7 Surprising Techniques to Managing Mood Swings

My friends describe me as optimistic, loyal, and determined. Anger or irritability are certainly not traits of my normal character. Yet, they loved to make an appearance when I was on the rollercoaster of IVF medication to get pregnant.

Can you relate?

Whether it’s a natural fluctuation of hormones based on your cycle or an amplified fluctuation due to medications, mood swings can rear their ugly head and have you feeling anything but yourself.

Managing emotions and restoring balance

It can feel hard to keep your normal perspective and outlook on things when hormones are running amuck! It can look and feel different for each of us – anger, rage, irritability, sadness, anxiety. But at the core, it’s all the same.

You don’t feel like your normal self. You don’t respond to the people around you in the same way you would with well-balanced hormones.

It sent me on a search for techniques to manage mood swings. I knew that it was my hormones that were creating this experience – not my character – so pursuing ways to balance my hormones just felt like a good and reasonable thing to do.

Techniques to manage mood swings

Although I didn’t try all of them, here are seven surprising techniques I discovered to manage mood swings.

Acupuncture

I’ve had great success with using acupuncture for many health conditions over the years, so they seemed like a natural option to explore.

Aromatherapy

Essential oils like lavender, chamomile, and ylang-ylang have calming properties and can be used aromatically or topically. I love diffusing lavender at bedtime, and I’ll apply a calming oil topically on days with high emotions.

Hypnosis

This one seems a little out there, I know. I actually tried it with a nurse I met when managing migraines.

It was an interesting experience, and I can’t say exactly how much of an impact it had, but it was calming. I liked that she gave me a recording that I could listen to at home, so it was a tool that I always had at my fingertips to manage emotions.

Art therapy

While I love crafting, drawing and painting are not skills I possess, so this one didn’t excite me. However, I know several people who have had significant success with reducing stress and managing emotions through art classes.

Music therapy

Don’t ask me to play an instrument or sing on key, but I definitely find listening to calming music incredibly helpful in managing emotions.

Being outside

The name of this sounds odd to me, yet I can’t deny that I feel better when I spend time in nature – going for a walk, sitting on the beach, breathing in the fresh air, it all feels so therapeutic.

Laughter therapy

Okay, this last one feels weird, but studies show that laughter is medicine, so queue up your favorite comedy show, movie, or podcast and get in a good laugh!

Have you tried any of these techniques? Is there a technique that you love that isn’t listed here?

Please share in the comments below!