What you should know about Mood Swings

Details: Category: Region 9; Published: 21 August 2022

It's common to experience days of sadness or days of excitement. It is also generally accepted that mood swings are healthy as long as they don't significantly impair your life. According to Jayne Leonard, a mood swing is a sharp or rapid change in one's emotional state. During a mood swing, a person may abruptly go from being enthusiastic and pleased to being depressed, agitated, or angry. Lifestyle factors frequently contribute to the start of mood swings. People who are going through major life changes including moving or changing jobs, feeling worried or overwhelmed, lacking sleep, eating poorly, or using drugs that affect mood or sleep may experience rapid changes in mood.

What conditions are associated with extreme mood swings? Changes in mood are frequently a sign of a more significant health problem, according to Natalie Silver of Healthline. They can happen as a result of, among other things, issues with one's mental health, hormonal changes, or substance abuse. Natalie Silver added that a variety of mental health issues might result in abrupt mood changes. They are frequently called mood disorders. These are a few of them:

Bipolar illness- You can feel tremendously happy or terribly sad if you have bipolar illness.
Cyclothymic disorder- or cyclothymia, is a mild mood disorder similar to bipolar II disorder. In it, you have emotions that go up and down but are less severe than those associated with bipolar disorder.
Major depressive disorder (MDD)- experience extreme sadness for a long period of time. MDD is also sometimes called clinical depression.
Dysthymia- now called persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is a chronic form of depression.
Personality disorders- in certain personality disorders, you may experience rapid changes in mood in a relatively short period of time.
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)- is typically only diagnosed in children. In it, your child has outbursts that aren’t on target with their developmental stage.

Significant mood changes can result from changes in hormone levels. In general, females are more likely than males to experience the symptoms of hormonal shifts, especially during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is one of the most typical causes of mood changes in women, according to Jayne Leonard. More than 90% of females claim to have some PMS symptoms. Just prior to the start of a menstrual period, PMS causes a wide range of symptoms. There are also food cravings, mood changes, bloating, breast tenderness, and sadness. A more severe version of PMS is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), sometimes known as PMDD. Up to 5% of women of reproductive age are impacted by it. It frequently co-occurs with anxiety or sadness. Extreme mood swings, ongoing impatience or rage, as well as depression or anxiety, are all symptoms. It also results in physical symptoms that resemble PMS symptoms.

Pregnancy hormone changes might result in abrupt mood swings, feelings of vulnerability, and anxiety. A woman's emotions may also be impacted by physical changes. During the first trimester, these mood swings could be more noticeable, and they might level off once the body has adjusted to the changing hormone levels. A person's menstrual cycles come to a stop at menopause, a natural life change. In North America, it typically affects women between the ages of 40 and 58, but the average age is 51. Up to 23% of women have mood changes either during or after menopause, according to the North American Menopause Society.

How are mood swings managed? It is best to consult your doctor if you're having sudden, severe mood swings or mood changes that significantly alter your usual behavior. They can assist you in identifying the reasons behind your mood swings and locating the best treatments. For relief from these drastically shifting mood swings, you could need expert treatment or medication. Simple modifications to one's lifestyle may also be helpful. You might be able to work through your mood swings on your own if they aren't negatively affecting other elements of your life. People's ability to control their emotions may improve if the underlying mental or physical health condition that is causing their mood swings is treated. Psychotherapy, medication, dietary modifications, or a mix of all three are frequently effective treatments for mental health conditions. Changes in mood that affect your behavior or the lives of others around you should be taken carefully. Finding the most effective course of treatment to reduce symptoms can occasionally take some time.

DMO II Marie-Claire Gaas, RND

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