Are you concerned about your mood swings? Is the shift in your temper affecting you and your loved ones? Well, if you are suffering from mood swings, you should know it is a common phenomenon of human beings. Now and then, sometimes for various reasons and occasionally for none at all, people suffer from a dramatic imbalance in their temper.
Mood swings can be dealt with in many ways, however, five strategies that we have found after research, work just as much. Such as- exercising, a healthier diet, therapy- visiting a medical professional, a better sleep cycle, and maintenance of a schedule.
Having mood swings is an inevitable issue often triggered due to unhealthy habits. Thus, when trying to figure out steps to take when finding out how to deal with mood swings, one must also know about the causes and the measures of mood swings as mentioned below in this article.
What are the Causes of Mood Swings?
There is no definite cause of mood swings as there are plenty of reasons that differ from one person to another. It is said that chemical reactions occurring in the brain often cause a person’s mood to change. Here are several psychological and physical conditions and also some food habits that are likely to cause mood swings-
1. Psychological Conditions
There are psychological conditions that often influence mental stress and an imbalance in someone’s mood. There are a few that have medical terms and can be considered strong forces behind mood swings, such as-
Bipolar Disorder
This is also known to be manic depression, a lifelong condition. It changes the energy of a person suffering from the disorder, resulting in extreme emotional highs and lows. It also impacts sleep, behaviour, and how a person feels about themselves.
Patients with bipolar disorder also get impacted if they dislike the environment they are in. The impact therefore could also lead to an episode.
Borderline Personality Disorder
This disorder affects a person’s mental health in terms of self-consciousness. People with this medical condition have extreme emotional reactions- abrupt changes in moods. They also have difficulty in dealing with their feelings and in having positive thoughts.
A person with a borderline personality disorder can suffer from extreme fear of being abandoned; fear of problems in relationships and self-image.
Depression
Depression is also one of the major causes as it is a serious medical condition. Depression results in short to long-term impacts on a person’s mental health. It is likely to cause physical impacts as well. Here are some signs of depression:
- Crying frequently
- Lack of concentration
- Self-loathing
- Lack of sleep
- Suicidal thoughts
- Detachment from family
- Fear of social gatherings
- Anxiety
- Extreme anger
- Sudden headaches
- Pain in the body
- Extreme weight loss or weight gain
Schizophrenia
This is known as a decomposition of a person’s way of thinking and the ability to respond. Sometimes this medical condition results in hallucinations which may be a cause of extreme mood swings.
Patients with schizophrenia tend to interpret real life in an unusual manner. The medical condition often influences the thought process to be based on delusions.
Dementia
Dementia is a chronic loss of how the brain functions. It is a decline in memory, which is mostly related to aging. As that happens, people get cranky and showcase a bad temper for very little things.
Dementia is one of the medical terms to be the cause behind the decline in the cognitive ability of a person. As it affects the thinking ability as well, it then hampers a person’s mental state.
Meningitis
Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes, also known as, meninges that surround our brain and our spinal cord.
When there is swelling, that is caused by inflammation in the membranes, the common outcomes can be headaches and fever. These symptoms thus cause a person to feel extremely low mentally, as it makes the body feel tired.
Emotional Overwhelm
This is a state when a person experiences extreme emotion within themselves which becomes very hard to control. When this happens, a person loses their ability to rationalize. It can also result in heavy breathing or can influence the blood pressure to rise.
Becoming too overwhelmed also stops a person from completing daily tasks. The failure of completing the task further emphasizes the mood fluctuation.
Stress
It is very similar to emotional overwhelm. This psychological state impacts a person both mentally and physically. Stress is generated from worries. Getting too occupied with a problem causes an imbalance in temper.
The worry overtakes the ability to concentrate on other things, also resulting in restlessness. People often suffer from blood pressure because of stress.
3. Physical Conditions and Medical Terms
There are a few physical conditions influencing mood swings and some medical terms that are inevitable, such as-
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes because of unwanted problems to take place, such as pimples, weight gain, and skin itchiness. Some people also suffer from unusual hair growth, for example- women often have a beard because of hormonal changes.
People are impacted differently. The irritable results of hormonal changes result in a rise and fall in mental state.
Premenstrual Syndrome
1 or 2 weeks before the period starts, there are shifts in the hormone estrogen. The estrogen level rises and falls drastically. Some women also experience pain in their lower abdomen even before they are on their periods.
During those prior weeks, women also experience fatigue, drastic shifts in appetite, and bloating of the belly. This causes extreme mood swings.
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Patients with PCOS tend to produce a high level of male hormones. This level is not normal. Thus, the level of male hormones causes them to sometimes miss a period, which also causes difficulties in getting pregnant. PCOS highly impacts the patient mentally and causes shifts in the mood of a woman suffering from it.
Women with PCOS have their share of worries regarding their condition. They tend to have anxiety regarding their drastically fluctuating body weight as well.
Pregnancy
A woman’s body during pregnancy faces small to big physical changes. The physical changes are one of the reasons why pregnant women feel low about themselves, even though it is a very expected and normal change. Besides physical conditions, changes in hormone levels during pregnancy cause shifts in mood.
There are particular desires during pregnancy, which is not achieved to cause a dramatic shift of mood of a pregnant woman, often making them cry, even if it is in the middle of the night.
Menopause
This is not a condition, rather something every woman has to go through at one point in life. Menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstruation. This transition mostly takes place when a woman is about 45- 60 years old.
Menopause causes shifts in mood as well. Other impacts are- hot flashes, lack of sleep, and a decreased sex drive.
Hyperthyroidism
Thyroid hormones are in charge of controlling the pace of the activities happening in the body. Hyperthyroidism occurs when the glands in our thyroids produce more hormones than the body needs. This causes nervousness, anxiety, and restlessness. Patients with thyroid often get irritable.
Menstrual irregularities are common as well. Bowel movements are likely to change if a person has hyperthyroidism.
Low Testosterone
As a man reaches the age of 30, testosterone levels decrease slowly. This causes fatigue and mood swings in men. Depression, becoming out of focus are other outcomes of low testosterone.
Men experience hair loss, reduced bone mass, and an increase in body fat due to a decrease in testosterone. These are things that often drive shifts in their mental state.
3. Food Habits
Food habits are also one of the biggest drivers of mood swings. It is known to us that children become restless when given too much sweet. Well, it is not limited to children. People of all ages can be impacted because of unhealthy food habits.
Believe it or not your favourite cup of coffee might be the reason why you are so worked up. Too much caffeine can aggravate anxiety even though caffeine helps with fatigue. Many of us prefer caffeine not realizing how much it affects our body. It overwhelms our central nervous system and results in sleeping and digestive problems, for example, troubled bowels. Too much caffeine consumption also causes restlessness.
Sugar is another mood modifier that has almost the same effects as caffeine. Sugar intake causes shifts in blood sugar levels. If there is too much fluctuation in blood glucose, the outcome can be a rapid mood change where a person becomes irritated easily. Some foods are labelled healthy, such as bottled smoothies and energy bars, but be wary and check ingredients as they may have a lot of sugar added.
It’s no surprise that alcohol consumption causes people to behave irrationally. Drinking becomes an addiction eventually if not consumed with a balance. It is a depressant that can increase a bad mood while people drink hoping it will fix it for them.
Some people have gluten sensitivity. Nevertheless, with or without a reactivity towards gluten, food containing it is known to cause depression and mood swings.
How to Stop Mood Swings?
Mood swings can be controlled and even stopped in many ways. It depends on what works best for a person. However, the study we conducted has shown that the following five strategies work great if one desires to prevent mood swings-
Exercising
Working out the body produces endorphins. These are the hormones that can help improve your mood. It can also help in controlling stress. Proper exercises are likely to show positive physical changes; they can also make a person happy if they are mentally low because of their weight.
You can contact your local fitness experts who know best about exercises. They can give you tips on what exercise to do. There are some workouts that not only put impact physically but can also help you relax mentally.
Working out the body sometimes does not show results at the beginning, which could also cause a person to break down and feel low. But stay motivated! Consistency in exercises will help in gaining confidence, feeling happier, and fit both mentally and physically.
Yoga is an ancient form of exercise and has always proven to be a mind booster and mood lifter. It also helps in both losing or gaining weight, depending on the movements being done during it. According to studies, yoga is like a therapy that can help reduce depression and stress. As we already know that stress causes mood swings, yoga is a strong suggestion for you.
Healthier Diet
The importance of proper nutrition cannot be understated. Food intake is a major component that manages the mood. Proper diet being put into the body helps a person in being happier and healthier. A healthy body often generates better mental stability. Being healthy has nothing to do with weight, it is rather about consuming a clean diet.
Fatty foods are a big discouragement when planning on a healthy diet, however, foods with healthy fats like the ones found in oily fish, avocados, and even olive oils are important. As our brains are made of fat mainly, the mentioned foods will give basic components for building healthy brain cells.
Studies show, reducing wheat intake will result in a drastically improved mood swing. There are unique herbs like Adaptogens that can help you have a balanced mental state. Smaller, cleaner meals should be divided for the entire day, which will help to keep the blood sugar at a good level. In other words, preventing mood swings.
You can include supplements in your daily intake. Inositol is a great supplement that helps with mood swings. After research, it was found that Inositol is also effective in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and also eating disorders.
There are other supplements such as calcium, magnesium, and even vitamin B6. According to studies, calcium supplements can help control depression and fluctuations in mood. About 500 milligrams of calcium, according to a conducted study showed lesser symptoms of PMS-led mood swings.
Women going through menopause need calcium supplements as well which helps decrease bone deterioration. Therefore, calcium supplements not only help with the mental state but also benefits the physical body. Men suffering from low testosterone can intake vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc, which are proven boosters of testosterone.
Therapy- Visiting a Medical Professional
Therapy helps people all the time. Some people find it difficult to share details of their life with people they are close with, fearing judgment. The inability to share causes sadness and mood swings. Thus, going to a therapist- confiding in a medical professional who will be able to help you properly, is one of the best ways to prevent mood swings.
Going for therapy, if your condition is somewhat more serious, a professional healthcare provider is capable to even prescribe you medication if need be. Other than that, just visiting a therapist can help you get hold of your thoughts and mood.
Better Sleep Cycle
Sleeping better can always help in lifting the mood. Without having a night of proper sleep, people often become irritable and project a bad temper. About 7- 8 hours of sleep every night helps refresh the mind. Sleeping early and waking up early in the morning keeps a person energetic, but all that only applies if there was a snug night’s sleep.
Power naps in the afternoons are also one way to feel energized if you have had a rough tiring morning. Napping for about 20- 30 minutes is enough and increases productivity for the rest of the day.
Maintenance of a Schedule
Trying to follow a routine life helps stabilize the mood. Eating healthy and on time, drinking plenty of water, sleeping at a given time, and waking up following that very planned routine- all this may result in a lighter mood.
How to Stabilize Mood Swings Naturally?
Besides the mentioned measures to stop and control mood swings, there are other natural ways as well to control mood swings:
Meditation
Meditation is a natural way to get rid of inner turmoil. It helps calm down a person from inside. It is done by being completely still, by clearing out the mind and breathing in and out. It helps bring balance and control over unstable emotions.
Stress Management
Try to breathe whenever something is about to trigger you or has triggered you. Managing where to stress and where not to is essential.
Mood swings can often be spiked through the smallest of things, thus, try to analyze by counselling yourself whether a certain issue deserves your mental restlessness.
Tracking Moods
This is very similar to stress management. But this is more like a note to yourself where you track down and identify the things that usually make you distressed. By tracking it, you can further avoid or plan out a way to fix it.
Even if it is a toxic relationship that you are in or a financial struggle that is making you worried, note it down. Try to work things out by planning ways to prevent further mental stress because of those reasons.
Try Counting Daily Accomplishments
One of the strategies mentioned above is to maintain a schedule. When doing so, you can make a list of things you wish to get done for the day. Even if you are not able to finish everything on the list, even if you complete one, count it as an accomplishment.
Psychologically, when a task gets done, it boosts a person mentally.
Spend Time with Nature
If you are a nature lover or even like to travel, try to go somewhere every other day, or once a week (may also be a monthly thing). Take someone with you, however, if you need a detox from people, you can go alone.
Try to let go of the negative energy and thoughts when you are out in a place that relaxes you. Perhaps take along with you something to eat and enjoy it with a view.
Spend Time with Someone Dear
Mood swings can also be a result of bad company and a toxic environment. Try spending time with people you love or a person who brings the best in you. Try to consult them or share the problems you are facing; it may calm you down.
Conclusion
Mood swings are unavoidable but it is not impossible to control and prevent them. Try to shuffle between the measures we arranged for you in this article and find out what works best for you. Perhaps, once you find out, you can advise others on how to deal with mood swings.
Remember, happiness comes from inner wellness. Try to give yourself the time and care; walk away from things that create an imbalance in your mental state. Stay happy and healthy!
