐users record their affective states in a paper or electronic diary over an extended period (e.g. weeks, months). The aim is to help people to achieve greater awareness and understanding of their affective states, which then enables them to better prepare and account for problematic changes in their mood, preventing escalation to mood episodes and relapse.