When your moods change frequently
Do you feel good one moment and bad the next, with nothing in between?
Do you change moods for no particularly good reason?
You are never sure how you’re going to feel about everything in the next hour.
Is your psychology a continuous roller coaster?
We are not referring to the simple moodiness that can happen here and there, we can always blame the moon, but to intense and frequent ups & downs that create many problems in your life and the lives of the people around you.
Because, when the ups and downs in your mood are intense and frequent then they destabilize many areas of your life: at work, in personal relationships, in finances, and your perception of life.
If you are happy one moment and sad the next, without anything significant happening in between, then it is difficult if not impossible to maintain a stable self-image and a stable perception of your world.
Each emotion you feel is real until another emotion comes that you also feel is real. One moment you say one thing and the next moment you express another thing. So you seem unreliable to those around you, who cannot understand what you really feel or want.
How could they know? You don’t even know what you feel and what you want in the end.
But this hurts.
Frequent ups and downs end up creating an atmosphere of frustration for both you and your loved ones, who feel like they cannot lean on you.
Reasons behind an unstable mood
Before looking at how you can deal with the ups & downs you’re feeling, it’s important to look at where they might be coming from.
- Hormonal issues
If you are a woman, you surely know how different and intense you feel when you have your period. Where you laugh, then see something and you want to cry, where you are calm, and you suddenly raise your voice.
Also, it is a whole chapter in a woman’s life, both the pre-menopausal period and the period of menopause, which changes a lot in her psychology and body.
Hormonal issues can strongly affect psychology, without any serious external reason. Because of this, there is now a lot of information and substantial support for women on how to deal with their stormy emotions during these fragile times.
- Serious mental disorders
Ups and downs are symptoms of mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. In this case, they are considered the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, and they are treated with psychiatric monitoring, counseling, and medication.
People suffering from these mental disorders usually face many issues, due to their disorder, in their professional and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, balancing their feelings is a priority as a goal in their treatment, for better management of their lives.
- Special periods (periods of intense stress/mourning)
Have you just taken on new duties at your job? Did you just break up? Or maybe you just moved to a new city?
There are some periods of major change, whether positive or negative, that creates a lot of stress for all of us. Stress brings about several changes in our psychology and habits, such as changes in sleep and diet.
No change is easy for humans, who are creatures of habit, especially if it is a negative one, such as a breakup that comes with the other person’s choice or the loss of a loved one.
In this case, time alone and adaptation to the new conditions will reduce the normal ups and downs for the season.
- Need for change
Have you had that feeling that your world doesn’t fit you and that you need a change in your life?
In such a period, while you may appreciate and be happy with what you have in life, your close relationships, your creative work, and your beautiful home, at the same time you feel an emptiness, a constant worry as if something needs to change within you and outside you.
You feel up when you get the promotion, but immediately afterward you feel down as if this job is no longer challenging for you. You feel up in the arms of your partner, but you feel down when you think that you will never experience the excitement of the first moments with a new person ever again.
Surely a strong introspection is needed here. Is it just a whine? Is it a deeper need for change? Maybe instead of breaking up, you just need to find a new hobby. Once you crystallize what is wrong with you and needs to change, your ups and downs will be greatly reduced.
- Upper Limit Problem
Have you ever been afraid when you feel joy and you offset your feeling with negative thoughts to feel the usual non-so-good feelings?
The psychologist and author of personal development Gay Hendricks analyze in his book “The Big Leap” this psychological phenomenon, which he calls the Upper Limit Problem.
The Upper Limit Problem is the thermostat that each of us has on the levels of happiness and success that we can feel and endure, without immediately thinking something negative.
According to Hendricks, this phenomenon is very visible in famous people who, when they are at the height of their fame, cause something to sabotage their success, such as infidelities or fights in their personal lives, a financial scandal, or drug problems.
This phenomenon is rooted in someone who:
- considers himself flawed and does not consider himself worthy of abundance, success, abundance.
- fears that with his success and joy he will betray his roots, and the way he was brought up.
- feels like a burden, so he fears that with success he will be more of a burden.
- worries that his progress will upset some important people to him, who did not succeed as he did.
Humans are complex beings, and while we strive for our dreams, we may sabotage them in subconscious ways, such as, according to Gay Hendricks:
worry, judgment, accidents, and fights, not talking about our feelings, not keeping our agreements, not communicating properly with the people we love, by underestimating our value and our efforts.
Ways to deal with ups & downs
If you are suffering from intense ups and downs, the first thing you should do is acknowledge it.
Then, identify the possible reasons it is happening to you.
Do you live in a time of intense stress or are you sabotaging a major success in your life because you have the Upper Limit Problem? Are you pre-menopausal or are you struggling with bipolar disorder?
Seek, respectively, the help that feels most appropriate for you: the help of your doctor if you are in menopause, or the help of a psychiatrist if you suffer from a mental disorder.
However, apart from the special help you will seek for your case, particularly helpful in any case will be the following good habits of self-care:
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule
Make sure you have a specific time when you go to bed, with no cell phone, TV, or laptop on.
Also, make sure that your room’s environment is ideal for sleeping. It should have colors and fabrics that relax you, it should be well-ventilated, and it should have a good temperature and proper lighting.
Create a bedtime ritual. It will prepare you to sleep much better.
- Exercise
Not everyone likes to exercise, we know that. You might not like it either.
Find your exercise, your favorite way to move your body.
It doesn’t have to be a marathon or a membership to the gym.
Daily walking, if you put it in the schedule can do wonders. Or dancing like you did when you were a kid, to the beat of your favorite songs, not caring how you look or if you dance well.
Find the way to exercise that suits you.
Exercise is the most natural, direct way to energize and keep your positive hormones high.
- Take care of your diet
Good food for the body is good food for the mind and soul. Take care of the nourishment your body receives, and you will receive this love threefold. Choose for yourself the food that will give you good energy and genuine joy, every day.
- Talk about your feelings to the right people
Let’s talk. The Life Coaching service was created to clear your life of thoughts, feelings, and habits that harm your psychology while with Holistic Health Coaching you will see how everything is connected, body, spirit, and soul.
Any service you may choose naturally works in addition to the instructions of your doctor, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist. No medications are provided.
We will work at the core of the problem so that you can consistently maintain good mental health in difficult times and enjoy your joy and success in good times.
Take the next step today.
Don’t let your downs beat life’s natural ups. Come on!