Mood Sensitivities

Much as I try very hard not to take things out on those around me, sometimes my frame of mind has been as far out of control as my body is.  I’m sure many of you can relate to the phrase ‘rattled nerves’.  It can be that loud noises (in my case most typically it will be my children fighting or the TV being too loud!), or bright lights, crowds, or any other stressful situation can set your entire body on edge, hence the feeling of nerves being ‘rattled’.  An essential coping mechanism, when this happens, is to retreat to a quieter place to calm down and relax again.

 

Sometimes it’s very easy to get angry or flare-up at the smallest thing simply because it’s so very hard to carry on as normal with such incredibly high pain levels or such severe exhaustion.  It plays havoc with the brain and it’s normal to go through a whole myriad of emotions – anger, fear, depression, frustration, unaccountable irritability and sometimes self-pity – sometimes lasting for a matter of minutes, or other times lasting for longer.

 

I’ve also found that my mood can go from one extreme to the other; I can be laughing and joking one minute and then just stop and want to cry.  Panic attacks and anxiety are also quite common and can strike out of nowhere.

 

I would actually list crying as a symptom of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue; coping with seemingly never-ending pain and chronic exhaustion whilst trying to get on with day-to-day tasks is a huge ask and I went through a stage of crying a lot more than I ever used to.  I even had to pull over in the car more than once because I found myself crying uncontrollably.  Maybe I was sobbing because of the intensity of pain, or because I found it so hard to do the simplest tasks, or maybe I was crying at the loss of the person I once was.  There are a whole multitude of reasons, but crying is actually thought of by some as a coping mechanism as it releases pent-up emotions.

 

The worst part of all the mood variations that I experienced was that I could go through all these emotions and I would know that I was over-reacting but I found myself incapable of stopping it.  It was as if I had to vent my frustrations and let it all go, which can actually be a good thing and can be therapeutic, but not for those around me!  It was like having permanent PMS!

 

Variations in mood can be linked to hormonal imbalances or a chemical imbalance in the brain such as serotonin deficiency.  There are also other nutritional deficiencies linked to mood including B-vitamins and vitamin D. 

 

Evening Primrose Oil or a good quality fish oil supplement – or even better a diet rich in ‘good fats’ such as eggs, avocados, nuts, seeds, dairy, salmon, mackerel and tuna – will help boost brain health, balance hormones and regulate mood.

 

Restricting your intake of caffeine, sugar and alcohol can also help, as they provide a temporary high but actually result in a depletion of vital hormones and vitamins.