My Collaboration With Juli (The App)

Juli is an application that I discovered in 2021. You can download it on your iPhone or Android, as it works on both operating systems.

Juli’s presence caught my attention and intrigued me. As someone living with bipolar disorder, I am always open to discovering new tools to help manage it. Juli is an app that helps support those of us living with a chronic condition, such as bipolar disorder. However, you can also use it to help support other conditions like chronic pain, asthma, depression, and migraines.

The cool thing about Juli is its ability to track the daily factors that impact bipolar disorder (and other chronic conditions, as well). There are four distinct ways Juli does this:

• Data tracked passively through your smartphone.

• Data tracked passively through your other “wearables.”

• Environmental data.

• Self-reported data (questions asked in the app).

From the data, Juli helps you to pinpoint the factors that will improve your bipolar disorder and the triggers that make it worse. This falls directly in line with our mission, “To empower those living with bipolar disorder.”

The information you gather puts you back in control, thus helping you to better manage your bipolar disorder daily – and for the long run.

My Experience With Juli 

As I mentioned, I am always open to trying new tools in my journey to manage bipolar disorder.

The first thing I found when I tried out Juli was its simplicity. When I say simplicity, I mean it is an app that is extremely user-friendly and does not waste your time. Basically, you wear your cell phone (and/or other wearables such as a smart watch), and Juli does the rest.

Juli’s Dashboard

When you open Juli’s “dashboard,” you will immediately recognize some very important data. The dashboard provides you with a snapshot of your

• Mood

• Sleep

• Daily activity (in steps)

• Workout

• Medications taken

Next to each factor you will see a graph of its trend over the previous seven days. With each factor, you can view the details of your data to help you see what is helping improve your symptoms or, possibly, making them worse. 

For me, tracking these factors in one place makes it easier and more time efficient. Previously, I charted this information separately, in different apps and charts. Having this information at your fingertips in the same spot is a game-changer because Juli tabulates all the information together, thus helping you to see how they affect one another, while pinpointing any patterns. 

Medication

Medication is a vital component in the treatment of bipolar disorder. I remember when I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my doctor stressed the importance of taking my medication as prescribed, and the importance of taking it at the same time each day. 

Like most things in life, it is not always easy to follow through with the recommendations given to us by our doctor. Sometimes life gets in the way, other times maybe we just don’t want to put in the effort, or perhaps we simply forget about it. These are probable reasons medication adherence is such a big problem. 

For me, I have to take medication daily to help manage my bipolar disorder. It is a realization that I accept. With Juli, I can set specific timely reminders to help me remember to take my meds, which helps to hold me accountable.

Juli Chat

Juli has a chat feature that checks in with you every day. Juli asks you questions related to your bipolar disorder, such as “how is your mood?” and “how are you feeling?” The questions have a scientific proof of helping assess your well-being, so you are not just filling up your time with senseless action, but rather you are taking steps to empower yourself. 

The chat feature is where your “self-reported” data comes from. Personally, I have found it comforting for Juli to interact with me. I have control over the specific time when I ask the questions, and I can incorporate additional factors to track. 

The Daily Dares

The “Daily Dares” section of Juli is a place where you can take actionable steps each day. As Juli states on its website, “The Daily Dares feature is our way of turning evidence-based treatments into a game!”

Personally, I find it extremely motivating with the distinct suggestions and options. Knowing that each activity is based on science to improve my overall well-being is just icing on the cake.

To keep track of all the data, you can connect any of your wearables to your Juli app. With a solid connection, Juli will take the data and show you patterns as graphs. I find it amazing that a wearable can transmit this data to Juli, and then Juli uses that data to show how you are doing and to find patterns related to various named constraints.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a tool to help you manage your bipolar disorder, and to give you back control of your life, I highly recommend that you try Juli. I simply cannot say enough good things about this app!