Getting off the Mood Swing: How to become stable

Mood swings, also known as phase mood changes, may have natural or unnatural causes. Receiving good and bad news at the same moment certainly warrants a mood swing. But there are also times when a person experiences mood swings for no apparent reason. When this happens, you might want to consult a physician about it as such mood swings could be a symptom of a more serious problem.

Possible Mood Swing Causes
Before approaching your physician, you can review the possible causes below and see if any of them may have brought about your mood swings.

Menstruation and Menopause
Some women have all the luck. They go through menstruation each month and menopause in the latter stages of their lives without ever suffering pain or discomfort. Others are not as fortunate and these women are the ones prone to suffer from mood swings.

Menstruation and menopause cause hormonal changes in our bodies and these changes could mess up the way we think and feel at the moment. Mood swings could be a result. Certainly, the pain that comes with menstruation and menopause can also cause mood swings. At the early part of the day, you could be extremely happy but once your period comes, your mood could instantly change and you become irritable and overly sensitive.

Mood swings during these stages may frequently occur but even so, theyíre entirely natural and as such you shouldnít be too worried about it. To regulate their frequency, try doing what you can to alleviate the pain caused by other symptoms of menstruation and menopause. Do that and the frequency of your mood swings will consequently go down.

Puberty
Growing up is a painful but necessary change in life. This is especially true as kids hit their teenage years. For women, the changes are more visible: their bodies develop curves that once werenít there. They also start experiencing menstruation, which is painful in itself. Their voices change and even their skins could change, making them more acne prone among other things. Add all these up and itís fairly easy to understand why adolescents become prone to mood swings.

Bipolar Depression
In this case, mood swings are merely a symptom of a more prevalent condition. Bipolar depression is vastly underestimated by many. It is a serious condition that when left untreated can lead to graver complications.

The best way to know if one is suffering from bipolar depression is to obtain a professional diagnosis.

ADHD
ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is certainly not something to scoff at either. True enough, it is not in any way life-threatening but if the affected individual is left to cope with his condition without professional help and support, he will find it extremely difficult to achieve certain things in life ñ things that may come naturally to other people who arenít suffering from ADHD.

And because he doesnít understand the cause of his inadequacies, he could be prone to mood swings. There is no cure for ADHD but there are ways to help affected individuals lead a normal lifestyle.

Stress
Last but not the least, problems in your life can easily lead you to suffer from mood swings. The best way to prevent mood swings in this case is to solve your problems instead of running away from it.

Whatever the cause of your mood swing, you’ll find it easier to prevent them from occurring again if you have the care and support of your loved ones.

Can You Get Mood Swings If You Go on a Protein Diet?

Food intake has a very big influence in our emotions. The idea, smell, feel and taste of food, for example, can often be enough to produce feelings of euphoria, nostalgia, joy and satisfaction. But what happens when certain foods are eliminated, such as when a person is on a diet? Will you get mood swings during protein diets and if so, how can this be corrected?

How protein affects your mood
Protein is an important nutrient. Its sources include meat, fish, chicken, soy and soy products, dairy products and nuts. When ingested and absorbed into the bloodstream, protein stimulates the body to release two important neurotransmitters: norepinephrine and dopamine.

These neurotransmitters help the body feel more energetic, awake and alert. This explains why after a good, complete meal, we feel refreshed and active. The lack of sufficient protein in the diet, on the other hand, produces the feeling of drowsiness. This can then lead to feelings of tiredness and irritation.

Conversely, too much protein in the diet can also lead to certain side effects. More protein can encourage the production of hormones that increases the body’s ability to stay awake. People who don’t regulate their protein intake could become restless and find it difficult to fall asleep.

The case against protein diets vs. your mood
So can going through a protein diet bring about mood swings? According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the protein diet and other similar diets that reduce the intake of carbohydrates can lead to a bad mood.

Carbohydrates are known to speed up the production of serotonin, another neurotransmitter. It produces a feeling of relaxation and calm in individuals. It is also a hormone that is responsible for regulating human emotions and thus, is often prescribed to treat depression and mood swings. Without sufficient serotonin, a condition that is common among people who go through protein diets over a prolonged period, it would be difficult for the body to regulate disposition.

Serotonin can also affect the way people feel about food. Once it’s functioning in the brain, it makes the stomach feel full while you’re eating, allowing you to regulate the amount of food you eat. Without serotonin, there is a danger that you could overeat.

If you have a problem with mood swings, it could also be because the lack of serotonin in your protein diet failed to regulate your moods.

The problem with protein diets
People who use the protein diet can often severely restrict the amount of carbohydrates in their diet. If it remains uncorrected for a long time, the body can continue to have a strong appetite for food because the amount of serotonin is not enough to regulate the cravings. This is why people will still feel hungry even after a good meal.

Without serotonin, the appetite cannot shut off and mood swings become inevitable. People who use protein diets to lose or regulate their weight can often experience changes in their moods after food has been digested. This usually occurs late in the afternoon or in the evening, a few hours after dinner.

The mood swing can often be followed by a craving for something starchy or sweet. However, if protein is still taken instead of carbohydrates, the person will continue to experience mood swings, become irritable, restless, lethargic and bad tempered.

When using protein-based diets, it’s important to consider its effects on the body. If symptoms such as mood swings appear, it might be time to determine whether a few alterations in the diet are required. Mood swings may not be that troublesome initially but if they last longer and occur frequently, they could affect your life and work.

The Cure for Wild Mood Swings

Here are seven simple tips to help you achieve a cure for your wild mood swings.

Acknowledge the problem.
This is the first step in curing wild mood swings especially with men. Since mood swings and depressions are more common with women, most of all during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, they donít have as hard a time admitting to having such problems.

With men, itís quite different. Mood swings are uncommon or so they think and they often consider it a weakness. Unfortunately, curing wild mood swings is impossible unless they acknowledge the problem and become willing to seek treatment for it.

Exercise regularly.
This will come as a surprise to many but the mere act of walking briskly outdoors for about twenty minutes each day has proven to be more effective than antidepressants. As you can see, the best cures for wild mood swings arenít always medical in nature. They can be natural, too.

Walking outdoors is especially helpful because not only do they give your body an overall workout but they also allow you to breathe fresh air and socialize. Enjoying the company of a friend or loved one or simply taking pleasure in your surroundings will make you happy and consequently less prone to suffering from mood swings.

Eat healthy.
Another natural cure for wild mood swings is having the right diet. Sticking to the right diet is easier than most people think. Unless you have a medical condition like hypertension or diabetes and which requires a special diet, eating healthy doesnít mean you have to abstain from any food group.

Rather, moderation is the key to having the right diet. Eat moderately of any food group and youíll be safe. Wine and dark chocolate for instance comes with its own share of health benefits and including them in your diet wonít be bad at all but only if you consume the appropriate amount.

Of course, healthy eating will be always made more effective if you eat more fruits and greens. Drink lots of water, too! Water helps remove toxins from your body and improves not only your health but your overall well-being, too.

If youíre feeling happy and full, thereís no reason for you to suffer from mood swings.

Be happy.
Happiness is a state of being. It involves not only your emotions but your thoughts and psychological health as well.

Being at peace helps make you happier, but itís not easily achieved. One way of gaining inner peace is by meditation. Meditating helps you relax and enjoy the maximum value of your rest.
Meditation also helps you gain more control over your moods, consequently reducing the frequency of your mood swings.

Meditation is best done in seclusion. Try reserving a few moments of the day for yourself. Look for a room where you can meditate in silence and without any distraction. If you donít know how to meditate, there are various exercises like yoga or tai-chi to help you do so.

Communicate.
Talking things out will also reduce the frequency of your mood swings, but again, this is more difficult for men than it is for women. While women generally have no problems airing out their feelings, men are usually unwilling to talk about whatís bothering them, much less ask help for it.

Do all these and they can surely cure your wild mood swings.