#Daily Health Talk: HOW TO HANDLE MOODSWINGS (by @Hopehuggs)

Hello Air-Clinicians & Friends,
Yesterday we had a health-talk on a very vital topic of interest especially to the ladies- "Moodswings". It was a full house with listening ears to hear what @Hopehuggs had to say about this sacred emotional problem.

In attendance were;

@Hopehuggs - Our Director Of Counselling
Dr. George ( @nairadaddy)
Dr. Blessing ( @thelovejunkie)
@Amarbir
@Adoore-eu
@ThomasGift
@Pearlumie
@Folly-Pandy
@Tobiken
@Prince-opk
@ChristianOssei
@Peterakpan
Dr. Dami ( @ThatLoveChild)
@Rachelrick
...AND MANY OTHERS...

Let's quickly begin the health talk

WHAT ARE MOOD SWINGS?

Mood Swings are sudden, unexpected changes in the way that someone feels and behaves, especially when they become very angry or unhappy.
MacmillianDictionary

The keywords to note are "sudden" and "unexpected". You could just see someone that was just laughing with you suddenly become so sad or even irritable for no identifiable reason.

Let's explore some of the possible risk factors for this...

WHAT CAUSES MOOD SWINGS?

Minor

Minor mood swings happens to everyone on a daily basis ranging from daily experiences and activities, interactions, individual personality, stress, poor sleep, gambling, bereavement etcz.
- Premenstrual syndrome: Many women also experience a mild form of mood swing depending on their menstrual cycle. Its usually much worse when they have dysmenorrhoea.
- Perimenopausal women also have this mood swing issues from time to time before their system stabilizes fully at menopause.
- Pregnancy: during pregnancy, many women are prone to some of these frequent emotional extremes because of hormonal turmoil in the body. Usually its worse in the early pregnancy (first trimester) and resolves completely after child birth. Some of them may tip over and start having "THE BLUES".

Major

This occurs when it begins to affect normal daily functions including work, school, relationships etcz. Causes include;
- Bipolar Disorder
- Depression
- Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Phobias etc
- Dementia, Brain Damage, Parkinson's Disease
- Hypothyroidism, Hypethyroidism and other Hormonal Imbalances
- Drug Abuse etcz.

WAYS TO MANAGE MOOD SWINGS

1- IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: The first principle is to identify the root cause and fix it. If you have alcohol or drug problems, fix that and your mood will stabilize. If you are on a frequent gambling spree or you don't sleep well once you fix those, your mood stabilizes.
2- KEEP A MOOD JOURNAL: This helps to identify the causes and is also therapeutic. When you write down your emotions on paper, you immediately feel much better.
3- MUSIC THERAPY: We always recommend music for all kinds of emotional illnesses. There could be power in the lyrics because some musicians actually connect with your emotional state.
4- HUMAN CONNECTION: When you are sad, instead of curling up in a corner and feeling all moody like the world is about to crash, why not talk to someone. If there's someone you trust that may be a good place to start. Some people also find it therapeutic in conversing with random strangers.
5- COPING MECHANISMS: we all have one. That is that one thing we do whenever we are sad that helps us feel much better. Pls do that. It may even be sex!
6- SEEK HELP: When it becomes too much for you to handle, please seek professional help of experts in a hospital. #AIR-CLINIC is as close to you as your phone so do visit.

For women, remember that 60-70% of your mood-swing cases is actually related to your menstrual cycle. So worry less and get that menstrual pain off your back.

Thank you for listening! Cheers!

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