How To Control Mood Swings In Women

Mood swings can be quite distressing for a lot of women, and hearing comments such as “it must be her time of the month” only exasperates the felling of stress and anxiety. Some women seem to have a tendency or a preposition toward suffering mood swings, but it is not always down to hormones. There are many causes to mood swings, including:

• Lack of sleep can make you unable to properly and efficiently deal with the smaller things in life, which can increase into seemingly bigger deals than they really are, resulting in added feelings of stress during the day.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol – as well as illicit drugs such as cocaine – can seriously affect our body’s ability to cope on a long term basis with the demands of life. Sure, a short term high can be gotten of these things (which always must follow a ‘coming down’ phase as well) but they will also be contributing to your over-all mood, and may well be helping to exasperate the situation with regards to mood swings.
• Too much caffeine can also affect a person’s mood, and even though the standard recommended advice that one or two cups of coffee a day is ideal for most people, for some at least, even this can be too much. Caffeine is a fairly powerful drug, and can affect people in small doses. Try cutting out the coffee for a period of time, and note if your mood swings change.
• Bipolar disorder is thought to be vastly under diagnosed across the world. This medical disorder may go greatly undetected as there are two extreme phases, the depressed state and the manic state. People tend not to seek their doctors help during the manic state, and can display behavior such as painting the entire house in a single day, or redecorating completely in a very short space of time. It is only during the phase of depressive feelings that they will maybe consider they need help, and don’t look at their overall behavior as part of a bigger pattern.
• Stress and anxiety may seem an obvious thing to say, but outside events that we have no control over can influence our mood swings enormously. Other people’s behavior or failure to live up to our own expectations placed on them can cause a reaction of stress, affecting the mood of a person.

Additional Stress Factors

There are many other factors that can cause people to have a stress reaction, including work, children or the illness of a close family member. There are fewer more stressful things than having a full on career, with all the meetings and deadlines, which can cause enormous stress on a person. The ongoing meeting and even exceeding of these expectations placed upon us in the workplace can result in a person simply going through the motions, and suffering from depression. Similarly, the carers of a small child or a long term carer for an ill family member are easily prone to mood swings due to all the stress and demands placed upon them during their duties. Day after day, regardless of their own feelings, they are required to perform the same tasks, somewhat monotonously. Switching off from this can be difficult for some people, who can then be snappy and moody with their own family at nights. Added to this list can be all sorts of smaller sources of stress and anxiety, such as poor relations with neighbors, or news articles which can all affect a person’s mood in smaller, but different ways.

How To Beat The Stress That Causes Mood Swings

Some simple yet small changes can be made which can help you reduce the number of mood swings, as well as the intensity of them. Using a solid foundation which works well for you is the best way to start to beat the up and down moods, and give you a much more steady and relaxed state to be in. Small changes are easiest to make, and once you have incorporated a few, you will notice the difference, and be inspired to keep on going, and also to make other small beneficial changes. Some ideas are:

• Ensuring you get enough sleep will help enormously, and give you a great base to work off of each day. Aim to be in bed at the same time each night, as your body will soon adjust and prepare itself at this time every evening.
• Drinking extra water helps your body to cleanse itself of unwanted toxins and chemicals so putting the extra fluid in helps your body to do this. This contributes to a better balance within the body, helping you to feel less irritable and increased feelings of calmness.
• Cutting down on caffeine and sugar will help to reduce mood fluctuations and promote a more stable frame of mind. Decide on a reasonable limit and stick to it.
• Adding a small exercise routine into your lifestyle can have a tremendously calming effect on your overall mood. Exercise has long known to raise the production of feel good chemicals from the brain, so try a relaxing walk every evening, or going swimming a couple of times a week.
• Make small changes to your diet, and aim for a balanced intake of items from a variety of the food groups. This allows your body to properly function and able to produce all the substances needed to allow you to be in a calm and relaxed state of mind.

The Menopause

This major stage in the life of a female involves the end of a regular, cyclic event in the reproducing stage of their lives, and can begin in the early to late forties. As the egg production dwindles and reduces, the hormones can be more pronounced, leaving feeling of an extreme nature, accompanied by wild mood swings. The first sign of this happening is a break in the routine nature of periods, which can become much more irregular and varied, causing vicissitudes of the hormone levels. The majority of women believe that it is a lack of estrogen in the body at this time, which is to blame for their moods, while in actuality it is the fluctuation of the amounts, which causes the problems. Sufferers can experience hot flushes, memory issues, and increased sensitivity as well as night sweats. Following the above tips and advice should help to alleviate some of the mood swings during this time, but many women feel it is better to seek advice from their doctor during this time.

Understanding The Issue

It is virtually impossible to completely eliminate stress from a women’s life, but if one learns to change the way it is handled, the effects may not be so severe. Allowing a great base to work from is one of the best physical approaches that can be taken, and the best overall way to fight mood swings, and many people see some results in a short period of time, in a month for example. Closely following these choices will all combine to help you lift yourself up to a steady and constant mood, one where the smaller things will not bother you so much, and you can deal with them as they arise. Other benefits may arise out of this routine, for example, friendships may be struck up from visits to the gym, or out walking with your dog. Understanding the issue, and more importantly how to deal with it effectively, is half of the battle when it comes to these types of afflictions. Other ways to gain a greater understanding can include things like:

• Reading a little about the way the body works, and why each facet is affected by another
• Read books from people who have suffered the same symptoms as you
• Talk to friends or family about your feelings, they will usually offer tips and advice
• Talking to a counselor will give you an outsider’s view which may open up different ideas
• Take the time to have some peace and quiet, and reflect on some of the issues which you may find stressful. Often, ideas and solutions come to the forefront of your mind in this relaxed state.

Putting It Altogether

Armed with all of the information needed to make and sustain effective change should give you the tools needed to control feelings which can lead to sudden mood swings and changes. Many people find it easier than others to achieve this but it should be viewed as a long term, permanent change to areas of their life which many have fallen into bad routines and habits. Making so many changes at once may be too much, so for those people, making one change until you are comfortable with it and then moving on to another change, would give a greater chance of success rather than too many at once. If you have family around you, ask for encouragement and help when you need it. Keep in mind your end goal, and slowly but surely work towards it, and note all the changes and benefits you feel, to help inspire you on. For others, they will be in that positive frame of mind where all the little things you see are viewed as a good result from the changes you have made, and will be able to cope with more changes at once. The best way you can to try to control and change your mood swings is the way which is easiest for you, as the important thing is to get there, which at that time, will be a new and healthier way to live, and one where you can see and feel the benefits.