Monitoring your mood

Everybody gets moody. Some days you’ll feel on top of the world and other days you’ll feel like staying under the doona. It’s

okay to feel

sad

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sometimes too.

Most people know when they are feeling ‘in a mood’. But do you know what ‘mood’ means? Or where your mood comes from? Or how to change your mood?

Simply, a mood is part of your emotional rhythm, but a little less intense than an emotion. And it usually has a trigger, such as an event or experience.

Your mood may be something that you’ve tried to achieve (such as peacefulness from doing yoga) or something over which you feel you have no control (such as annoyance about a parking ticket). And it may last only a short while, or hang around.

Understanding your moods may help you work out what causes them and how you tend to behave when you are in different moods.

You probably know that you feel good when you are in a positive mood (such as when you feel content, loving or excited). And you probably know you feel much worse when you are in a negative mood (such as when you feel anxious, disgusted or annoyed).

Your moods are useful to you. And they are a big part of how you choose to behave and think. A negative mood can be a useful indicator of a problem that needs to be tackled.

Most moods pass within a day or so. And, even in a flat mood, you can still go about your daily activities. But if down or dark moods are significantly disrupting your life, it’s important that you seek help.

What causes moods

Moods and emotions are complex. It’s thought three factors combine to create them in the brain: biology (for example, hormones and brain chemicals), psychology (such as personality and learned responses), and environment (like illness and emotional stress). Common, everyday causes of a negative mood are:

stress

poor sleep

, tiredness and overwork

needing to eat

interactions with the people around you

the news

the weather

hormonal changes, such as due to your period, puberty, menopause, or

pregnancy

lack of exercise

a need for a break.

Other causes of a negative mood can include:

drugs and alcohol

poor nutrition

medication side effects

depression

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anxiety

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substance abuse

attention-deficit hyperactivity

disorder

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bipolar

disorder

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dementia

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physical illness or chronic pain.

Some of these, such as your nutrition, exercise and sleep habits, or your use of alcohol and other drugs, are lifestyle related.

But your environment can also affect your mood in many ways, including:

certain chemicals in your environment can trigger a negative reaction, such as additives and preservatives in food, or pesticides used in farming

seasonal fluctuations in daylight and weather – bad weather or limited daylight can make you feel flat or make life harder to manage

noise pollution and poor air quality can affect your mental and physical health and wellbeing

natural disasters can place significant stress on your mind and body.

Monitoring your mood

Understanding your moods helps you manage them and feel better faster.

If you are more aware of your moods, you may be able to better manage your lifestyle choices, make informed health decisions, prevent or avoid triggers of negative moods, and work towards a better quality of life.

The trick is to watch for changes in your mood, particularly any very high swings or very low dips (which may mean you need help to even out your emotional state). Self-monitoring is free and takes hardly any time. And it becomes easier as you make it part of your daily routine.

You may like to try some of these tools for tracking your moods:

Monitoring your mood

Monitoring your mood

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