Causes of bad mood

2023 Author: Katelyn Chandter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:08

No one can avoid being in a bad mood. It comes to someone for a moment, but with someone it stays for a long time. Some cope with it on their own, while others need psychological help. What if you notice that your mood is getting worse from time to time? To begin with, you need to understand: is this a temporary state, or are you on the way to depression?

How is a bad mood different from depression?

Remember that being in a bad mood is not the same as being depressed. What are the differences between these states?

What is “mood” in principle? This is an internal psychological state. You can call it both "good" and "bad." It can vary depending on various factors. Also, you may have different feelings for the same event, which will change your emotional mood.

A "bad" mood, which sometimes arises and does not last too long, is a completely natural phenomenon. Even so: if a person is always “all right,” and there is a constant smile on his face, this is a reason to worry. So what are the signs that you are in a bad mood and nothing else? You should have the following symptoms:

• low physical and mental activity;
• reduced interest in ongoing events;
• the appearance of negative emotions: irritability, anger, fear, sadness, etc.;
• self-pity;
• depression.

Bad mood affects your productivity, performance. Some people want to retire at such moments and lie in a warm bed under a blanket. Others, on the contrary, need to throw out their negativity on others. In any case, there is no desire to create something new, to be engaged in fruitful deeds. Remember what you do when your soul is bad. Each person has their own habits for this case.

Please note that if this condition lasts for more than two weeks, you may be developing depression. And this is not just an "autumn blues", but a serious illness. Only a doctor (psychiatrist or psychotherapist) can make a diagnosis, who will prescribe the necessary medications, and also prescribe psychotherapy. Moreover, it is better to seek help right away so as not to start the disease. In addition to the duration of the depression, the following signs indicate that you are not just in a bad mood:

• lack of "taste for life" (food, drinks, entertainment, hobbies have ceased to bring pleasure);
• frequent feeling of anxiety;
• excessive irritability;
• isolation;
• feeling bored;
• sadness, longing, despair;
• lack of appetite or, conversely, a constant feeling of hunger;
• insomnia or drowsiness;
• headache;
• extremely low self-esteem;
• lack of sexual desire;
• decreased productivity;
• suicidal thoughts, intentions, attempts.

In advanced cases, a person generally loses his craving for life, cannot get out of bed, and does not want to do anything on his own. Another important point: in order to suspect depression, you need to find more than three signs in yourself. If you do have occasional bad moods, there is nothing to worry about. However, learning to deal with your emotions is still helpful. To do this, explore the possible causes of a bad mood.

Why does the soul sometimes feel bad?

In general, the reasons can be divided into 2 large groups:

Physiological causes of bad mood

This group includes:

1. Hormonal disruption

The "hormones of happiness" include serotonin, dopamine, endorphin, and oxytocin. They are the ones that make us happy. Any hormonal disruption can lead to a decrease in their production, and then to a decrease in mood.

2. Avitaminosis

Insufficient vitamin intake may be the cause of melancholy. Do you feel like you are eating well? You can be deeply mistaken. To consume all the vitamins you need, food must be varied. However, not everyone knows the principles of proper nutrition. And few people understand in what quantities you need to eat foods so that vitamin deficiency does not occur.

3. Side effects of medications

Usually, medications are prescribed taking into account individual reactions to them. But doctors are not gods. They cannot always predict how a medicine will affect the body. Hence, both physiological and psychological side effects can arise.

4. Age-related changes

There is nothing strange in the fact that a lot changes with age. Including mood features. In adolescents, for example, it is very changeable. In older people, it is often reduced. Also consider age-related crises, they are often painful.

5. Physical illness

Remember, for example, your mood when you are sick with ARVI. It is not at all strange to experience psychological suffering when you have a runny nose and a cough, a sore throat, and an increased body temperature. Perhaps masochists derive joy from such "happiness." However, most people feel bad about it in every way.

6. Insomnia, lack of sleep

Anyone has experienced the effects of not getting enough sleep at least once in their life. You know that too, right? Chronic sleep deprivation is especially detrimental to mood.

7. Excessive consumption of coffee

Drinking one or two cups of coffee a day is quite normal. What does “overuse” mean? This is about more than 5 mugs of an invigorating drink. Increased consumption of caffeine leads to irritability and nervousness.

8. Incorrect diet

This item includes both irregular and too frequent meals. A bad mood will certainly appear if you “forget” to eat in the morning. After all, hunger will strike you suddenly and, possibly, at the wrong moment. Overeating also has a negative effect: there is heaviness and discomfort in the stomach.

9. Alcohol abuse

To be more precise, the whole point is in the aftermath of drinking. Alcohol is a depressant, although it boosts mood for a short time. And the thing is that ethanol, contained in strong drinks, temporarily increases the production of "hormones of happiness." However, after the end of the feast, the artificial release of new substances is temporarily stopped. Hence the depressive state during a hangover. And that is why alcoholics resort to the next dose as soon as the sobering begins.

Psychological causes of bad mood

These include:

1. Errors and failures

No one is happy about their own mistakes. Even if you are one of the "thick-skinned" people, after suffering a failure, you will still feel at least sad.

2. Stress

Stress itself can even be beneficial. Chronic overstrain becomes dangerous for you. A long stay in stressful conditions will not only dishearten you, but also undermine your immunity.

3. Very fast pace of life

Do you know the word "time trouble"? In a figurative sense, it means a lack of time. In the modern world, especially in big cities, the pace of life is accelerated. Many people constantly need to manage to do something, but very little time is allotted for this. Hence, various emotional problems.

4. Inability to rest

If you work 24/7, it is not surprising that your mood often spoils for any reason. The body cannot work for a long time, although sometimes it seems that this is quite real. Sooner or later, it fails, and then the good mood disappears.

5. Psychological shock

This reason can also be called "psychological trauma." In general, the consequences of such a shock can be much more serious than a bad mood. Therefore, in this vein, it is better to consider the light form. Just imagine that you are in a joyful mood, but suddenly something unexpected happens, and this is not a pleasant surprise at all. Of course, the mood will deteriorate for a while.

6. Information overload

Every year the information becomes more and more, and you are required to constantly monitor it in order to keep up with life. However, when it comes in too quickly and in large volumes, there is often a feeling of mental overload. At the same time, even the most wonderful mood disappears.

7. Unfulfilled expectations

If your expectations differ from reality, frustration and feelings of dissatisfaction arise. For some time you seem to be "unsettled", and the joy is gone.

8. Inability to fulfill a dream

It is not always possible "here and now" to realize your dream. Even with a great desire. After all, you may have quite objective reasons. For example, you really want to move to another country or change your profession. Can this be done "at the click of a finger"? Unlikely. If you strive to make your old dream come true, that's great. However, a bad mood can arise if there are obstacles to its implementation.

9. Fears

All you need to know about fears is that they are always specific. It doesn't matter if they concern: public speaking or the likelihood of encountering nasty insects. If you know that your terrible "test" is ahead of you, the mood before that will obviously not be up to par.

10. Self-restraint

When you forbid yourself everything, it is not surprising that a good mood does not appear as often as we would like. You can't relax, you have to work hard. You can't go somewhere on vacation, it's an expensive pleasure. You can't just lie on the bed, you need to urgently do household chores. Everyone has their own "no". But are all self-prohibitions justified and useful?

11. Unmet needs

Do you know what your real needs are? Perhaps you are doing everything to find happiness, but nothing comes of it. And the bad mood is right there. Perhaps it is because you are not meeting your true needs. For example, you want human warmth, but instead you make repairs to the house so that the illusion of comfort appears. Or, on the contrary, you grab hold of any relationship, and all because there is unfulfillment in other areas of life.

12. Personal anxiety

If you are an anxious person, then you know how much internal anxiety affects the overall emotional state. After all, anxiety is a completely unhappy excitement. This is not to say that the mood is always at zero, but because of the constant expectation of something dangerous, it is rarely upbeat.

So, having studied the causes of a bad mood, you can begin to implement the psychological recommendations.

How to deal with a bad mood?

1. Stay alone with yourself

This is an important step, because in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, there is often no time to think about what is happening in the inner world. So that close people are not offended, warn them that you need to be alone with yourself. In order to make it easier for yourself, you can write down thoughts and feelings on paper. And one more thing: turn off your phone, TV and computer for a while. Nothing should distract you from your thoughts.

2. Consider your problem in terms of two options:

• The bad mood arose without life changes. In this case, you should dive into yourself and think carefully about what experiences you are experiencing. They may not be obvious, because the psyche knows how to defend itself and mask some emotions for others. Also, a bad mood can be delayed. Perhaps something happened to you earlier, and the effect of this appeared only now. In any case, you need to determine what specific feelings have arisen and work with each of them separately.
• Bad mood immediately after negative events. It all depends on what exactly happened. Only after analyzing the event, you can start working on the internal state. If, for example, there is a quarrel, try to analyze it. Correct the situation, and most likely your mood will improve.

3. Try to do auto-training

Unfortunately, this method does not always work, but what if? You can say to yourself similar phrases: “I can handle it”, “I will succeed”, “Soon I will be better”, etc. You can come up with your own. The main condition is to believe in them.

4. Find your creative activity

Think that you are interested in doing what you love when you are in a bad mood. Creativity always helps. It is not for nothing that genius personalities created something beautiful when they experienced negative emotions.

5. Take a break from worries

Sometimes this is the best remedy. For example, through physical activity. Even simple exercises will help you distract yourself and your mood will improve. Walking in the fresh air (preferably in a park or forest) can also be beneficial.

6. Try to notice pleasant little things even in a terrible mood

The boss yelled at you? But after that, a colleague helped with the project. Did you get cut off on the road? And after that a pleasant acquaintance happened. And so in everything. The main thing is to be more observant.

7. Ask for support from family or friends

Address only to someone who will understand you for sure, will not condemn and dismiss your feelings. Sometimes one sincere conversation with a loved one inspires and gives new strength. Therefore, treat the choice of an assistant wisely.

8. Remember something joyful and warm

It can be memories of your successes, fun meetings, your loved one. Trust me, it works. At least you get temporary relief.

9. Turn to art

There is such a concept "catharsis", which means mental purification through art. This is what you need in moments of deep experience. To do this, you do not have to go to a museum, theater or cinema, because there is not always such an opportunity. You can experience catharsis without leaving your home: listen to your favorite music, read interesting books, watch good films.

10. Go to the specialists

You already know that the reasons for a bad mood can be physiological in nature. Now you can check it: pass general medical tests, check with narrow doctors. You can also use the services of a psychologist. But remember: it will not help if you suspect depression. However, you will definitely cope with the usual bad mood together.

11. Get your daily routine in order

This recommendation will help prevent frequent episodes of bad mood. Try to go to bed at the same time. Healthy sleep is usually 6 to 8 hours. You can also write a schedule for yourself where each session will have its own time.

12. Remember childhood

For what? It's simple: children are spontaneous, and they always do what they like. You were probably interested in doing something specific, and some hobbies were easier. Perhaps, somewhere in childhood, your dreams remained, which were forgotten with age. Maybe your parents didn’t develop your abilities. And now you work at a job you don't like and do everything automatically. It is in order to find oneself and it is necessary to plunge back into the early period of life. Remember what excited you before, what you dreamed about, what you did well. After that, start making your childhood dreams come true, and also start developing forgotten talents.

You should promptly consult a psychotherapist or psychiatrist if:

• for more than two weeks, signs of depression are clearly manifested;
• independent methods of dealing with a bad mood do not work;
• emotional state affects all areas of life;
• working capacity has significantly decreased.

Thus, now it became clear to you the reasons for the bad mood and the ways of self-regulation of the emotional state. Just understand that even after working on yourself, you will not be in daily euphoria. You can only learn to quickly get out of short-term melancholy. Also, do not disregard prevention, because the quality of life as a whole will depend on it.