This is more curiosity than anything else.
I can always tell when I'm really improving from an episode because of one small thing; I start to sing again. I'm just wondering what other peoples' signs and markers are? What little things do you do/notice when you're getting better?
Laughing and smiling when no one else is around.
I smile and laugh with my friends all the time, and it's almost always genuine. I can still have a good time with them. But, then I come home to my empty house and there's this cloud.
But if I'm reading, or cruising social media, or watching TV and something genuinely makes me laugh out loud or smile, I know I'm coming out of it a bit, at least.
I too notice that I start to sing again. For me though it is a major sign when I start to spin around to music again, and enjoy cooking for myself
I find myself dancing around the house when I'm coming out of an episode. Very infrequently, I have major flip outs. Then I go through a period of extreme depression, guilt and shame about my actions. I know I'm getting better when I start dancing. Or also, just feeling like I want to do things.
My 'sign' is another musical one...when I start unconsciously singing nonsense songs to the cat. Another is just noticing the shimmer of green in the woods on a sunlit afternoon or the birdsongs emanating from there as I write this. Really anytime I notice I did something unconsciously and without anxiety (whether alone or in a social situation).