Mental Health

Here’s Why I No Longer Suffer from Mood Fluctuations

Beat the blues in 3 steps by preventing mood swings leading to burnout

Our mood reflects our cognitive and emotional state at a given moment. It is a temporary state that can change throughout the day and night depending on multiple factors. Our moods depend on our physiology, thoughts, feelings, social interactions, and environment.

Our physical, cognitive, and emotional states influence our mood. External factors such as life events, situations, and relationships might impact our thoughts and emotions and change our moods. If intense mood swings persist, they may lead to burnout and even nervous breakdowns.

Physical factors such as hunger, thirst, discomfort, and pain can impact mood and lead to irritability, frustration, and low mood. Cognitive factors like negative thoughts or beliefs and emotional factors like boredom or dissatisfaction can lead to feelings of anxiety and mood disorders like depression.

I wrote this article because I found ways to manage and eliminate my mood swings caused by multiple reasons in my younger years.

In the context of preventing mood swings, “beating the blues” mean implementing strategies to manage and prevent extreme and excessive fluctuations in mood.

I found solutions that have worked for me. They stabilized my mood, giving me control of my physiology, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Therefore I no longer suffer from mood swings.

I have taken specific steps and made changes in my lifestyle that have positively impacted my physical, cognitive, and emotional states. Optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters made the most significant impact on these three layers.

Changing our mood from negative to positive is possible in natural ways via healthy lifestyle habits. The key is creating new habits.

These intentional habits, when practiced daily, can prevent mood swings and improve physical and mental health. Mood swings caused by underlying health conditions require professional support.

My purpose in this article is to briefly introduce mood swings affecting millions of people, explain the root causes, and provide practical steps to lower their impact and prevent them with healthy lifestyle habits.

What are mood swings, and why do they matter?

The mood is a natural aspect of the human experience. It can fluctuate from positive to negative. Mood swings are rapid and intense changes in mood that can be difficult to predict or control.

Mood swings may involve sudden shifts in emotions, from euphoric, elated, and energetic to sad, irritable, or anxious, without notice. Such mood swings might confuse our friends, loved ones, and colleagues.

However, persistent and severe changes in mood, such as those associated with mood disorders like bipolar disorder or various types of depression, can adversely impact the quality of life and require professional treatment.

Various factors, like hormonal imbalances, mental health conditions, and external stressors such as work, relationships, or financial difficulties, can cause mood swings.

Symptoms of mood swings can include sudden changes, usually ending up in irritability, anxiety, anger, boredom, confusion, and difficulty concentrating.

Managing mood swings require a combination of strategies, like lifestyle changes, medication, and therapy.

In severe cases, mood swings can lead to social isolation, poor job performance, relationship difficulties, and health issues.

Frequent and severe mood swings can be symptoms of mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, depression, anhedonia, or anxiety. If left untreated, these conditions can significantly impact our mental health and well-being, leading to further complications and impairments.

Mood swings can also have an impact on physical health. Chronic stress and anxiety associated with mood swings can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other physical health problems.

Mood swings matter because they can significantly impact the quality of life and functioning. Excessive mood changes can cause burnout and might lead to a nervous breakdown. They also affect society and the economy.

Mood swings can have a broader impact on society. People who experience mood swings may require more healthcare resources, miss work more frequently, or struggle to maintain stable relationships.

Mood swings can have a significant economic impact. For example, as documented in this paper, mood disorders cost the US economy more than $210 billion annually in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and other expenses.

The mechanisms behind mood swings can be complex and may involve various factors related to physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning.

Brain chemistry modifications, sleep pattern disruptions, and negative thinking patterns can contribute to mood swings. Understanding the causes and mechanisms of mood swings can help us better manage and prevent them.

Common Causes of Mood Swings

Mood swings can have multiple causes and reasons, which can be explained from physical, cognitive, and emotional perspectives. I want to provide an overview of the main factors that can contribute to mood swings.

Physical, Biological, Chemical, and Electrical Factors

Various physiological factors, such as hunger, thirst, sleep disruptions, pain, digestive discomfort, perspiration, cold exposure, and weather, can cause mood swings. These physical and biological effects can make a psychological impact.

For example, excessive sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and lack of sleep can impact cognitive function and lead to irritability, cognitive rigidity, low mood, and poor emotional regulation.

Hormonal fluctuations can affect neurotransmitters in the brain and lead to mood changes. The use of drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants can alter brain function and contribute to mood swings.

Cognitive Factors

Mental stress can trigger mood swings, particularly if we feel overwhelmed or unable to cope with the demands placed on us. This can lead to negative thought patterns, such as rumination and worry, aggravating mood swings.

Cognitive distortions and negative thought patterns, like catastrophizing, black-and-white thinking, and self-criticism, can initiate mood swings. These patterns can distort perceptions of reality and lead to intense emotional reactions.

Low self-esteem can trigger mood swings. People with low self-esteem might be more vulnerable to negative thoughts and emotions, which can worsen mood swings.

Emotional Causes

Unpleasant emotions and traumas, such as abuse or neglect, can dysregulate emotions and lead to mood swings. Traumas can create a heightened sensitivity to stress and trigger intense emotional reactions.

Relationships and financial difficulties, such as conflict, separation, or loss, can adversely impact mood and contribute to mood swings. These situations can trigger intense emotions, such as anger, sadness, and anxiety, making it difficult to regulate and manage our moods.

Lack of social support can adversely impact mood and contribute to mood swings. People lacking a strong social support system might feel isolated and vulnerable. Thus even minor challenges can cause a negative mood.

Here’s how I used a three-pronged approach to gain a better mood and stop mood fluctuations.

This section provides an overview of the critical points that significantly affected my body, thoughts, and emotions, stabilizing my mood.

1 — Physiological Approaches and Solutions

The physical approaches and solutions to improving mood focus on activities that directly affect the body and its physiology.

From my experience, restorative sleep, regular exercise, a healthy diet, cold/heat exposure, relaxation techniques, spending time in nature, and physical therapies, lowered the mood fluctuations caused by physiological factors.

Sleep, exercise, diet, and thermogenesis have biological, chemical, and electrical effects on the brain and the nervous system, optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. Moving from sugar to fat-burning metabolism made a beneficial impact on my mood.

I learned to activate the parasympathetic nervous system with progressive muscle relaxation, vagus nervous workouts, thermogenesis, and breathing techniques, which lowered stress by regulating my HBA axis.

The key success factor was creating new habits and making them part of my lifestyle. These healthy lifestyle habits impacted the cognitive and emotional aspects I covered in the following sections.

2 — Cognitive Approaches and Solutions

The major point of the cognitive approach was observing my thoughts, accepting them as they are, and allowing them to flow and disappear.

The critical approach was not judging or rejecting thoughts but accepting them and seeing with a neutral eye how awful they might be. This approach gave me better cognitive flexibility contributing to neuroplasticity and improving my cognitive function and performance.

My most effective tools were meditation, mindfulness practices, working in a flow state, self-talk, expressive writing, gratitude journaling, cognitive behavioral therapy, activating the neocortex intentionally, and taming the limbic system with daily brain and mind-stimulating workouts.

These cognitive approaches and solutions significantly improved my emotional state, balance biochemicals, and stabilized my mood. When I fixed physical and cognitive imbalances, I experienced a more positive mood but had to address emotional issues for a better mood.

3 — Emotional Approaches and Solutions

Chronic stress is harmful to the body and mind. However, emotional stress is the more significant part of the iceberg in our stress profile. Understanding the role of the limbic system and preventing amygdala hijacks are vital to lower emotional stress.

Frequent occurrences of unpleasant emotions such as fear, anxiety, grief, worry, anger, frustration, dissatisfaction, envy, and boredom cause emotional stress.

The emotional approach to improving my mood was regulating my emotions by increasing positive emotions and reducing negative ones. The opposite state of emotional regulation is called emotional dysregulation.

People cannot describe emotions in this destructive state and have difficulty coping. Consequently, as it happened to me, they have constant mood swings, causing unnecessary suffering.

Emotions come and go transiently. They require acceptance and acknowledgment. However, some heavy emotions get stuck. Thus, if not addressed, intensely appearing unpleasant emotions can remain in our memories leading to emotional traumas and chronic stress, causing mood fluctuations.

My key solution was to boost my emotional intelligence and mastery by rewiring the brain for new habits. This required me to observe my feelings and sensations, understand the feelings of others, and have empathy and compassion for myself and others.

Setting emotional boundaries and creating emotional self-defense was necessary to stabilize my mood.

Takeaways and Practical Steps to Prevent Mood Swings and Have a Cheerful Mood Daily

1 — Create a daily routine and start the day with optimism.

2 — Keep a journal to track mood changes. Identify and avoid triggers and aggregators for mood swings.

3 — Ensure to get nightly restorative sleep and move the body joyfully.

4 — Get enough calories and essential nutrients from whole foods.

5 — Manage stress by resting, recovering timely, and having fun.

6 — Act mindfully, work in a flow state, and meditate.

7 — Avoid drugs, toxins, excessive alcohol and caffeine, and stop smoking.

8 — Improve your relationships and social connections and eliminate emotional dependencies, substance addictions, and poor behaviors.

9 — Find new hobbies and activities that bring you joy.

10 — Obtain timely professional support if the above actions don’t help.

I believe you may customize these steps and tips for your needs to improve your mood and prevent mood swings. I documented some of my solutions in a previous article.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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