Mood Swings in Women - Causes & Solutions

What is a mood swing?

Mood swing is a condition when a person experiences and expresses a variety of emotions within a span of few hours. Someone who suffers from this problem, goes from being very happy to feeling very angry, irritable, and frustrated within a very short period of time.

Mood swing affects twice as many women as men. This problem is commonplace especially in metropolitan cities due to fast speed life, higher work pressures, lower patience levels and modern lifestyle.

Causes of mood swings in women:

Studies have shown that hormones have a very deep impact on brain chemistry that controls the mood and emotions. A lot of factors in women's life such as hormonal imbalance, menstrual cycle, menopause, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, any endocrinal abnormality or other biological problems, all play a very important role in fluctuating the mood. At the time of menopause, there are a lot of changes between the hormones estrogen, testosterone and progesterone that results into hormonal imbalance and causes mood swings. Similarly, at the time of ovulation, women experience a lot of behavioral, emotional and physical changes due to hormonal changes.

Another reason of mood swings in women is stress at home and at work. Excessive stress leads to depression and mood swings. Women experience a lot of stress in their day-to-day life. Working women have the pressure of their office work as well as they manage their homes also. They look after their kids, take care of the aged parents and try their best to outperform in their jobs also. A lot of responsibilities may lead to stress. Sometimes due to lack of mutual understanding between husband and wife or by some other reason, their married life becomes miserable. It is also a cause of stress and a determining factor of mood swings.

Modern lifestyle also plays a key role to enhance the chances of mood swings. Smoking, alcohol, eating fast foods and having sugar, tea/coffee, chocolates in excess, lack of patience, stressful work environment, hyper sensitiveness, lack of physical activity, all these things contribute in fluctuating the mood.

How to treat mood swings:

Mood swings problem can be treated by making some changes in your lifestyle and by taking some alternative medicines. First of all, you should have a positive attitude towards life. Try to eliminate stress from your life. Yoga, pranayam, and some light exercises like swimming, dancing and brisk walk are really good ways to distress your mind and body. Establish a habit of reading. Music also helps to soothe a stressful mind. Take a diet that is full of nutrition as well as gentle on your body.

Some herbs like Aswagandha, Ginseng and Jatamansi help a lot in dealing with mood swings. Aromatherapy with oils like chamomile, jasmine and rose can be given to treat mood swings. Acupuncture is also an excellent method to treat mood swings. In this method of treatment, some needles are inserted into your body at some specified points.

Sometimes, the mood swing problem is so severe that doctors have to give hormone replacement therapy. It is a very quick treatment but it has a lot of side effects associated with it. After taking this therapy, women are on higher risks of different types of cancer.