What Causes Mood Swings?

If you experience instantly shifting bouts of euphoria, agitation, fear, boredom, hopelessness, and other emotions, once in a blue moon, due to lifestyle factors and circumstances like a new job, new place, relationship problems, etc., you do not have to worry. But if your mood swings are regular and intense and without any reason, it is definitely a matter of concern. Below are a few reasons that might be a cause of your sudden mood swings.

1) Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder or simply depression makes you feel low for persistent periods. It affects your productivity, daily activities, self-esteem and makes you feel hopeless and lose interest in the things you previously enjoyed. Extreme depression can provoke suicidal thoughts. If you find yourself tackling these, do not wait any longer and seek a psychiatrist’s help.

2) Borderline Personality Disorder

Do your emotions drift quickly? Do you feel insecure about your relationships and feel empty constantly? Then borderline personality disorder is to be blamed. This disorder makes it unclear to know who you are. Sometimes you feel good about yourself and sometimes worse. Your goals, identity, partner, friends, job, interests, values, thoughts, and mood keep changing. It will also make you do illegal and self-destructive activities like shoplifting, reckless driving, excessive alcohol, and sexual abuse.

3) Schizophrenia

It affects young males and females. People with schizophrenia tend to perceive things abnormally. They hear and see things that do not exist, and they fear whatever is happening surrounding them is a plot to kill or attack them. They behave paranoiac. Their moods keep on changing. If you or anyone of your friends or family are going through such episodes, do not hesitate to seek a psychiatrist’s help.

4) Bipolar Disorder

Unusually and extremely shifting moods, energy levels, abilities, sleeping patterns, and activities affecting daily tasks are indicative of bipolar disorder. You may be extremely high, energetic, motivated, and elated for a week or two, and suddenly you feel demotivated, hopeless, and low the following days. These mood episodes can recur anytime in a year and at any frequency. Please do not ignore them.

5) Cyclothymia

With a sigh of relief, we can say that cyclothymia is relatively a mild mental condition compared to the above conditions. Yes, you read it right. People with cyclothymia experience mild mood swings that do not reach extreme levels, as in the case of bipolar disorder. Moods change from high or low to normal, and exist normal for a few days, and shift again to elation or depression. It is highly unpredictable when it occurs and how it occurs. However, neglecting them due to their milder symptoms can pave the way for bipolar disorder.

Whatever be the cause of your mood swing, whether mental disorder, emotional imbalance, inability to tackle situations, hormonal fluctuations, stress, nutritional deficiency, or disrupted sleep pattern, reaching out for an expert’s help in the initial stages and incorporating the therapeutic methods consistently will definitely help you lead a healthy social life.