Tracker · Depression and burnout
See which activities lift your mood, and gradually add them to your week.
Online version
You have no energy or interest, and the days all feel the same.
It feels like “nothing helps”, but you’re not sure what you’ve actually tried.
After burnout you want to get your energy back gradually, without pushing yourself too hard.
How it works
When your mood is low, you want to save your energy: lie down, put things off, cancel plans. The fewer activities that bring enjoyment or a sense of accomplishment, the lower your mood gets. And the cycle repeats.
The diary shows this cycle in your own data. After a week you can see which activities are followed by a better mood. From then on you don’t wait for motivation to appear — you plan those activities in advance, in small steps.
Keeping an activity and mood diary is the basis of behavioral activation, a therapy for depression. In meta-analyses behavioral activation performs noticeably better than control conditions and is comparable to cognitive behavioral therapy. The authors’ caveat: the quality of many studies is low and follow-up is short. The diary itself is part of the method, not a separately tested treatment.
The diary is not a diagnosis or a substitute for treatment. If your mood stays low for more than two weeks or you have thoughts of death, see a specialist.
If things feel very bad right now or you are having thoughts of death: 112 — immediate danger to life, around the clock; 116 123 — emotional support, 10:00–24:00; 116 006 — victim support crisis line, around the clock; Eluliin 655 8088 (Estonian), 655 5688 (Russian) — 19:00–07:00. Emergency help →
If this topic feels familiar, a consultation can help clarify what is happening in your situation and identify practical next steps.
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