How to Overcome Mood Swings and Stabilize Your Mood Naturally?

Mood swings may refer to minor daily mood changes or to significant mood changes that interfere with an individual's functioning in everyday life as seen with mood disorders such as bipolar depression or major depression. 

Here, we will tell you how you can overcome mood swings and how you can naturally treat mood disorders and stabilize your mood.

How Do You Overcome Mood Swings and How can You Stabilize Your Mood Naturally?

How to control mood swings naturally

What are Mood Swings?

Mood swings refer to an abrupt change in mood or emotional state.

Mood swings are usually referred to as a general emotional state represented by being inconsistent or unstable, which in turn affects work productivity and performance of daily tasks in addition to bouts of extreme sadness and rapid emotions. 

This type of situation is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) under the name "Mood Disorders".  This includes severe depression, bipolar disorder, drug-induced depression, etc.

Some believe that only women experience mood swings, but anyone is at risk of developing mood swings, including men.

Mood swings are caused by anxiety and stress. They occur when a person allows them to enter his world. 

When a person begins to welcome negative emotions, they turn his mood and disturb his moments. The question arises, is mood swings a mental illness? Let's get to know the concept of periodic mood disorder.

Is "Mood Swings" a Mental Illness?

Everyone experiences mood swings to some extent in their lives, so they can be completely normal but severe mood swings can be described as mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and schizoaffective disorder. However, a labile mood is not unique to mental illness.

A periodic mood disorder is a form of bipolar affective disorder, characterized by frequent periods of mild mania and other periods of mild depression. Between these periods the patient is quite normal.

In mood disorders, mood-induced behavior causes many social and work problems. In many cases, this disorder needs treatment.

Read more: Bipolar Disorder - Diagnosis and Treatment Methods

Symptoms of Mood Swings

It is necessary to note the symptoms of mood swings before discussing how to get rid of mood swings, and in general, mood disorders can lead to difficulties in accomplishing daily tasks and keeping pace with the requirements of life.

This may also be associated with headaches and stomach pain. Here is an overview of the general symptoms of mood swings:

Main symptoms: These include a loss of passion for previously happiness practices, as well as changes in eating rates, sleep disturbances, and general weakness.

Secondary symptoms: These include bouts of crying, anxiety, and low energy levels, which negatively affect daily tasks, in addition to difficulty concentrating and making appropriate decisions at the right times, constant feelings of guilt, and suicidal thoughts.

Read here: Mood Swings - Symptoms and Causes in detail

Causes of Mood Swings

The causes of mood swings vary from one person to another, as a person may suffer from one or several causes, the most important of which are:

• A lack of some vitamins in the body may be irritable, such as iron deficiency, vitamin D deficiency and omega-3
• Lack of sleeping hours or poor nutrition.
• Exposure to extreme stress at work.
• Depression is one of the causes of mood disturbance.
• Emotional shocks that affect the self and mood.
• Hormonal imbalance in the body, especially for women.
• Taking some medications, especially neurological medications.
• Living in routine, boredom, not adventure, try new things and change.
• Friends are a pleasant thing in a person’s life, but some may be a reason to disturb your mood and spread negativity to yourself, so it is better to stay away from them.
• The mother develops mood swings as a symptom of pregnancy depression or postpartum depression, which makes her very sensitive.

Read Here: Effective Strategies for Managing Anger and Aggression

How can You Treat Significant Changes in Mood?

How can you overcome mood swings and how can you naturally treat mood disorders and stabilize your mood?

After talking about mood swings and mentioning the symptoms that can result from it, it is necessary to discuss the main article topic; how to treat significant changes in mood and get rid of mood swings, and here comes a set of points that will answer the question. 
To control mood swings, you can consider the following treatment options:  

• Medications. 
• Psychotherapy. 
• Natural Supplements. 
• Alternative Therapies. 
• Lifestyle Changes.

Pharmacological Therapy

Severe depression can double the risk of multiple physical disorders or the condition can develop into severe depression.

Antidepressants from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often used as an attempt to relieve symptoms and return to normal behavior, but it is worth noting that these medications require a long period of time in order to function well and produce positive results.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Speech therapy: CBT is one of the most effective examples of non-pharmacological ways to treat mood disorders, depression, and others in modern psychiatry.

This type of treatment involves sitting with the patient and talking to him by a psychiatrist or counselor to try to structurally rearrange his thoughts, correct the deformed ones.

There are other examples of speech therapies such as interpersonal therapy (IPT) that mainly target depression.

Regular Exercise

Some studies also indicate that exercise can help treat mood disorders, by exercising four to six times a week.

In addition, other changes as well, including seeking social support and finding a proper job for a patient’s personality may help improve general symptoms of mood swings.

Studies also indicate that bright light therapy may also help some people with a borderline personality disorder.

Read more: Clinical Depression Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

How to Stabilize Your Mood Naturally?

Here are a number of ways to overcome mood swings and improve your mood naturally:

- Dietician Linda O'Brien advises those with mood swings to relieve foods rich in carbohydrates and sugar, because they cause insulin instability in the body and thus lead to mood swings and anger as a result of minor events in our daily lives.

- You can improve your mood by using lavender oil with its stimulating ingredients that calm the nervous system. All you have to do is boil two cups of water and add two to four drops of lavender oil to them. Then inhale the steam to relieve anxiety, and repeat this process as needed.

-Exercise is one of the most important ways to improve mood, feel good and happy.

-Doing relaxation and breathing exercises gives more oxygen, calmness and body comfort.

-Taking a hot bath helps to give your body comfort, calm and freshness.

- Mood can be improved with warm herbs such as chamomile, anise, ginger, mint, rosemary, melissa, green tea, and fennel because they are soothing to the nerves.

-The smell of lemon helps to relax the nerves, as it is known that citrus fragrances relieve depression. Lemon juice is one of the mood-enhancing drinks!

-Eat milk or milk before bed because it helps to relax the nerves and calm.

-Eliminate the boring spirit of the soul and start trying new adventures and activities.

- Activate social relations full of affection and love.

Read Here: Anger Management Strategies to Help You Calm Down

8 Foods That Can Really Boost Your Mood

There are foods and nutrition to regulate your mood naturally, including:

1- Bananas, which contain "tryptophan", a type of protein that the body converts to "serotonin", which in turn gives the body rest, relaxation and improves mood.

2- Almond, as it contains omega-3 that improves mood, relieves anxiety and depression.

3- Fish; salmon, sardines, tuna or any other type of fish rich in omega-3 oils.

4- Popcorn as it contains a nutritional composition that combines protein and carbohydrates, which stimulates the secretion of the hormone serotonin, and this hormone gives a feeling of happiness and helps in treating irritable moods.

5- Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons stimulate the production of dopamine in the brain, thereby stimulating a good mood.

6- Cheese and egg yolks contain amounts of vitamin D, the magic vitamin in improving a bad mood.

7- Strawberry, capsicum, and parsley.

8- Dark chocolate reduces cortisol, which is the stress hormone and helps treat mood swings and bipolar disorder.

Read more: Dissociative Identity Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder