Mood swings are a response to neurophysiological changes in the body, a response to hormonal changes. But fluctuations in hormonal levels can occur for various reasons. This can be either a character trait (such people are called “person-mood”) or a symptom of a mental disorder or somatic illness.
What are mood swings
Mood is the emotional background of a person. Mood is different from emotions, feelings, and affects. This is a long-term, low-intensity emotional reaction. However, due to mental or physiological reasons, the background sometimes becomes unstable.
Mood swings can occur several times during the day or every couple of weeks. It can be fluctuations from tears to laughter or from activity to passivity, from aggression to benevolence.
What is typical for mood swings:
- unpredictability;
- lack of control;
- independence from situations.
A person feels like on a swing. At one minute he can be inspired, cheerful and active, and at another he can be in a depressed mood and despair, cry or get angry. He is either overly vulnerable and touchy, then cold and distant. Mood swings reduce the quality of life, spoil relationships with others. It is not easy to live with such a person, and it is difficult for him to endure it himself, the drops are tiring.
If mood swings have not been observed before, are not an individual norm for a person (for example, choleric people have a changeable, hot-tempered temperament), then you need to pay attention to this and try to understand the reasons.
Physiological causes
Mood swings can be caused by mental and physical causes. The latter include:
- dementia;
- meningitis;
- stroke;
- brain tumors;
- diseases of the liver or gallbladder (spasm of the biliary tract provokes the production of the hormone of anger, norepinephrine);
- disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system, which increase the level of adrenaline;
- disrupted work of the thyroid gland.
With pathologies of the thyroid gland, the level of hormones can be increased or decreased, as well as fluctuate between low and high values. When hormone levels are low, a person’s reactions slow down. He becomes lethargic, apathetic, gets tired quickly. At an increased level, irritability, aggressiveness, hysteria are observed.
Psychological reasons
Common psychological causes, regardless of gender or age, include:
- depression;
- stress;
- physical and intellectual fatigue;
- lack of sleep;
- bipolar disorder;
- affective disorder;
- anxiety disorder;
- intrapersonal crisis;
- dependence on psychoactive substances;
- abuse of coffee, chocolate and similar products;
- hunger, hard diets;
- binge eating;
- an eating disorder;
- emotional burnout;
- conflicts at work or in the family;
- inability to live in the present (memories of a tragic past or dreams of a happy future with a further return to reality can traumatize a person and spoil the mood);
- unmet needs;
- lack of attention or love;
- dissatisfaction with life, work.
In addition, the use of hormones (including birth control) and medications, especially antidepressants, can cause mood swings. Some psychoactive drugs are addictive; without them, the brain stops producing hormones of joy, and the balance is disturbed. A similar effect can be exerted by drugs that correct the work of the cardiovascular system.
If you are taking any medications, then you need to urgently consult with the doctor who prescribed them. If you are self-medicating, then you need to stop it and consult a specialist.
In men
Men have no specific causes of mood swings, other than low testosterone levels. And from the point of view of psychology, the reasons are the same which we attributed to the general ones. However, more often the condition is caused by suppression of emotions and feelings, overwork. Gender stereotypes prohibit men from showing emotions, admitting their fatigue. But there are many requirements and responsibilities. Difficulties at work and at home, combined with repressed emotions and unmet needs, translate into emotional instability.
Among women
The causes of mood swings in women are also no different from the general ones. Specific reasons include pregnancy, menopause, premenstrual syndrome (PMS). In psychology, there is no consensus about the normality of such a state. Some psychologists refer to PMS as a psychosomatic illness. If each menstruation is accompanied by unpleasant psychophysiological symptoms, then you must definitely visit a psychologist and gynecologist.
In adolescents
For teens, mood swings are the norm. This is the specificity of the transitional age, a consequence of the hormonal storm that occurs during this period. However, it is necessary to assess the state of the teenager as a whole. If other signs of adolescence are not observed (have already passed), and before mood swings were not noticed, then it is necessary to visit a doctor. Perhaps, in this case, this is no longer the norm, but a violation caused by one of the general reasons (stress, overwork, frustration, etc.).
How to fight
Try to identify the factors that are associated with mood swings. Keep a diary in which you will record the frequency of the swings, the events preceding them, the duration, the conditions for changing the mood to a positive one. After identifying stressors, you need to work to eliminate each of them.
If it seems that there are no objective reasons, then you need to undergo a medical and psychological examination. The diary will come in handy again. He will help to collect anamnesis, to record the dynamics of the emotional background. If the reason relates to psychiatry, then it will play an important role there. For example, in bipolar disorder, bouts of mania and apathy last about 2 weeks, depending on the stage.
If you are sure that you are just tired, then try to change the environment. What else can you do:
- exercise regularly;
- monitor the balance and completeness of the diet;
- drink a course of vitamins;
- relax and rest;
- find a hobby;
- walk (fresh air and sunlight, like sports, promote dopamine production, stabilize hormones).
Correction of the condition must begin with identifying the cause. Remember that this can be both temporary fatigue and mental illness. If the symptoms are pronounced, the drops interfere with the usual way of life, then it is imperative to consult a psychologist. If he does not see the problem in his part, he will redirect to another specialist.
If it’s a character trait
Mood swings, or emotional lability, can be a personality trait. This is called a complex temperament. In this case, emotional instability is noticeable from childhood. The processes of inhibition and excitement level out gradually, as the child grows and develops, and also depending on the temperament and conditions of upbringing.
But sometimes the inhibitory centers are not formed or are malfunctioning. This happens for two reasons:
- Neurotization of the personality, in which the process of maturation of mental structures is distorted or slowed down.
- Neurosis, which is a reaction to stress or trauma.
Both cases are corrected by psychotherapy, but different treatments will be needed depending on the cause. In the first case, it is necessary to learn self-regulation, independently “grow” the missing structures. In the second case, it is necessary to find the root of the trauma, get rid of the protective mechanism of regression, form conscious and mature reactions, and eliminate the traumatic memory or stress factor.
Epilogue
In psychology, mood swings are considered to be a marker of a person’s personal ill-being. If the failures do not have a somatic basis, then we are talking about some kind of internal mental problem. The human brain is constantly processing information. We ourselves do not notice what thoughts he misses. On a subconscious level, the brain can see some kind of problem. We do not have time to grasp the thought itself, but we have time to react to it with a mood swing.
