It’s completely natural to have highs and lows and so long as they don’t affect your everyday life and aren’t happening too regularly then they aren’t normally anything to worry about. If, however, you are experiencing violent mood swings constantly and completely out of the blue then there could be a more sinister underlying cause. Here are some of the most common causes of mood swings.
Mental Health Conditions
Mood swings are a symptom of many mental health conditions and in some cases are the primary symptom of a mood disorder. Some examples of mood disorders include:
Bipolar Disorder
If you are suffering from bipolar disorder then your mood may very quickly shift from extremely happy and elated, to sad and depressed. For people with bipolar disorder, these shifts often only happen a few times a year and so if your mood swings are more often then it is unlikely that you have bipolar disorder.
Major Depressive Disorder
Those suffering from major depressive disorder experience long periods of extreme sadness. If you don’t tend to spend too long in your depressive stage then it is unlikely that you have a major depressive disorder.
If you feel that you have one of these mood disorders or then it’s important that you seek mood disorder treatment to stop them from impacting your everyday life.
Hormones
For many of us, the primary culprit for mood swings is, in fact, our own hormones. Hormones can significantly impact the chemistry in our bodies causing us to feel happy one minute and sad the next. Women in particular experience large changes in their hormones during their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause all of which can cause violent shifts in mood. If you feel that your hormones are the ones playing havoc with your moods then speak to your doctor about a treatment plan that may help.
Alcohol
Alcohol is a very powerful depressant and can slow or block transmissions to the brain causing mood swings. Alcohol’s impact on our mood is further amplified by its effect on our body’s serotonin and endorphin levels and can cause massive surges in these happy hormones leading to excessive highs and then excessive lows. Research has suggested that the impact alcohol has on our moods directly relates to how regularly we drink and so consistent and regular drinkers are more likely to experience violent mood swings than those who only indulge occasionally.
Diet
There aren’t many conditions that aren’t in some way linked to our diet and mood swings are no exception. One of the biggest emotional regulators in our bodies is sugar and eating too much of it can cause a sugar high, quickly followed by a sugar low. High blood sugar levels are often associated with a happy feeling but can also be associated with negative moods such as anger and sadness. Low blood sugar is strongly associated with negative moods, especially nervousness and tiredness. So if you find you often feel sad shortly after eating your favorite sugary treat then it may be that your blood sugar levels are to blame. Try keeping more consistent blood sugar levels throughout the day by eating slow-release carbohydrates and cutting back on processed sugars.
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