Is This sadness normal? Understanding Normal vs Abnormal Mood

Mood is a temporary emotional state or feeling that is relatively sustained and pervasive, often influencing an individual's perceptions and behaviours. Unlike emotions, which tend to be more intense and triggered by specific events, moods are typically less intense but longer-lasting and can be either positive or negative in nature.

How does our mood come to be?

Our emotional states are affected by biological, psychological, environmental and lifestyle factors.

Biological Factors:

Chemical messengers like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine can affect mood regulation. Imbalances in these chemicals are often associated with mood disorders like depression or anxiety. Sometimes, natural changes in hormone levels during puberty, pregnancy, or menopause can also affect mood. Secondly, our genetics play a critical role, and a family history of mood disorders can increase the likelihood of experiencing similar issues, suggesting a genetic component.

Psychological Factors:

Chronic stress, constant worry and fear can lead to persistent negative moods. Other psychological factors, like trauma or difficult life events, can also trigger mood shifts. Drawing from cognitive behaviour therapy, how we think affects how we feel; hence, negative thought patterns, such as pessimism or rumination, can contribute to prolonged negative moods. Similarly, more positive thinking patterns can help improve mood.

Environmental Factors:

Changes like a loss of a job, relationship issues, financial troubles, or major life transitions can lead to shifts in mood. Having a great social support system can elevate mood, while social isolation or conflict can have a negative impact. Further, some people experience mood changes in response to weather or seasons (e.g., Seasonal Affective Disorder, where people feel depressed during the winter months due to lack of sunlight).

Physical Health:

Ongoing physical health issues can contribute to a negative mood, e.g suffering from a chronic illness or terminal conditions can awaken grief as well as low mood. Certain medications may also have side effects that affect mood, such as antidepressants or corticosteroids.

Lifestyle Factors:

What we eat and how active our bodies are can also influence our mood. Poor nutrition or lack of physical activity can influence mood, while regular exercise is known to boost dopamine levels, and a balanced diet can help maintain emotional stability. Secondly, the use of alcohol, drugs, and even caffeine can have short-term effects on mood, and long-term use can lead to mood disturbances.

When is it time to seek help?

It’s normal to experience a range of emotions based on your life experiences (e.g., feeling joy at a celebration or sadness during a loss. If your mood seems out of proportion to the situation or persists without any obvious external trigger (like feeling very low for no clear reason), this could be a cause for concern.

Determining whether your mood is normal or abnormal depends on a variety of factors. Firstly, the duration. If a low mood or heightened state persists for weeks, you may want to seek help. Secondly, if the intensity of your emotional state is unmanageable, interfering with your work, relationships, school, and the ability to engage in normal day-to-day activities, this might be a sign that you need to seek help from a psychologist, your healthcare provider or a doctor.

Other signs to look for include:

Persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness, extreme irritability, anger, or euphoria, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, drastic changes in sleep or appetite, suicidal thoughts or self-harm urges.