Bipolar Patient Creates An Innovative Mobile Health App Designed To Empower People With Mood Disorders

Mood Watch, a New Cross-Platform Mobile Health App, Makes It Easy to Track a Variety of Mood States for Personal Reflection or Discussion With a Physician or Therapist

San Diego, CA (Marketwire) - Not long ago, Kimberly Knox -- an inventor and bipolar 1 patient -- was sitting in the art room of a psychiatric hospital at about 4:00 a.m. thinking about her diagnosis and what she could do about it. With the hope that she would one day better understand how her mind was working, Ms. Knox began consistently tracking her moods, sleeping patterns, medication adherence and blood pressure on paper.

"Charting all of this information three times each day took an enormous amount of time and energy," said Ms. Knox. "I knew there had to be an easier way."

Returning home she continued thinking about ways to simplify the culmination of all the information she felt it was critical for her to understand. After visiting an Apple store in her hometown of San Diego with her charts and drawings in hand, she was referred to mobile app developer -- Ditty Labs -- which helped bring her vision to fruition. Nearly a month later, Mood Watch, a cross-platform mobile health app endorsed by the International Bipolar Foundation, was born.

Available now in the App Store and Android Marketplace for $0.99, Mood Watch empowers people who suffer from mood disorders with tools that can help them live happier and more productive lives. By closely tracking one's feelings throughout the day, every day, people with mood disorders finally have the chance to easily understand their mood patterns. Daily mood tracking also has the potential to make discussions with a physician or therapist even more constructive by providing insight into a person's mood changes over time.

How Mood Watch Works
With Mood Watch, users can track how they feel mentally, emotionally and physically by answering a short set of questions, tracking their sleep quality, blood pressure and meditation.

Next users are encouraged to rate their anxiety level, mood, level of calmness, focus/mindfulness and energy level three times a day -- morning, noon and night.

Those who have specific details about their day that they'd like to record can add personal notes during each entry. Once all entries are complete, a report can be generated at the click of a button detailing all the information entered during the week. Reports created by Mood Watch can be printed out for personal reflection, or emailed to a physician or therapist for further discussion.

Mood Watch also offers users the ability to enter the names of the supplements or medications they are taking, and set alarms to go off throughout the day to help ensure they are following their regimen as planned or as directed by a physician.

Mood Watch Launches Crowd-funding Campaign
In an effort to help Mood Watch reach the more than 450 million people worldwide who suffer from mental illness according to the World Health Organization1, Ms. Knox has launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds that will help her create multiple language versions of Mood Watch, speak at events focused on mood disorders and mental illnesses and promote Mood Watch so that it reaches those who need it most. To view Ms. Knox's campaign, and to help contribute to her cause, please visit http://igg.me/at/moodwatch/x/2216699. 

About Mood Watch 
Mood Watch is a new mobile application available for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android devices that empowers people who suffer from mood disorders with tools that can help them live happier and more productive lives. To purchase Mood Watch, or to sign up for our periodic newsletter on lifestyle improvements and app updates, visit MoodWatchApp.com.

¹ World Health Organization (WHO), September 2010, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs220/en/