Riya is confused about her partner. One moment they are affectionate and happy, the other moment they are completely distant. Was it because something happened? Did she say something she wasn’t supposed to? Or is she just thinking too much about it? Riya is never too sure. She wants to help but doesn’t know how. Mood wings are a common phenomenon in romantic relationships, but are they really just momentary disagreements or something underlying? And what exactly is an individual supposed to do to provide help to their partner?
What are Mood Swings?
“A nonspecific term for any oscillation in mood, particularly between feelings of happiness and sadness.” -(American Psychological Association, 2018)
These sudden fluctuations or disruptions in the emotional state can range anywhere from extremely high to extremely low mood. It is often associated with serious mental health issues like Bipolar disorder and can have varying consequences on the person’s health. While the term “mood swing” is often used casually to describe anyone who seems sad or angry, it’s important to understand the difference. Mood swings are much more different and emotionally devastating than simply being moody. They have biological as well as psychological bases.
Read More: Tips to Manage Mood Swings and Regain Emotional Balance
What causes Mood Swings
- Increased Stress level: A Higher stress level for an increased amount of time often leads to disruption in hormonal secretion, which results in mood swings. “Stress alters gut bacteria, which in turn can influence mood. Thus, the gut’s nerves and bacteria strongly influence the brain and vice versa.”(APA, 2023)
- Brain chemistry and hormonal imbalance: Hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins and serotonin are called the “feel-good hormones”. Imbalances in them disrupt the mind and bodily functions. “As menopause approaches, hormone levels fluctuate rapidly. These changes are associated with anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of distress.”(APA, 2023)
- Substance use: Certain psychologists suggest that the use of substances such as alcohol, cocaine and opioids, especially heroin, changes the transmission of neurotransmitters within important circuits of neural networks, such as the mesolimbic tract and Papez circuit, causing a change in mood. (Markou, 1998)
- Sleep deprivation: “Getting less than adequate sleep is called sleep deprivation.” (Louca, 2015). Research has shown how sleep deprivation affects both human cognition and overall brain performance of the brain causing extreme anger and mood swings (Saghir, 2018).
- Poor diet: “Unhealthy diets are often linked with deterioration of one’s mood.”(APA, 2023) Irregular meals, skipping meals or lack of a nutritional diet often lead to imbalances in bodily processes, causing mood swings.
- Mental health conditions: Mood Swings are often symptoms of severe mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and more.
What to do: Psychological Insight for Partners
1. Emotional Expression and Communication
“Emotions happen within a social context and are partly regulated through other people.” (Hoffman, 2015). Multiple studies show how expressing emotions and communication between partners reduces feelings of stress, difficulty in understanding each other and thus, helps in reducing mood swings. As a more stable and understanding environment develops, emotional outbursts become less likely.
2. Reducing Judgment and Increasing Validation
Research over the years shows that a judgment-free and validating relationship increases mental well-being, emotional regulation, decreases feelings of negative emotions, and simultaneously reduces mood swings. “Theory and research indicate that validation is associated with reductions in negative emotions, whereas invalidation is associated with escalation of negative emotions.” (Kuo et al., 2022).
Read More: Reframing Negative Thoughts for a Positive Life
3. Mutual Check-Ins
Partners should occasionally indulge in checking in on each other. This could be something as simple as asking each other about their daily lives, what is troubling them, if any, how they cope with it, etc. These are simple methods but can be very helpful in developing a mutually trusting and healthy relationship that also helps from sudden shocks or surprises. (Xu et al., 2025)
Read More: Exploring the Challenges of Maintaining a Healthy Relationship
4. Boundary Setting
Boundaries are created not to not to distance from the other person, rather to establish mutual respect. A longitudinal study published in Health Psychology showed how repeated boundary violations lead to decreased mental well-being. Establishing well-defined boundaries between partners encourages healthy communication and solidifies the relationships.
Read More: Importance of Boundaries in Relationships
5. Prioritising One’s Own Well-Being
While one should always support their partners, it should not come at the cost of their own health. Everyone should prioritise their mental health and not let anything hinder it.
6. Encouraging Professional Help
Sometimes mood swings can be a symptom of severe underlying causes. Addressing them as soon as possible is essential. When they seem unmanageable for an individual, their partner must encourage them to seek professional help.
Conclusion
Mood swings are sudden mood changes that can be triggered by various factors. They are common and can happen to anyone, especially in romantic relationships where both individuals with different lives and backgrounds come together for mutual affection and consideration. A person happy just a while ago may suddenly show tendencies of anger or emotional outbursts. This can be a result of increased stress levels, changes in brain chemistry and imbalances in hormonal levels, substance use, sleep deprivation, lack of proper diet and nutrition, and even certain serious mental health conditions.
This includes emotional expression and communication, reducing judgment and increasing validation, mutual check-ins, setting boundaries, prioritising one’s own well-being, as well as encouraging professional support if required. For a relationship to be healthy, both partners have to support each other, especially in times of need as well as otherwise.
FAQs
1. What are mood swings?
Mood swings refer to the fluctuations occurring in one’s mood, between happiness and sadness or other similar emotions.
2. What causes mood swings?
Mood swings are caused by increased stress levels, changes in brain chemistry and imbalances in hormonal levels, substance use, sleep deprivation, lack of proper diet and nutrition, and even certain serious mental health conditions.
3. How can mood swings be reduced?
Mood swings can be reduced through emotional expression and communication, reducing judgment and increasing validation, mutual check-ins, setting boundaries, prioritising one’s own well-being, as well as encouraging professional support if required.
References +
American Psychological Association. (2023, March 8). Stress effects on the body. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
Saghir, Z., Syeda, J. N., Muhammad, A. S., & Balla Abdalla, T. H. (2018). The Amygdala, Sleep Debt, Sleep Deprivation, and the Emotion of Anger: A Possible Connection?. Cureus, 10(7), e2912. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.2912
Kuo, J. R., Fitzpatrick, S., Ip, J., & Uliaszek, A. (2022). The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation. Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation, 9(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x
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