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Extreme or rapid change in mood From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive or a disruptive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning.[1] When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part of a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, where erratic and disruptive mood swings are a defining feature.[2]
 | This article needs to be updated. (July 2021) |
To determine mental health problems, people usually use charting with papers, interviews, or smartphone to track their mood/affect/emotion.[3][4] Furthermore, mood swings do not just fluctuate between mania and depression, but in some conditions, involve anxiety.[5][6]
Definitions of the terms mood swings, mood instability, affective lability, or emotional lability are commonly similar, which describe fluctuating or oscillating of mood and emotions. But each has unique characteristics that are used to describe specific phenomena or patterns of oscillation.[7][8] Different from emotions or affect,[9] mood is associated with emotional responses without knowing the reason (being unaware).[10][11]
The dynamics of mood, mood patterns for long times are commonly erratic,[12] labile[13] or instable, also known as euthymic.[14] Although the term of mood swing is unspecific, it may be used to describe a pattern where mood goes down from positive to negative valency immediately (without delay in baseline) at specific periods.[15] And also generally have aperiodic patterns.[16][17] This is because mood dynamics are influenced by various factors which can magnify or lessen fluctuations,[18] such as when expectations become reality or not.[19] Other terms for describing patterns are episodic, periodic, cyclothymia, rapid cycling, mixed states, short episodes, soft spectrum,[20] diurnal variation, etc., although the definition of each term may be unclear.[21]
Mood swings can happen any time at any place, varying from the microscopic to the wild oscillations of bipolar disorder,[22] so that a continuum can be traced from normal struggles around self-esteem, through cyclothymia, up to a depressive disease.[23] However, most people's mood swings remain in the mild to moderate range of emotional ups and downs.[24] The duration of bipolar mood swings also varies. They may last a few hours – ultrarapid – or extend over days – ultradian: clinicians maintain that only when four continuous days of hypomania, or seven days of mania, occur, is a diagnosis of bipolar disorder justified.[25] 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.[26]
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There can be many different causes for mood swings. Some mood swings can be classified as normal/healthy reactions, such as grief processing, adverse effects of substances/drugs, or a result of sleep deprivation. Mood swings can also be a sign of psychiatric illnesses in the absence of external triggers or stressors.
Changes in a person's energy level, sleep patterns, self-esteem, sexual function, concentration, drug or alcohol use can be signs of an oncoming mood disorder.[83]
Other major causes of mood swings (besides bipolar disorder and major depression) include diseases/disorders which interfere with nervous system function. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy,[84] and autism spectrum are three such examples.[85][86]
The hyperactivity sometimes accompanied by inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and forgetfulness are cardinal symptoms associated with ADHD. As a result, ADHD is known to bring about usually short-lived (though sometimes dramatic) mood swings. The communication difficulties associated with autism, and the associated changes in neurochemistry, are also known to cause autistic fits (autistic mood swings).[87] The seizures associated with epilepsy involve changes in the brain's electrical firing, and thus may also bring about striking and dramatic mood swings.[84] 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.
Degenerative diseases of the human central nervous system such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease may also produce mood swings.[88] Celiac disease can also affect the nervous system and mood swings can appear.[89]
Not eating on time can contribute, or eating too much sugar, can cause fluctuations in blood sugar, which can cause mood swings.[90][91]
If a person has an abnormal level of one or several of certain neurotransmitters (NTs) in their brain, it may result in having mood swings or a mood disorder.[92] Serotonin is one such neurotransmitter 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.[93]
It's part of human nature's mood going up and down caused by various factors.[171] Individual strength,[172] coping skill or adaptation ability,[173] social support[174] or another recovery model might determine whether mood swings will create disruption in life or not.[175][176]
Cognitive behavioral therapy recommends using emotional dampeners to break the self-reinforcing tendencies of either manic or depressive mood swings.[177] Exercise, treats, seeking out small (and easily attainable) triumphs, and using vicarious distractions like reading or watching TV, are among the techniques found to be regularly used by people in breaking depressive swings.[178] 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.[179]
Behavioral activation is a component of CBT that can break the cycle (depression leads to inactivity, inactivity leads to depression).[180] This may rely on individual strengths to "cold start" the reward system.[181]
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): Another manifestation of mood swing is irritability, which can lead to elation, anger or aggression.[182] DBT has a lot of coping skills that can be used for emotion dysregulation, such as mindfulness with the "wise mind"[183] or emotion regulation with opposite action.[184][185]
Emotion regulation therapy (ERT) has a package of mindful emotion regulation skills (e.g., attention regulation skills, metacognitive regulation skills, etc.) that can be handy to have when mood swings happen.[186]
Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy can be used to regulate life rhythm when mood swings happen frequently and disrupt the rhythm of life.[187] Episodes of mood disorder often liberate people from daily routines by making a mess of sleep schedules, social interaction,[188][189] or work and causing irregular circadian rhythms.[190]
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has a function to increase psychological flexibility by learning to assess present experience or be mindful, accept everything internally or externally, commit action to move toward personal recovery, etc.[191]
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