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Time for a little Optimism


Optimism can see what's making you depressed

In today's world of bad news, drive-by media, and know-it-all talking heads, it's no wonder people are walking around in a state of depression. How do you feel? Did you know it's not your fault? Would you like a little optimism in your life?

Depressive episodes are triggered by a combination of factors that are unique to the individual. Optimism prompts the user to keep a detailed record of all things that affect their mental health. From this regular data input, the user can better understand the things that trigger their depressive episodes, the early warning signs that this is happening, and strategies that they can employ to remain well or return to good health.

With Crackatonic Projects Optimism 2.1.0, (an update to their popular health-wellness planning application for Mac OS X) you can dial in you current state, and then see what's making you depressed. Optimism helps a person with depression to take a pro-active approach to their health, by providing a platform for identifying and responding to the factors that are playing a part in their illness.Optimism

Simple charts and a report help the user to examine the effectiveness of their strategies, and there is a template for developing a "Stay Well Plan"; a dynamic document that the user adjusts as they learn more about managing their illness. (See sample chart)

Output from the Charts, Report and Stay Well Plan can be printed and/or emailed to a health provider or carer, for inclusion in a treatment plan or to help them gain insight on how they can help.

As most people who have recovered from a mental illness agree, it takes an awful lot of work to get better and then stay well. Those who are active and determined to pull things around tend to have the most success. Using Optimism just a few minutes each day enables a person to develop a personalized, robust plan for staying healthy.

Version 2.1.0 sports many new features and improvements:
* Fields can be customized to more closely reflect a user's circumstances
* A rating of 1 to 10 can be applied to the same fields, measuring the strength of the factor being entered on a given day
* Help Windows are included in key spots in the application
* A "fill new record from last" function saves time in entering data

Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X Version 10.2 (Leopard Compatible) or later * Full Tiger and Leopard compatibility * Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel * 19.8 MB Hard Drive space

Pricing and Availability: Optimism 2.1.0 is available as a full-featured, 7-day trial. A single user license is $19.95 (USD).

Optimism 2.1.0
Download Optimism: Optimism.dmg

Headquartered in beautiful Sydney, Australia, Crackatonic Projects Pty Ltd is a privately funded company founded by James Bishop in 2007. Crackatonic Projects is involved in graphic design, web projects and software development, primarily in the health industry. Copyright 2007-2008 Crackatonic Projects Pty Ltd and Optimism Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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Reviewed by Fred Showker for the User Group Network News Service. (C) 2008, all rights reserved. Affiliate groups may freely republish this piece so long as they include the tag line: "From the User Group Network News Service at http://www.user-groups.net/ " ... Event dates are subject to change. Some products, programs, or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Prices are estimated retail prices and are listed in U.S. dollars. Product specifications are subject to change. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Power Mac, Velocity Engine, FireWire, AirPort, Safari, Sherlock, QuickTime, iLife, iTunes, iChat, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iCal and Apple Store are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither a recommendation nor an endorsement.

 

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