Quite a few people when they think of mood swings first think of the woman in menopause who can go from being happy to becoming grumpy or feeling slightly depressed. But the mood swings occur in many more people and have different origins. If your quality of life is stagnating, it is good to do something about it.

Reasons

Rumbling of the hormones

At least according to most researchers, the rumbling of hormones leads to rapid mood swings and is not limited to menopause in women. Also consider monthly menstruation, where the amount of hormones can vary greatly. Estrogen starts to stimulate caring in the body (assuming that you are caring for offspring after sexuality). The mood swings usually occur when estrogen decreases (progesterone is produced after ovulation). Progesterone ensures that the body prepares for pregnancy.The fact that people suffer relatively often from mood swings may also be related to a moderately functioning thyroid gland and sometimes also the adrenal glands that do not function optimally. All in all, there are more and more doctors who doubt whether hormone fluctuations lead to major mood swings, based on the processing of hormones and not the production of hormones.

Winter depression

The winter depression is also well known and is based on a shortage of sunlight. Sunlight makes us happy, but a deficiency can lead to depression. Given the fact that we do not live in a particularly sunny country in the Netherlands, the chance of winter depression is also greater. More than 10% of people suffer from winter depression to a greater or lesser extent and it can occur during a heavy autumn.It is therefore good to get sufficient daylight for several reasons. A brisk walk is often enough to get enough daylight and is also good for daily exercise. Another solution is light therapy, which can be discussed with your doctor.

Sensitivity

People who are very sensitive are officially called Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Due to the increased intensity that everything (from the environment) comes in, there is a greater chance that mood swings will occur. It can even go so far that people become depressed. It is certainly advisable to discuss with your GP how to proceed.

Is it normal or can you do something about it?

People have emotions and so people change their mood. This does not alter the fact that if the mood swings mean that you can no longer function normally, they must be taken seriously (think of strong inferiority and/or euphoria without cause and/or the inability to maintain a relationship and/or not being able to function normally during work and/or very strong impulsive excesses and/or concentration problems or even chaos over a longer period of time. Where it is important whether it is the functioning of the body, or the fact that your mind is the outside influences cannot work properly (think of depression or bipolar disorder). A conversation with a psychologist can sometimes clarify the process.

View from a distance

The only difficulty is that you do not always notice it yourself and you need those around you to give you insight into this. If you can watch from a distance and you see the strong mood swings, then it is good to discuss this with the person in question or at least draw his/her attention to it. It goes without saying that something like this is only relevant if you see the person in question regularly and can therefore clearly observe the rapid changes.

What to do yourself?

• What you can do yourself includes the aforementioned going outside and getting sunlight. Sunlight makes people happier and lighter and is also good for the body. In any case, exercise is good against mood swings. It stimulates blood circulation and a kind of “happy” (serotonin) hormone is released.
• Take the time for yourself, if not the walk, then another moment that you organize purely for yourself and can vary from a moment of rest by the water to a moment of meditation or a nice yoga lesson. Your nervous system relaxes and your body gives you a positive feeling. Please note… you should not grind during a rest period. The brain also needs to relax!
• Eat healthy, because healthy food without all those chemicals (the E numbers on packaging) is good for body and mind. Enough fiber from vegetables and fruit maintains the intestines optimally and ensures that your “happy” hormone remains sufficiently present in your body.

Finally

Recognizing and acknowledging is an important step, and often something can be done about it. Don’t just take it for granted, even if it’s the hormones. Don’t take anything for granted and think about what is a pleasant way of life for yourself. Always consult with your GP, even if you are not looking for medication from your GP. The overall picture is important to (again) achieve a pleasant way of life without extreme mood swings. Don’t sell yourself short!