What is meant by mood swings in psychology?
Mood swings can vary from person to person and can vary in severity. Your mood may fluctuate several times a day or it may change on a daily or weekly basis. The extent to which individual moods differ from one another can also vary from person to person and also from day to day.
💡 Good to know: In psychology we differentiate between feelings and moods. While feelings usually last less long but are more intense and usually arise in response to a specific event, moods are longer-lasting, less intense internal states that do not relate to a specific event.
Do you suffer from mood swings yourself?
Then take a minute and ask yourself the following questions:
- What moods do you often notice in yourself (e.g. happy, sad or angry)?
- How often does your mood fluctuate (e.g. hourly, daily, or weekly)?
- How strong are your respective moods (e.g. very sad to very happy, or somewhat depressed to happy)?
These questions can help you get a first impression of your mood swings. This allows you to understand yourself better and consider what you need to stabilize your mood. You can find out exactly what you can do against mood swings further down in the article. Would you like free psychological support? We’ll send you all the information you need now. Email*
What are the causes of mood swings in men?
Mood swings in men, but also in women, can have many different causes:
- Too much stress: One of these is high levels of stress over a long period of time . Stress can leave you feeling drained and having less energy to regulate your own emotions . You may have noticed that during particularly stressful times you are more prone to irritability or feelings such as sadness or inner anger .
- Stressful life events: Another cause of mood swings can be stressful life events, which in turn trigger stress. Examples of this could be a separation or the loss of a job.
- Physical or mental illnesses: Hormonal fluctuations, such as those caused by thyroid disease, can also influence mood. However, in some cases, mood swings indicate deeper psychological problems such as depression or bipolar disorder.
How about you? Do you notice that your mood fluctuates significantly over a period of several weeks and you feel unable to regulate it? We then recommend that you consult a doctor or psychotherapist to better understand the problem and possibly seek treatment.
Are mood swings different in men and women?
Mood swings are a complex issue. Because they can have different characteristics and causes, such as genetic predisposition and experiences over the course of life. Mood swings therefore tend to vary from person to person. Studies have not yet been able to demonstrate clear differences between men and women. But depending on how we grow up, there are differences in the way we experience and express our moods and feelings. For example, because of the role models that still prevail in our society, women often find it easier to feel sadness than anger. On the other hand, in many cases men are more likely to feel angry and angry than sad.
Maybe at this point you can ask yourself which feelings you often experience and which feelings you tend to keep away from yourself. Feelings that we try to keep away often come back even stronger or don’t disappear at all. This can also be a reason for mood swings. For example, if we don’t allow ourselves to be sad, the sadness may keep coming back until you can admit it and process it.
What can you do if you have mood swings?
Mood swings can be quite annoying. No wonder you want to do something about it. We have a few helpful tips for you:
More acceptance
When you deal with the topic of mental health, you come across the term acceptance again and again. How can one approach be the solution to seemingly almost all mental health issues, you ask?
Acceptance is less the solution than an important prerequisite for the solution.
For example, if you can accept that your mood fluctuates from time to time and is not always consistent, then you will probably find it easier to deal with it. It is often the case that the things we fight against become bigger. For example, if I’m annoyed that I’m feeling a bit depressed again today, then the depression is compounded by anger and I feel even worse.
Accepting that you can’t control your mood 100 percent can help you be open to changing your mood. So when you accept your mood, you hold on to it less than when you get angry about it. This makes change possible. That sounds paradoxical. However, we know from psychological research and practice: It works!
Find out what you need and when
Even though we just said that it’s important to accept that you can’t control your mood 100 percent, it can be helpful to figure out what you need in each mood. Because feelings and moods always give us a valuable indication that an important need is not being met. For example, what helps you when you are angry? Do you need someone to talk to about your anger or does exercising help you?
Acceptance and doing something that changes your mood in a positive direction are not mutually exclusive:
In the best case scenario, you accept that you cannot completely control your current mood and still try to do something that will help you feel better.
Acceptance helps you not to desperately hope for a positive change in your mood. This allows you to be open to what you do to positively influence your mood.
Seek professional support
Mood swings can happen to any of us and we don’t always have to do something about them. However, sometimes the mood swings can be so severe that we feel overwhelmed and helpless. Maybe the mood swings even have a negative impact on our everyday lives. In this case, it may be a good idea to seek professional assistance. Together with a psychotherapist, you can consider how much your mood fluctuates, what causes this could be and which psychotherapeutic strategy can best help you now.
3 may 2019