Monsenso user, Mads Trier-Blom, speaks of his experience using the Monsenso app as a part of a clinical trial. The Monsenso app has helped Mads to become more connected with his clinician, Bente so that she could help intervene with Mads’s moods even before it turned into an episode.
The app helped him to become more aware of his mood, and other factors, such as sleep, and their influence on his bipolar affective disorder. To Mads, having bipolar disorder means constantly keep a balance, to prevent losing control to either depressive or manic episodes.
“In my life with bipolar disorder, I see myself as a tightrope walker. This metaphor for living with bipolar disorder is very meaningful. I feel like a tightrope walker because when living with bipolar disorder, you constantly have to prevent losing control to either depressive episodes or manic episodes. You are able to avoid this through earlier registration on how your mood is fluctuating so that the app can help you to keep in control of your life.” says Mads Trier-Blom.
During Mads’s time in his clinical trial, he felt more connected to his clinician, Bente. He recalls an instance where he had missed completing his self-assessments for a couple of days, and Bente had called him to check and see how he was doing. With Bente calling to check in on him, it helped Mads to become more aware of how his mood.
“One day, I was driving in my car and I was a little tense. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was this lady, saying, ‘Hi, my name is Bente and I just wanted to hear about how you are doing. At first, I was like,’Who are you, why are you calling me?’ and then she said, ‘Well, you’re on this trial and I can see that you haven’t made registrations for 3 days. So I thought, ‘Oh yeah, this is true. I am kind of tense at the moment, but yeah I think it’s okay; but still this answering back to the clinician and the clinician is able to call you back which makes you aware and alert.” says Mads Trier-Blom.