Causes of Mood Swings in Men and Women

Mood swings are sudden or intense changes in an emotional state.

During a mood swing, you may quickly switch from feeling happy and upbeat to feeling sad, irritable, or angry.

Moreover, a number of things can affect how your mood changes throughout the day.

For instance, due to body rhythms, you can feel upbeat and energetic around noon.

However, tend to have more negative feelings during the early afternoon or evening.

In some cases, mood swings can also be a symptom of a mental illness.

Or they can be a potential clue that something is happening in your body.

Serious mood shifts, however, can threaten your well-being.

For these, you will need medical professionals, to help.

Furthermore, lifestyle changes can help in case you have mild ones.

Keep on reading to learn more about mood swings in men and women in detail.

Common Causes of Mood Swings

In most cases, lifestyle factors play a role in the onset of mood swings.

People may have changes in their mood if they are:

• experiencing a significant life change like moving home or changing job
• feeling stressed or overwhelmed
• not getting enough sleep
• not eating healthily
• taking medications that affect mood or sleep

Moreover, regular and severe mood changes can indicate an underlying condition.

Some conditions that lead to mood swings can affect both men and women, while some only affect women.

Moods Swings in Males and Females

Some common mood-altering conditions that affect both genders are:

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder occurs when someone experiences periods of extreme emotional highs, i.e. mania, and lows, i.e. depression.

These highs and lows can occur rarely or several times a year.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 4.4% of adults in the United States experience bipolar disorder at some point in their lives.

Major Depressive Disorder, MDD

MDD tends to affect more than 16.1 million adults in the U.S. and is more common in women than in men.

Moreover, people with MDD experience persistent feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things that are often enjoying.

Depression affects your mood, everyday life, and relationships.

With depression, you can experience a number of episodes of low mood during your life.

However, you may also have periods of happiness and a good mood in between.

Cyclothymia

Cyclothymia or cyclothymic disorder occurs when you experience emotional highs and lows.

it is just like bipolar disorder, however, is less severe and less frequent.

Persistent Depressive Disorder, PDD

PDD is a form of depression, also known as Dysthymia.

If you are among people with PDD, you can experience long-term feelings of low mood that persist for at least 2 years.

Moreover, PDD symptoms are not as severe as MDD.

However, they can significantly affect your life and relationships.

About 1.5% of adults in the U.S have this condition.

Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD

With BPD, you can experience intense mood swings and self-image issues.

And you can also have difficulty managing your behavior.

Furthermore, with BPD, you will have an intense fear of abandonment and tend to have unstable relationships.

According to some studies, about 5.9% of people experience BPD at some point in their lives.

Other Mental Health Conditions

Some other health conditions common in both men and women causing mood swings are:

Schizophrenia

If you are among people with schizophrenia, you can have hallucinations or delusions.

This causes you to experience an altered state of reality.

Moreover, it significantly impacts your quality of life.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD

Children and adults with ADHA can struggle to manage their emotions.

This leads to mood swings, while other symptoms are:

• impulsiveness
• hyperactivity
• difficulty paying attention

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, DMDD

DMDD is a childhood condition where you may experience intense moodiness, including anger, extreme irritability, and temper outbursts.

These symptoms need to persist for 12 months, or more for a diagnosis of DMDD.

Substance Misuse or Abuse

Excessive use of alcohol or drugs can affect your mental health and leads to significant changes in your mood.

Physical Health Conditions

Certain physical conditions especially chronic or terminal illnesses can have an effect on your mood.

These changes can either be direct, i.e. through alterations in hormones or brain functions, or indirect, i.e. by triggering depression or anxiety.

Examples are Alzheimer’s disease, coronary heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV, and Multiple Sclerosis.

Moreover, Parkison’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, and thyroid disorders can cause mood swings.

Causes of Mood Swings in Females

Hormonal shifts in women can lead to significant changes in mood.

Moreover, females tend to be more prone to symptoms of hormonal changes than males, especially during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.

Common causes are:

Premenstural Syndorme PMS

PMS causes a number of symptoms just before the onset of the menstrual period.

These are mood swings, bloating, breast tenderness, depression, fatigue, and food cravings.

More than 90% of women report PMS symptoms.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, PMDD

PMDD tends to be a more severe form of PMS and affects about 5% of women during childbearing ages.

Moreover, it often co-occurs with depression or anxiety.

Symptoms are extreme changes in mood, persistent irritability, or anger, and depression or anxiety.

It also causes physical symptoms that are just like that of PMS.

Mood Swings during Pregnancy

Hormonal changes in pregnancy can cause sudden shifts in mood, as well as feelings of anxiety and vulnerability.

Also, physical changes can also affect your emotions.

These changes are more apparent during the first trimester and level off once your body adapts to fluctuating hormone levels.

However, in some cases, you may experience mood swings throughout the pregnancy.

Menopause

It is a natural life transition when your menstrual cycle ends. It often happens between the ages of 40 and 58, however, the average age is 52.

According to the North American Menopause Society, up to 23% of women experience mood swings during or after menopause.

Other symptoms are hot flashes, sleep problems, and loss of libido.

Treatment Options

In most cases, treatment is not necessary for occasional mood swings that are mild to moderate and when they do not affect your quality of life.

However, in case of severe or persistent mood swings, they can indicate an underlying condition that can benefit from treatment.

The treatment depends on the underlying causes, and options are:

Psychotherapy

In case mood swings are resulting from mental health conditions, therapy can help, especially if changes in mood affects your everyday life or relationships.

Moreover, therapy can help you to better manage your emotions, work on issues that contribute to mood swings, and understand the link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Also, it can help:

• learn more helpful coping skills
• improve communication skills, which can help benefit relationships

Therapy can help in the case of chronic or terminal physical illness as well.

it helps to deal with the situation and better manage emotions.

Medications

Your doctor can prescribe medications to treat the symptoms of mental health conditions like depression or schizophrenia, which can lead to mood swings.

These options are:

• antianxiety medication
• antidepressants
• sleep aids
• and antipsychotic drugs

Treating physical conditions like thyroid disorder with medications can also help reduce mood swings.

Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Mood Swings

Lifestyle changes, whether alone or in combination with other treatments can help improve your mood.

Moreover, you can also see benefits from doing one or more of the following:

Creating a sleep schedule and aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night

Eating a Healthful diet and having meals at regular times.

Engaging in regular physical activity.

Managing stress through meditation, mindfulness, yoga, or other sessions.

Keep a journal to track changes in your mood, and potential triggers for such changes.

Maintaining an active social life and connecting with family and friends regularly.

Seeking Medical Advice

It is common to experience a change in mood occasionally or to go through a short period of feeling elated or blue.

However, if your behavior is unpredictable for a number of days or longer, it can be a sign of something serious.

You may feel grumpy one minute, and happy the next.

Moreover, you may also have emotions that can cause damage to your life.

You should seek medical advice or see your doctor if your mood swings are:

• intense
• regular
• persistent or lasts for more than a few days
• affects your work, relationship,s or other aspects of your life
• causes you to engage in risky behaviors
• causes you to have thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Patterns of these types can be symptoms of more serious health conditions.

Thus, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss the feelings and they can work with you to find out why you feel in particular what and what you can do to resolve it.

Outlook

In most cases, your emotions will level out within a few hours or days. However, if mood swings occur as a result of an underlying mental or physical health issue then treating the condition can help manage your emotions.

Mental health disorders often respond to psychotherapy, medication, lifestyle changes, or a combination of all three. In some cases, however, it can take time to find the best treatment to alleviate symptoms.

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