The humor changes Sudden or mood swings are emotional ups and downs, so that a person experiences several different emotions in a short period of time.
For example, you can go from experiencing joy to feeling sadness, suddenly and sometimes without a clear cause to justify it.
These mood swings can interfere negatively in the life of the person who suffers, especially in the social plane. I also know Manifest in the academic sphere, or work and can occur in men, women, children, adolescents and elderly.
Typically, this mood instability has been attributed more to the female gender - due to hormonal change in certain stages, such as menopause or And although it seems that hormonal changes may lead to greater mood instability, the fact is that it also occurs in mens.
Causes of Mood Swings
The causes that explain the changes in the State of mind Are many, and sometimes it is difficult to determine the specific factors that cause it.
However, there are some common causes that facilitate sudden mood swings, such as:
Menopause
The menopause Constitutes, for most women, a period of instability and hormonal, psychological and psychosocial changes.
All these changes cause, on many occasions, sudden mood swings between women who are going through this vital stage.
Eating disorder
An unbalanced diet, characterized by periods of starvation and binge eating, as well as other inappropriate compensatory behaviors, is also often Accompanied by changes in mood and mood.
In fact, when people suddenly feel sad or anxious, they usually turn to food for some comfort.
Some personality disorders (limit, histrionic)
The Borderline personality disorders and histrionic Are characterized by marked emotional and affective instability.
Social relations are often turbulent and unstable, as are sentimental relationships.
People who suffer from these disorders often do not keep friends or sentimental partners for a long period of time.
This Emotional instability It is also often manifested in mood and mood.
Premenstrual syndrome
Although all girls do not suffer the consequences of the so-called premenstrual syndrome, the reality is that many of them do feel changes Emotional the days prior to menstruation.
This syndrome, despite the hormonal influence, seems to be due to the social learning that girls have throughout their lives.
Sadness and irritability are characteristic of the Premenstrual syndrome , Being frequent that the person who suffers it has conflicts with the others -for matters that normally would not cause it.
Adolescence
Adolescence is a time of great changes, challenges and insecurities. It is therefore normal that at this stage of the life cycle, people Have greater mood swings and get to experience an emotional roller coaster before any adversity.
In addition, it is also a period in which hormonal changes can have a decisive influence on the mood of the adolescent.
These are just a few examples where sudden mood swings can occur.
However, as we have said, in other circumstances it is not so easy to determine the causes that cause it.
Dealing With Mood Swings
Either way, for you to learn how to deal with these mood swings, we bring you these 8 tips that will help you:
1. Learn to recognize your mood swings
Mood swings have characteristic physiological indicators, so with a little practice, you can easily recognize them from the start.
For example, in a state of anger or anger, your heart beats faster, your breathing becomes more agitated and you experience a state of tension muscular.
In these cases, it is advisable to detect this change of mood quickly so you can avoid conflicts and emotional outbursts.
One way to do this is to retire to another room and practice some deep breathing exercises, so that your heart rate and Normal.
After this exercise, you will be able to think more clearly and be more willing to listen and understand the point of view of these people.
On the contrary, before moods like sadness, your body reacts more slowly to what happens around you, you talk less and you are assaulted negative thoughts .
In this case, doing some nice activity can be very helpful, especially if you carry it out with a friend or relative.
As you see, different strategies are needed depending on the emotion experienced, so the first step you must take is to detect the Emotion in question.
Knowing how to anticipate its consequences will help you act on the emotion you feel and avoid its negative consequences.
2. Do not move the problems from one area to another in your life
Surely many of the mood swings you have suffered are due to insignificant causes that you have moved from one area of your life to another different.
For example, if you have had a bad day at work, you may move your problems to your partner, friends or family.
In the same way, it could happen that due to conflicts with your partner or family, you have difficulty concentrating on work or study.
This is a characteristic that is frequently found among people who have mood swings or mood swings.
Therefore, we recommend that you try, as far as possible, to distinguish the problems you have in the different areas of your life, so that you do not New problems are generated.
Learn to control these negative emotions, with the other tips that we bring here, so that they do not harm you in other areas of your life.
3. Control sleep hours
A habit that can produce many mood and mood imbalances is to have an irregular sleep schedule.
Therefore, you should start sleeping for about 8 hours a day - without interruptions during these hours of sleep - so that your body gets used to having A stable night schedule.
To facilitate this process of sleep adaptation, you can follow these guidelines:
Not having distracting stimuli in the bedroom . Many people try to Fight insomnia Watching television, accessing new technologies or reading a book. If these activities Are more attractive to you than going to sleep, you will be interfering in the process of preparing your body for sleep.
Do not eat large quantities of food at dinner , Since heavy digestion will negatively influence your nighttime sleep.
Take care of the physical conditions of your bedroom. If the room is too bright or hot or cold, you should try to change these features to make it easier for you To fall asleep
4. Reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption
If you are a smoker or you consume alcohol regularly, you should know the effects That they produce in your state of mind - in addition to the already known Adverse effects on physical health.
Numerous studies have revealed the existence of a relationship between Negative emotions Experience and the desire to consume alcohol and Other substances, such as tobacco.
In this type of studies, it has been found that people carry out an increase in the consumption of alcohol and other substances with the aim of Increase their mood, but often the opposite effect is obtained.
In this way, one enters into a vicious circle that can only be left if new methods of combating negative mood are sought.
So, if you usually smoke or drink alcohol, you should consider reducing these habits so they do not influence your mood swings - and do not Negative emotions.
5. Do a balanced diet
As in the case of tobacco and alcohol consumption, you may want to seek emotional comfort in food, after experiencing changes in Mood or mood.
And, in the same way, one can enter into a vicious circle by pretending to improve the mood through the food and obtaining the opposite result.
Usually, when a large amount of food is ingested due to mental discomfort, unpleasant feelings such as embarrassment or guilt are experienced.
Therefore, avoid resorting to food in these situations and change this habit for more adaptive, such as going to the movies, going for a walk, taking a Coffee with a friend, etc.
6. Write about your emotions
It seems that writing has a liberating power that allows you to deal with your emotions, instead of denying or suppressing them.
It is a liberating effect that has been revealed through numerous studies.
For example, Klein and Boals (2001) found that when writing about stressful events, Intrusive thoughts And avoidants, So that the operational memory capacity had greater resources to employ in other mental activities.
Put in other words, the writing technique can bring benefits to better manage your emotions, while you can have A better performance in other tasks - academic or academic.
In order for the technique to have the desired effect, you have to write about the events that occur in your life and about the emotions you experience, With the greatest freedom and depth possible.
This technique will increase your well-being and will enable you to deal with the conflictive personal situations that cause the mood swings.
7. Seek support from family and friends
Surely your mood swings have led to more of a conflict in your closest environment or have caused you to end some relationship.
Sometimes, it may happen that you do not feel understood by the people around you, since they do not know how to put yourself in your place and they do not show themselves sensitive Which should be shown under your view.
With respect to this subject, there are two aspects that you should modify:
First of all, it is advisable to talk to your family, friends and partner - if you have one - and explain your situation to them, so that Can understand you and have greater patience and empathy with you.
On the other hand, try to put into practice the advice that we provide here for Control your emotions , So that you can reduce the Confrontations and conflicts that you usually have with the people around you.
8. Perform physical exercise
It is widely demonstrated that the practice of physical exercise has great benefits in relation to the Psychological well-being In addition to the physical.
By regularly doing sport, you will increase your Positive emotions , So you'll feel better in the mood.
In addition, it is a good strategy of emotional regulation, so you can get to appease mood swings or sudden moods.
With regard to the type of physical exercise, you must take into account the pace of life you lead, in order to make a good choice.
For example, if you are a person with a sedentary lifestyle, it is best to gradually start small healthy habits, such as Walking or cycling.
The important thing is to make physical exercise a habit, rather than only sporadically.
Here are the tips we give you to learn how to deal with sudden mood swings.
And you, what other tips would you add to know how to take the mood swings?
References
- Bermudez, M. P., Álvarez, I. T., & Sánchez, A. (2003). Analysis of the relationship between emotional intelligence, emotional stability and psychological well-being. Universitas Psychologica , 2 (1), 27-32.
2. Cetina, C.T. (2006). Symptoms in menopause. Journal of Endocrinology and Nutrition , 14 (3), 141-148.
3. Jiménez Torres, M. G., Martínez, M. P., Miró, E., & Sánchez, A. I. (2012). Relationship between perceived stress and negative mood: differences according to the style of coping.
4. López-Mato, A., Illa, G., Boullosa, O., Márquez, C., & Vieitez, A. (2000). Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Chilean journal of neuro-psychiatry , 38 (3), 187-195.