How Do People’s Moods Shift? What Can Create a ‘Bad Mood’?
How Do People’s Moods Shift? What Can Create a “Bad Mood”?
Why do people wake up in a good or bad mood? How do moods shift during the day? What can be done to sustain that good mood or turn a bad one into a good one?
Here are a few observations and suggestions:
1. Sometimes waking up to a bad dream can actually set you in a cautious or bad mood until you get your day going and it slips away. Knowing this can help you get out of that down mood more quickly.
2. Sometimes waking up knowing you are already feeling overwhelmed with all you have to do that day sets you into a lousy state of mind. Break down the tasks into small bits, sectioning off your day and you will feel calmer as you address each item one by one.
3. You hardly know that your feel down trodden as you stand by the refrigerator downing every food you see. You are swallowing all the worries you have by kind of putting yourself in an “eating trance.” Knowing this can raise your consciousness to those worries so you can stop the binge eating and take on each worry one by one. If you then can actively make a plan to handle what you are struggling with you will feel much better about what lies ahead and your mood will rise.
4. If you are actively pursuing your day and start to feel in a slump, think back to what you’ve eaten or drank and see if you are nourishing yourself enough. It’s common for busy people to skip hydrating themselves or eating a meal and their blood sugar runs low and they are tired and not up to the tasks before them. Take some time to refuel and nourish yourself and your mood and energy will rise.
5. Do you notice that when you are at the computer for a long time that you’re shoulders are bent over and your back is tilted toward the PC or MAC? Get up and walk around and then sit straight as you work and your energy, focus, concentration and mood will shift to a better place.
6. If you have a busy day and keep rushing about, you may notice that your energy is faltering and your motivation is lessening. A bad mood is setting in. Take a break — some time for yourself even for 5 or 10 minutes and you will be revived. It’s important to take care of yourself.
7. If it’s a day off and you don’t have a plan, a day of relaxing may be in order. But if you find yourself surfing the web all day, watching you tubes, reading facebook, and then binging on Netflix, you may find your mood is down in the dumps. Being passive for hours on end lowers one’s mood. Shift to something active and your mood will rise.
Laurie Hollman, Ph.D., psychoanalyst and author of Unlocking Parental Intelligence: Finding Meaning in Your Child’s Behavior found on Amazon and wherever books are found. Visit her website: www.lauriehollmanphd.com
