A useful support plan names who to contact, what help you want and what to do when concerns escalate. Develop it with your care team; a mood score or generic online checklist cannot decide your treatment.
Make the plan while there is space to discuss it
NICE recommends a collaboratively developed risk-management plan for bipolar disorder, including personal triggers or warning signs and agreed responses. NIMH describes ongoing treatment and support as important parts of bipolar care. A plan should reflect your own assessment, circumstances and preferences.
This page is preparation for that conversation, not a crisis assessment. If you might act on thoughts of self-harm, cannot keep yourself safe or someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency or crisis services now. Do not wait to complete a form.
Turn a contact list into an action list
A name and telephone number do not explain when to use them. Ask the team what concerns should prompt routine contact, urgent contact or emergency help. Record availability, the out-of-hours route and what to do if the first contact cannot be reached.
Check that a trusted person is willing and able to take the role you discuss. Agree what information can be shared, with whom and in what circumstances. Do not assume that sharing a mood report gives someone permission to share all your health information.
| Part of plan | Question to settle |
|---|---|
| Personal warning signs | Which changes matter in my own history? |
| First response | What should I do and whom should I contact? |
| Trusted person | What help do I want them to offer? |
| Availability | What is the out-of-hours route? |
| Privacy | What may be shared and with whom? |
| Review | When will we check that this plan still works? |
Describe changes rather than create a diagnosis score
Bring examples of changes you and your clinician have previously discussed, such as a change in sleep or daily functioning. Preserve the clinician’s interpretation separately from your observation. Do not invent a number of hours or a mood score that automatically labels an episode.
A support person can describe what they observed, while making clear whose account it is. If you disagree, keep both descriptions for the discussion rather than using the journal to settle the disagreement.
Illustrative request: “If you notice the changes we discussed with my clinician, please ask how I am doing and help me contact the agreed service. Please do not distribute my full journal.” The actual response plan should be agreed with the care team.
Keep the current version accessible
Date the plan and put the current contact details somewhere you can find without searching old messages. Decide whether a paper copy or limited shared copy is useful. Remove obsolete copies from places where they might be mistaken for the current plan.
Medication instructions belong to your prescriber’s plan; do not add self-directed dose changes. The appointment notes PDF can hold questions, while the mood-and-sleep guide explains observation records. The optional app is a journal, not a crisis-monitoring service; recording an entry does not notify your care team.
Sources & checks
- NICE: Bipolar disorder recommendations ↗
Collaborative care and risk-management planning.
- NIMH: Bipolar disorder ↗
Ongoing professional treatment and support.
- Current App Store listing: Bipolar Mood Tracker App ↗
Public US listing checked September 30; recording or sound features only, not evidence of health benefit.
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-30. Examples and worksheets are original illustrations, not real patient histories or clinical validation. This is educational content, not individual medical advice or a clinician-reviewed treatment plan.
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