There are various factors that determine why you get into a mood and how you get out of one. Before we explore that, it helps to understand the difference between an emotion and a mood. An emotion is shorter duration, higher intensity-like a spike of energy. A mood happens over more time.
How are moods different than emotions?
Emotions are ‘action potentials’ that alert you and energize you towards taking some kind of action based on your appraisal
- Moods are the states of mind that are fed by continually thinking, problem solving, and ruminating
- Think of emotions and moods on a continuum
- An emotion is a brief spike of energy and information; a mood can last a day or two
What makes an emotion or mood?
Usually they happen in response to a trigger
Ways to support healthy moods
Sleep is the best: lose conscious thought while the brain removes toxins and waste
- Do something with your body: yoga, go for a walk, or do something that connects you to other people
- Eating healthier is another way to control how you feel: changes the brain’s neurochemistry
How do triggers become routinized?
When we identify our emotions as being closely related to our “selves,” entwined with our identities, there’s not enough space around them to notice them for what they are: information that arrives, rests, and passes
- If you’ve closely identified with the emotion, you might not notice that it’s happening-it’s become automatic
The Food You Eat
The food you eat can have just as profound an effect on your brain and your mental health as the drugs prescribed by your doctor
- Your gut and your brain are in constant communication with each other
- Sufficient sleep heals our bodies and minds, but for many reasons sleep doesn’t always come easily
- Mindfulness practices and habits can help us fall asleep and stay asleep
How can you unhook from a mood?
Create space for reappraising the situation
- Mindfulness helps to de-identify with the experience
- We see emotions and moods as moving and shifting over time
- In this way, there’s less of a tendency to fully identify with them and perhaps a nudge towards investigating them
Can you think your way out of a bad mood?
No.
