Mood swings. It’s normal for us women. It happens because of the hormone imbalance that affects our mood regulation. Guys, we didn’t ask for this, but yeah, it’s a woman’s nature. Thank God that we survive this.
Most of the women experience mood changes in the days before menstruation. I know nobody wants period pain or menstrual cramps, but the pain that we bare can be emotionally debilitating. Unfortunately, there’s no medicine that can completely cure period pain.
However, we can make it less painful by taking pain killers, putting a heating pad around our pelvis, or eating healthy food.
How mood swings affect your life
Mood swings also have a huge impact on your social and emotional well-being. It can disturb your concentration and sleep patterns, which in turn can affect your work life and relationships.
Just keep in mind, ladies, no matter in how much of a bad mood you are, don’t ever throw your tantrum at your man. At least try to control it. You might not be aware, but your action might disrespect your partner, especially your words and your tone.
If you are having a hard time controlling it, try to distance yourself from him for a while, till you can grasp in your mind that this is all your hormones being such an ass. Take a break for a moment and don’t make it worse.
In this article, I will share with you some tips on how to control your mood swings. It’s working for me and I hope it works for you too, since I’m the type who likes to be moody for the whole week of my period. Bitchy, isn’t it? Ha-ha, “awkward.”
Things that can help you control your mood swings
Premenstrual syndrome does have a bad effect on our emotional state, or worse, our relationship. We as women don’t want this to happen, right? However, we can control it by taking supplements or consuming correct portions of healthy food.
1. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is good nutrition and can reduce prostaglandins during your period. This hormone triggers menstrual cramps. Based on true cases, for women who are low in vitamin D and consume 7.5 mg of the vitamin, it does reduce their menstrual cramps. I don’t recommend taking this massive dose, since the normal dosage you should take is only 0.010 to 0.020 mg. Please refer to medical professional first before you consume anything.
One of the easiest ways to get vitamin D, however, is actually quite simple: sunlight. And if you prefer natural foods over supplements, here a list of foods that are rich in Vitamin D:
- some dairy products, soy milk, and cereals;
- fatty fish (tuna, mackerel, salmon);
- beef liver;
- egg yolks.
2. Magnesium
Magnesium has been shown to have a stabilizing effect on mood. This essential mineral has been demonstrated effective in relieving symptoms of both mild-to-moderate anxiety and mild-to-moderate depression.
A study has proven that 248-450 mg of magnesium per day has been shown to improve mood in patients with depression. If you prefer the non-drug route, here are some foods that can boost your magnesium levels:
- whole wheat;
- spinach;
- almonds;
- dark chocolate;
- avocado;
- edamame.
3. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Research has suggested that taking 50-80 mg of B6 supplements daily may help with symptoms of PMS, such as moodiness, irritability, anxiety, and depression. Vitamin B6 helps with PMS by producing serotonin, which will lift your mood.
If you don’t like to take any supplements, there still other natural sources that you can consume. For example:
- milk;
- poultry (chicken, turkey);
- vegetables;
- bread;
- soya beans, peanuts;
- potatoes.
4. Walking
Walking can help improve your mood. Studies have proven that even a 10-minute walk can immediately boost brain chemistry to increase happiness. While you’re walking, it produces a hormone called endorphins.
This hormone will make you feel calm, happy, and more relaxed. If you feel like you want to smash someone face, why not go take a short walk at the park to relax your mind and body. It’s simple, but can be very helpful.
Things you need to avoid while you’re in a mood swing
1. Cold water or cold food
For me, eating cold food and drink cold water can worsen my menstrual cramps. Consuming both of this can tense up the muscles in the ovaries and vaginal walls. The effect will prevent the muscles from stretching further, which is why it leads to discomfort.
Ladies, for easy blood flow, I suggest to drink warm water and avoid very cold and sugary items to keep away the inflammation. If you’re addicted to it, at least try to reduce it, okay?
2. Caffeine
I love coffee; an Americano in the morning is needed every day in my life. At first, I thought that coffee won’t affect anything about my menstrual cramps since it’s not a big deal. However, I was wrong. Caffeine can actually worsen cramps.
I did some research and found that caffeine can constrict our blood vessels, which causes our uterus to tighten. After that, I restrain myself from drinking it, at least for a week.
3. Extreme exercise
Regular exercise is good for your mind and health. However, over-exercising can lead to hormone imbalance, especially our testosterone and cortisol levels. Exercising is good, but if you overdo it and don’t give your body a sufficient amount of time to rest, eventually it will create more stress for your body and worsen your mood. Try to avoid extreme exercise during your period time.
4. Lack of sleep
As for me, staying up late is a bad idea. Lack of sleep can stress me out and make me moody for the entire day, because I didn’t get enough energy to do things for the entire day. I’m not sure about you guys, but have you ever felt a ringing inside your head and your head feeling heavy?
If you’ve ever experienced this, that means your body is under stress and your head needs some rest. If you can’t sleep because of the period pain, try the tips that I mentioned above. If it’s still the same, then you need to consider going for a medical check-up.
5. Smoking
For smokers, they release stress and anger through smoking. It’s true that studies have suggested nicotine may improve memory and concentration, decrease anger and stress, relax muscles, and reduce appetite. However, nicotine is bad for you, too. The side effects of nicotine can affect the heart, hormones, and gastrointestinal system.
The bottom line
To control something that’s appeared unintentionally is hard. Especially when it comes to menstrual pain,PMS, and mood swings.
It’s hard and tiring to face the same discomfort every month. However, with a correct solution and procedure, we women can survive this! I hope these tips will help you.
by Joyce Hue
