Episodes

Group symptom updates that belong together to follow how your symptoms change over time.

For example

Group your morning, afternoon and evening headache updates into one episode. Its timeline helps you review how your symptoms changed and remember it when discussing your symptoms.

Which should I use?

Patterns: explore possible associations identified by Tended.

Connections: record how logged items relate, what you tried and any outcome you noticed. You can also connect a logged item to an episode.

Episodes: follow symptom updates you consider part of the same episode.

These tools complement each other. Neither a calculated pattern nor a recorded relationship proves a cause. Connections and Episodes are optional; use either, both or neither.

Terms used here

Journal entry: everything you save together at a particular date and time.

Logged item: one recorded thing, such as fatigue, medication or rest. It can come from a journal entry or another source, such as an Apple Health daily summary.

Symptom update: one symptom recorded at a particular time, such as fatigue rated 7/10 at 09:00. An episode contains these updates.

Connection: a relationship you record between two logged items, or between a logged item and an episode.

Episode: symptom updates you group together as part of the same period. Grouping updates does not automatically create connections.

Create an episode

1. Tap the Episodes heading in Journal, or open a journal entry, tap the link button and select Episodes. 2. Tap New episode, then Add existing updates. 3. Select the symptom updates that belong together and tap Add selected. Add a title or note if useful, then tap Apply.

Save your changes

From a saved journal entry, tap the checkmark (Save) in Connections or Episodes to save your changes.

While editing a journal entry, tap the checkmark (Done) to return, then save the entry. Wider layouts may show Save or Done as text. Apply updates your draft; it does not save the journal entry.

Move or remove updates

A symptom update is one symptom recorded at a particular time. It can belong to at most one episode. The picker tells you if adding an update will move it from another episode.

Updates you remove remain available in the editor, so you can select them again before applying changes. Removing an update from an episode does not delete the original symptom record.

Find your episodes

When no episodes exist, No episodes yet offers New episode. You can group symptom updates from the current entry or earlier entries. All episodes / This entry and search appear once an episode exists. Opening the Episodes heading from Journal starts with This entry; choose All episodes to browse other episodes. If this entry has none, No episodes linked to this entry distinguishes that scope from an empty journal. Episodes are grouped by status, with recently updated episodes first. In Journal, tap the Episodes heading to open this workspace or an individual episode to open its timeline. Calendar shows every relevant episode; the list offers +more and Show less.

Search finds episode titles, notes and included symptom names within the selected scope.

Add an update

Open an episode and tap Log new update to create a new journal entry. Add your symptoms, then choose at least one under Include in this episode. Save adds the selected symptom updates to the episode timeline and saves the journal entry. Unselected symptoms and other logged items stay in the journal entry only. You can connect other logged items to the episode separately. If no symptoms are selected, Save asks you to Choose symptoms or Save entry only; Save entry only leaves the episode unchanged. From an unsaved entry, first choose whether to save, discard or keep editing.

Reopen or start a recurrence

Reopen continues the same episode and marks it ongoing. Start a new episode creates a separate episode linked to the previous episode.

From Log new update, either change takes effect when you save at least one symptom update included in the episode. Cancel or Save entry only leaves the episode unchanged.

In Edit episode > Move, merge, split or remove, you can also reopen or start a new episode directly. Review and confirm the change, then save the workspace or journal entry. This route does not require a new symptom update. Tap Recurrence of in the episode details to open the previous episode.

Status and timing

Status can be not specified, ongoing or settled. Later entries do not automatically settle an episode, and the first and last logged updates are not proof of when it started or ended. Estimated start and end remain separate. Reopen an episode or start a new episode deliberately when that fits your experience.

Correct the grouping

In Edit episode, open Move, merge, split or remove. Select the required updates and destination, then tap Review change at the bottom of the screen. Use Edit selection to change your choices before confirming. The preview names the episodes and lists affected updates and connection counts. A merge keeps the episode you are editing. Confirm with the named action, such as Move updates or Merge episodes, to update the draft, then save in Connections or save the surrounding journal entry. Original symptom updates remain; outcomes are not copied to every symptom.

Delete an episode grouping

Open the episode, tap Edit episode, then Delete episode grouping. Review the affected symptom updates and connections, then confirm with Delete episode grouping. Cancel returns to the editor without deleting the grouping.

This removes the grouping and its episode-level connections. Original symptom updates, journal entries and connections between individual logged items remain.

Tap Save in the Episodes workspace to save the deletion. If you started from a journal entry editor, tap Done to return, then save the journal entry.

Readable summaries

Episode summaries show the selected chronological updates, optional estimates and status, and any linked context. Reports identify context outside the chosen period and unavailable sources. Sharing uses selected readable summaries, with separate permission for notes and photos, rather than publishing the internal revision history.

Browse records in Journal

In Journal, tap the link button in the toolbar to open Connections and episodes across all dates. Select Connections or Episodes, then search or filter within the workspace. Entry headings still open records for that entry. Tap Save to keep workspace edits. Log new update opens a new journal entry; save that entry to add the selected symptom updates. Browsing your records remains free. Hiding Connections in Tracking settings hides these controls without deleting your records.

Connections and episode insights

In Insights, Connections and episodes appears below Patterns and comparisons and Trends over time, before Reports and records. Connection cards appear when you have saved connections; the episode card appears when you have saved episodes. If none match the current period or condition, the cards remain available so you can explore another selection. The cards and the pages they open use the same names: Reported outcomes, Episode overview and Recorded relationships. The date range below the heading shows the rolling month covered by the card summaries. All conditions means no condition filter is applied; selecting a condition narrows the summaries to matching entries. Tap the corresponding View action to open a summary.

In Insights, Reported outcomes counts what you reported after using relief methods or taking medication for a logged item or episode. Helped, No change, Felt worse, Not sure and Not recorded remain separate. Each card shows the counts for outcomes present in that group. Tap View outcomes for the complete breakdown, with the total number of recorded connections above it. Categories with zero connections remain visible without navigation arrows. Tap a category with a count above zero to review those connections, or View all connections to include every category. The toolbar info button explains the counts and missing outcomes. Not recorded means no outcome was entered; it is different from Not sure. An episode-level report is not copied to every symptom. Recorded relationships groups connections by the meaning you chose; repeated connections do not prove a cause. Its full-width card previews the number of matching connections and relationships recorded more than once. Tap View recorded relationships to see the grouped records.

Episode overview counts episodes first recorded in the selected period and labels the status rows as the current status of those episodes. Earlier ongoing episodes are not included in that summary. First recorded is the earliest known linked symptom update, not illness onset; the toolbar info button explains this. The chart shows whole-number episode counts by recorded date across the full selected period. Each populated date has an equally sized dot and a thin vertical stem from zero. The dot’s height shows the daily count; dates keep their chronological spacing. Dots are not connected. Tap the chart to inspect the nearest recorded date, or touch and hold then drag between dates. A highlighted dot and vertical guide show the selected date; the readout shows its date and episode count. Inspection does not change the scale, filters or episode list. Changing the period, condition or local status/symptom filters clears the selection. Vertical swipes still scroll the page. All Time runs from the earliest included episode through today. The date range and count scale use all episodes in the selected period and condition, before local status or symptom filters. These filters change daily counts without changing the axes, dot size or stem width. Search and grouping change only the list. If no first-recorded episodes match, the chart retains its axes and explains the empty result. The Episodes in this period list can also include earlier episodes with matching updates or estimated date ranges overlapping the period, so it can contain more episodes than the summary. Episode symptoms groups the episode title and status, with the saved Episode note available to expand. Each symptom keeps its own recorded scale and shows its recorded-update dates, rated and unrated counts, highest recorded rating and latest usable rating. A newer unrated update does not replace Latest rated. Missing ratings break chart lines. Use the toolbar info button for chart and context explanations. Supporting symptom updates and connections appear as counted navigation rows. Estimated episode duration uses valid estimated start and end dates for settled episodes first recorded in the period, never the gap between logged updates. Estimated episode duration shows its sample size with the median, shortest and longest estimates. The info button explains the median and separates included episodes from ongoing episodes, unspecified status and settled episodes without valid estimates. Tap View episode symptoms on an included episode to review its symptom updates. The duration and recurrence rows show how many eligible records are available and remain available when empty. Compare recurrences shows each linked pair as Previous episode and Recurrence, with saved titles and First recorded dates so even matching titles remain distinguishable. View comparison opens matching symptom rating scales; the card names the symptoms available to compare. A previous episode first recorded outside the selected period is labelled as context. When no ratings match, Review episode updates remains available. The toolbar info button explains explicit recurrence links, comparable scales and alignment by first recorded updates, not illness onset.

The period and condition filters apply to these summaries. Supporting records retain the selection, with complete connected-episode context labelled when it falls outside the period or condition. Unavailable or unresolved sources are excluded from measurements; missing ratings and outcomes are never zero or no change. Tap the info button in the toolbar for inclusion rules and coverage details. A day rating is not required. Period buttons show 1 Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, 1 Year and All Time when they fit. Narrower layouts use 1m, 3m, 6m, 1y and All, with full names for screen readers. Tap a button to change the range. If the compact labels also cannot fit, such as at larger text sizes, the selector becomes a menu with the same options. The last month is available free; Tended+ enables longer periods.

Search, Filters and View options are available on Reported outcomes, Episode overview and Recorded relationships. Filters use Apply to update the view; Cancel discards the filter choices you have not applied. Search and filters work within the selected period and condition. On Reported outcomes, search matches method, medication or target names; outcome filters find groups containing that report and retain the complete breakdown, including missing and uncertain outcomes. Group by relief method or medication brings related comparisons together. On Episode overview, status and included-symptom filters update figures and the episode list. Search matches episode titles and symptoms but narrows only the list. Group episodes by current status or first recorded month, or keep an ungrouped list. On Recorded relationships, search matches either item and filters can select relationship meaning or item type. Group by meaning or first connected item; each relationship group appears once. First connected item uses the source for directional relationships and the alphabetically first item for Related context. Sorting and grouping never merge or edit records. Choices remain when you return from details. Clear search and filters resets local choices without changing the period or condition. Supporting pages show the applied local scope and keep the full group or episode context. Source-availability counts use the period and condition, including unresolved records that local filters cannot classify.

Create an episode from existing symptoms

Group saved symptom updates that belong to the same period of symptoms.

Have at least one saved symptom update. An episode can include different symptoms; other logged item types are connected separately.

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Create an episode from existing symptoms: steps

1. Open Episodes Choose a saved entry, then select Episodes. Tap New episode to create a group from symptom updates you have already recorded.
2. Choose existing symptom updates Tap Add existing updates, select the symptom updates to include, then tap Add selected. You can browse other entries. Check times and severity to distinguish occurrences.
3. Review the group A title and note are optional. Each symptom update can belong to at most one episode. If an update is already in another episode, review the move notice before including it here. Grouping does not create connections.
4. Apply, then save Tap Apply, then Save in the workspace. From an entry editor, tap Done to return and save the journal entry. The guide finishes only when the new episode and its included updates are saved.

Create an episode from existing symptoms: troubleshooting

Apply needs at least one symptom update for a new episode. If there are no saved symptoms, log one first, then return to this guide. Cancelling or editing an existing episode does not finish the creation task.

Log a new episode update

Save a new symptom update into an episode you choose.

Choose an existing episode. Log new update opens a new journal entry; it does not copy the previous symptoms or change the episode immediately.

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Log a new episode update: steps

1. Find the episode Choose a saved entry and open Episodes. Use All episodes if the episode is not in This entry. Open the episode to see its symptom timeline.
2. Log a new update Tap Log new update. If the episode is settled, choose Reopen episode or Start a new episode according to what you intend. Nothing changes until an included symptom update is saved.
3. Check the episode and time Check the episode card at the top and the entry date and time. This is a new journal entry, with its own symptoms and optional reflection.
4. Add symptoms Use Symptoms to record what you are experiencing now and review each severity. You can add different symptoms from those already in the episode.
5. Choose what joins the episode Under Include in this episode, select at least one symptom update. Unselected symptoms stay in the journal entry only. Other logged items are not enrolled automatically.
6. Save the new update Tap Save. The selected symptoms join the named episode only after a successful save. A day rating is optional. Check the episode timeline to review your saved updates.

Log a new episode update: troubleshooting

If no episode exists, use Create an episode from existing symptoms first. Saving an entry with no included symptoms keeps it separate and does not finish this guide. If Save fails, your draft and selection remain available to retry.