Tell Me about Mood Swings

[Adrenaline Junkie]

I was considering posting this in the Help section, but its not as urgent as other peoples problems. For the last few years of my life i seem to have been going through these mood swings. Literally i will be really happy and then a few minutes later for no reason i suddenly start feeling down and depressed. It is in a way effecting my ability to do things, i know this may be over the top a bit but this is what i've been experiencing. For example, last night i was extremely motivated and ready to do something this following morning, then i woke this morning feeling fed up, all that motivation was thrown out the window. I have been experiencing a variety, and what annoys me is that speed in which it changes. I will often find that whilst i'm on here, i sometimes get very angry inside as well as fed up and i begin to vent it through aggressive posts which sometimes can be hurtful to others. I then wake in the morning thinking to myself "Why the hell did i ever post that?" and it often then involves in me sending out a few apologies for my behaviour that previous night. And its becoming somewhat unbearable now and i'm unsure what to do since its just making a mess of things. I've tried to I got some help at college a few months back but it didn't really work that well. So, if you can tell me anything about mood swings and how i can maybe prevent a sudden changes i would be very grateful.

[Patrick]

I'm a teen (18) and have been having mood swings for most of my teenage life. Mostly I'll be feeling depressed, and have a brief phase of feeling great (a few hours - a couple of days) before returning to depression again. It's got a little better as I've got older, as I feel as if I'm become more stable with age. I should probably know more about the exact causes of mood swings, since I'm studying Neuroscience, but all I know is that they're related to brain development/the particular brain chemistry of teenagers. I coped with them by riding the storm. Instead of fighting the mood swings or feeling like they were bad, I tried to see them as helpful; a learning experience. I learnt to deal with them and even see the good sides. It can make you a tougher person. Just don't let them get to you too much. I know it can be pretty nightmarish, but quite a few people experience it. Ride the storm and you'll come out on top

[Kael Seoras]

last night i was extremely motivated and ready to do something this following morning What are these moments like for you?

[Adrenaline Junkie]

What are these moments like for you? Full of energy, full of positive emotion with full force to accomplish. But then it all vanishes overnight.

[ClouD]

To climb the mountains, you have to go through the valleys. 'Duality', 'schizophrenia'...from identifying the valley as separate from the mountain. Only mountain climbers know the ecstasy of reaching the top. Though, they must fall into the valleys each time. Do not be disconcerted about these periods. They are not negative. They just are. Try to be with these valleys as you are with the mountains. You will come out gaining every time. Feel them, absorb yourself in them. Get lost in them, but be objective! If you can watch the valleys you can watch the mountains. Then you won't be hassled with the climb, the valleys, nor the peak. It takes effort to be miserly. In effortlessness, we can float.

[Taosaur]

I pretty much second all of the above. Your swings don't sound too out of the ordinary and you'll likely grow out of them. In the meantime, greet them with curious attention, as an oppurtunity to learn more about your own mind and human experience. I'm subject to mood swings with extremes of dark depression and moderately hallucinatory mania (it doesn't sound like you're experiencing anything on this scale). I gained a lot of skill working with my moods and preventing the kind of cascade effect that leads to cycling extremes, just through minimal training and haphazard practice in meditation and mindfulness. You learn to recognize the mood closer to its inception and accept and experience it fully before it has the momentum to overwhelm you.