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]
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Overview [edit]
Speed and extent [edit]
Mood swings are universal, 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 - ultradian - or extend over days - ultrarapid: 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 [edit]
Changes in a person's energy level, sex drive, 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 life style to drug abuse or hormonal imbalance.
A major cause of mood swings is hyperactivity sometimes accompanied by inattentiveness, symptoms associated with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 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.
Brain chemistry [edit]
If a person has an abnormal level of certain neurotransmitters (NTs) in their brain, it may result in having mood swings or a mood disorder.[9] Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain 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.[10]
Conditions [edit]
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Autism or other pervasive developmental disorder.
- Bipolar disorder or cyclothymia.
- Borderline personality disorder.
- Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.
- Epilepsy.
- Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
- Intermittent explosive disorder.
- Major depressive disorder.
- Menopause.
- Premenstrual syndrome.
- Schizoaffective disorder.
- Schizophrenia.
- Seasonal affective disorder.
Treatment [edit]
Cognitive behavioral therapy recommends using emotional dampeners to break the self-reinforcing tendencies of either manic or depressive mood swings.[11]
Exercise, treats, seeking out small (and easily attainable) triumphs, and using vicarious distractions like reading or TV, are among the techniques found to be regularly used by people in breaking depressive swings.[12]
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.[13]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Peter Salovey et al, Emotional Intelligence (2004) p. 1974
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/mental_health/disorders_bipolar.shtml
- ^ Sigmund Freud, Civilization, Society and Religion (PFL 12) p. 164
- ^ Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946) p. 406
- ^ Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (1995) p. 57
- ^ S, Nassir Ghaemi, Mood Disorder (2007) p. 243-4
- ^ Hockenbury, Don and Sandra (2011). Discovering Psychology Fifth Edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. p. 549. ISBN 978-1-4292-1650-0.
- ^ "Bipolar Mood Swings, Stabilizers, Triggers, and Mania." WebMD. WebMD, 03 May 0000. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
- ^ Neurobiology of Mood Disorders.
- ^ The Four Major Neurotransmitters.
- ^ Paul Gilbert, Overcoming Depression (1999) p. 63
- ^ Goleman, p. 73-4
- ^ Terence Real, I Don't Want to Talk About It (1997) p. 279
Further reading [edit]
- Ronald R. Fieve, Moodswing (1989)
- Susanne P. Schad-Somers, On mood swings (1990)
