What is mood swings?
Mood swings refer to sudden, unexpected shifts or changes in one's mood or emotional state. We all experience fluctuations in our moods and emotions from time to time. However, some people experience more extreme, frequent, or intense mood swings that can significantly impact their daily functioning.
What causes mood swings?
There are several potential causes of mood swings, including:
- Hormonal changes: Shifts in hormones linked to menstrual cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause, or menopause can trigger mood swings in some people.
- Stress: High stress levels may make some more vulnerable to mood swings as the body's fight-or-flight response is activated.
- Depression or bipolar disorder: Conditions like clinical depression or bipolar disorder can cause more severe mood episodes.
- Medications: Some prescription drugs can provoke mood instability as a side effect.
- Physical factors: Lack of sleep, poor diet, low blood sugar, thyroid dysfunction, etc. may contribute to mood issues.
What are some common signs of mood swings?
When mood swings are occurring, people often swing back and forth between emotional extremes like:
- Feeling very irritable, angry, or rageful to feeling down, sad, or hopeless
- Being tense, anxious, worried to feeling calm and relaxed
- Having racing thoughts to experiencing mental fog or confusion
- Bursts of energy and motivation followed by extreme fatigue or lack of drive
Mood swings can happen suddenly over minutes or hours, or can take place more slowly over a period of days. The shifts often feel outside of one's control.
How are mood swings treated?
If mood swings become severe enough to impact daily life, various treatment approaches may help stabilize mood, including:
- Psychotherapy: Talk therapy helps people better manage stress and develop coping strategies.
- Medications: Doctor may prescribe mood stabilizers or antidepressants to balance brain chemicals.
- Lifestyle changes: Adjusting diet, exercise, sleep habits, etc. can support mood regulation.
- Mindfulness practices: Meditation, yoga, journaling help some people ground themselves during mood episodes.
Learning to anticipate mood swings and having personalized strategies to get through the difficult periods can help one maintain balance. Track your moods and triggers to better understand patterns. Seek support from loved ones. With professional support from Hormone Health Center, most people find healthy ways to stabilize intense mood swings over time.
Let me know if you have any other questions!