Mood swing

A mood swing is an extreme or rapid change in mood. Such mood swings can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning.[1] However, when mood swings are so strong that they are disruptive, they may be the main part of a bipolar disorder.[2]

Graphical comparison of mood swings, compared with bipolar disorder and cyclothymia

Overview

Speed and extent

Mood swings can happen any time at any place, varying from the microscopic to the wild oscillations of manic depression,[3] so that a continuum can be traced from normal struggles around self-esteem, through cyclothymia, up to a depressive disease.[4] However most people's mood swings remain in the mild to moderate range of emotional ups and downs.[5]

The duration of mood swings also varies. They may last a few hours - ultrarapid - or extend over days - ultradian: clinicians maintain that only when four continuous days of hypomania, or seven days of mania, occur, is a diagnosis of bipolar disorder justified.[6]

In such cases, mood swings can extend over several days, even weeks: these episodes may consist of rapid alternation between feelings of depression and euphoria.[7]

Causes

Changes in a person's energy level, sleep patterns, self-esteem, concentration, drug or alcohol use can be signs of an oncoming mood disorder.[8]

Many different things might trigger mood swings, from unhealthy diet or lifestyle to drug abuse or hormonal imbalance.

Other major causes of mood swings (besides bi-polar disorder and major depression) include diseases/disorders which interfere with nervous system function. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy,[9] and autism are three such examples.[10][11]

The hyperactivity sometimes accompanied by inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and forgetfulness are cardinal symptoms associated with ADHD. As a result, ADHD is known to bring about usually short-lived (though sometimes dramatic) mood swings. The communication difficulties associated with autism, and the associated changes in neurochemistry, are also known to cause autistic fits (autistic mood swings).[12] The seizures associated with epilepsy involve changes in the brain's electrical firing, and thus may also bring about striking and dramatic mood swings.[9] If the mood swing is not associated with a mood disorder, treatments are harder to assign. Most commonly, however, mood swings are the result of dealing with stressful and/or unexpected situations in daily life.

Degenerative diseases of the human central nervous system such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease may also produce mood swings.[13] Celiac disease can also affect the nervous system and mood swings can appear.[14]

Not eating on time can contribute, or eating too much sugar, can cause fluctuations in blood sugar, which can cause mood swings.[15][16]

Brain chemistry

If a person has an abnormal level of one or several of certain neurotransmitters (NTs) in their brain, it may result in having mood swings or a mood disorder.[17] Serotonin is one such neurotransmitter that is involved with sleep, moods, and emotional states. A slight imbalance of this NT could result in depression. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that is involved with learning, memory, and physical arousal. Like serotonin, an imbalance of norepinephrine may also result in depression.[18]

List of conditions known to cause mood swings

Treatment

Cognitive behavioral therapy recommends using emotional dampeners to break the self-reinforcing tendencies of either manic or depressive mood swings.[19] Exercise, treats, seeking out small (and easily attainable) triumphs, and using vicarious distractions like reading or watching TV, are among the techniques found to be regularly used by people in breaking depressive swings.[20]

Learning to bring oneself down from grandiose states of mind, or up from exaggerated shame states, is part of taking a proactive approach to managing one's own moods and varying sense of self-esteem.[21]

See also

References
  1. Peter Salovey et al, Emotional Intelligence (2004) p. 1974
  2. "BBC Science - When does your mental health become a problem?". BBC Science. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. Sigmund Freud, Civilization, Society and Religion (PFL 12) p. 164
  4. Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946) p. 406
  5. Daniel Goleman (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 57. ISBN 978-0747528302. ASIN 0747528306.
  6. S, Nassir Ghaemi, Mood Disorder (2007) p. 243-4
  7. Hockenbury, Don and Sandra (2011). Discovering Psychology Fifth Edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. p. 549. ISBN 978-1-4292-1650-0.
  8. "Bipolar Mood Swings, Stabilizers, Triggers, and Mania." WebMD. WebMD, 3 May 0000. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
  9. "epilepsymatters.com - Home of the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance". Epilepsymatters.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. "Autism spectrum disorder". Nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  11. "Chat for Adults with HFA and Aspergers: Mood Swings in Adults on the Autism Spectrum". Adultaspergerschat.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. Donna Williams. "Donna Williams: Autism, Puberty and Possibility of Seizures". Donnawilliams.net. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  13. Stern RA (1996). "Assessment of Mood States in Neurodegenerative Disease: Methodological Issues and Diagnostic Recommendations". Seminars in Clinical Neuropsychiatry. 1 (4): 315–324. doi:10.1053/SCNP00100315 (inactive 20 August 2019). PMID 10320434.
  14. "Definition & Facts for Celiac Disease. What are the complications of celiac disease?". NIDDK. June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. Angela Haupt. "Food and Mood: 6 Ways Your Diet Affects How You Feel". US News & World Report. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  16. "Can food affect your mood? - CNN.com". CNN. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  17. "Neurobiology of Mood Disorders." (PDF). Turner-white.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  18. Archived 4 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Gilbert, Paul (1999). Overcoming Depression. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-465-01508-5.
  20. Goleman, pp. 73-4
  21. Terence Real (1997). I Don't Want to Talk About It. Newleaf. p. 279. ISBN 978-0717127108. ASIN 0717127109.

Further reading
  • Ronald R. Fieve, Moodswing (1989)
  • Susanne P. Schad-Somers, On mood swings (1990)
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