Constantly bad mood: why and what to do

What could be the reason

Problems at work, in the family, chronic fatigue can cause a bad mood in everyday life
. Before thinking about what to do if you are in a bad mood, it is important to figure out what exactly provokes it. Having identified the true cause of what is happening, it is necessary to fight the origins, and not the bad mood itself, which is already a symptom of some problem or disease.

If a person is constantly in a bad mood, then it is the result of one of three groups of provoking factors:

somatic - related to what is happening inside the body (presence of diseases, lack of sleep, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalance, pathologies affecting the brain (congenital anomalies, head injury, tumors, consequences of infectious diseases));
exposure to external factors (weather conditions, problems at home or at work, being forced to do things you don’t like, frequent conflicts, consumption of drugs, alcohol, certain medications);
tension of the thought process or emotional expectation (a good mood is provoked by positive emotions, success, good thoughts, and if a person is constantly accompanied by continuous failures, a lot of negative emotions, he will be in a bad mood).

The most common reasons that temporarily plunge an individual into negative emotions and prevent a good mood include:

the presence of a feeling of guilt, which at times can crawl out of a person’s subconscious, depressing him psychologically;
storing small grievances in the soul, there may also be deep grievances that the individual no longer remembers, but they put pressure on his psychological state, keeping him on a negative wave;
the presence of many things to do and difficult tasks does not allow the individual to relax, the person is stressed, in panic, he has no time for fun and smiles;
fixation on events from the past, self-examination can also cause complete negativity in a person;
You can encounter a bad mood if the day is not going well in the morning (it happens that, upon waking up, everything has gone awry, a person can no longer resist the circumstances that have befallen them);
isolation from people, loneliness can lead a person to a state of gloom and alienation;
the presence of minor troubles, for example, a broken heel, a queue at the store, or a crush in the subway can cause a bad mood;
fear of defeat often depresses one’s mood (for example, a person may be frightened by an upcoming exam, interview, or handing in a job; he or she is in a tense, depressed state);
lack of energy - in the absence of proper nutrition, normal sleep, a person simply does not have the strength to do anything, there is no reason for joy;
hunger can lead not only to a lack of good mood, but also cause irritability and aggression;
the presence in the recent past of a serious psychological shock, for example, the death of a loved one, the departure of a spouse from the family.

The presence of a bad mood of one of the employees can lead to a malfunction in the functioning of the entire department.

What is depressed mood

Getting what you want, a person receives temporary relief, but soon the mood “spoils” again. This mood is the psyche’s response to suppressed emotions and unresolved internal conflicts. It must be remembered that mood does not depend on external factors, but on our internal state, the way of understanding and relationships with the world. No matter what a person achieves in the external environment, it does not bring satisfaction; the mood remains the same.

Depressed mood is one of the symptoms of chronic depression and can act as a signal of the onset of the development of this disease or as an independent syndrome.

Classification of persistent bad mood

A person can only occasionally encounter the presence of a bad mood. But there are also people who have it on a permanent basis. This condition is a type of mental illness and is divided into three groups.

Pessimistic. A characteristic manifestation is a lack of faith in one’s strengths, low self-esteem, and the presence of constant self-flagellation. Such a person is not able to see the good in what is happening in his life; even in the most positive events he will find only negative sides. They may have thoughts like “I won’t succeed”, “everything is already very bad, and then it will get even worse.” Such an individual is constantly dissatisfied with what is happening, he never smiles or laughs.
Depressed. A person feels sadness, melancholy, sadness, he may hate others or show self-aggression. Frequent tearfulness may also occur.
Apathetic. The individual completely ignores what is happening around him, the person behaves passively, he has no desire to take any action. In this case, the presence of a depressive disorder or chronic stress may be present.

It is often difficult to understand where the norm is and where the pathology is. If the presence of constant bad emotions persists for longer than two weeks in a row, then we are definitely talking about the presence of some kind of pathological condition.

I have a friend who is a pessimist in life. She sees everything in black. No matter what events happen in her life, she finds no reason for joy. I don’t remember if I ever saw a smile on her face. Her bad mood became callous to her character. But, unfortunately, she does not see a problem in this, she lives without seeing a reason for joy.

Causes of depressed mood

Most healthy people experience this condition from time to time. If symptoms last for several months, we can talk about the development of a pathological condition.

Internal conflicts manifest themselves in different areas of life.

Personal conflicts: resentment, embarrassment, anger, despair, which we do not admit to ourselves.

Relationships: We are dissatisfied with the current situation in love, family or social relationships.
Society: we are not satisfied with our earnings, profession, place in the social hierarchy, and so on.

The reasons may be various factors:

Trauma in the past . The death of a beloved relative, divorce, job loss - any unpleasant incident can cause a depressed state. If a person does not have time to experience and comprehend his grief, it goes into the depths of the subconscious and can remind of itself in a constantly depressed mood. A person can focus on his experiences and experience feelings of grief and sorrow for too long, in which case it takes on a pathological form.
Constant stress. Regular negative emotions and the absence of positive impressions form the general background against which chronic depressed mood occurs.
Guilt is also a factor shaping the psyche.
The lack of plans and goals creates a feeling that a person has nothing to strive for and creates a feeling of uselessness and loneliness.
Low self-esteem is usually closely related to a person's self-fulfillment. Self-doubt and depression accompany him constantly.

Internal conflicts give rise to external ones (quarrels, swearing, aggression, etc.).

How to distinguish depression from lack of good mood

Sometimes individuals who experience a gloomy mood are convinced that they are in a state of depression. However, this is not always the case. Temporary depression, sadness or blues can be completely natural phenomena that occur in the life of any person. No mentally healthy individual can be in a good mood all the time. And if this happens, then this factor may indicate mental problems. Any negative events can lead to a decrease in emotions, but normally they should not persist longer than two weeks. The following symptoms may indicate that you are experiencing a depressive disorder:

state of nervousness, increased anxiety, attacks of fear;
irritability, severe loss of strength, reluctance to do anything;
periodically occurring or constant feelings of guilt;
decreased self-esteem;
indifference to the outside world, loss of emotional sensitivity;
presence of panic attacks;
problems with concentration;
occurrence of suicidal thoughts.

If you have at least half of the above list, then you probably have a depressive disorder and you cannot do without contacting a specialist.

Adviсe

By identifying the cause of a bad mood, we can bring a smile into our lives.

If you suspect that you have a serious illness that is causing you to lack a good mood, you should seek help from a doctor. Initially, this may be a family doctor. If necessary, a specialist will prescribe an examination, because the reason may lie in the presence of chronic diseases, hormonal imbalances and problems affecting the brain. After the examination, the doctor may conclude that there is a psychological problem, for example, depression, and redirect to a psychologist or psychotherapist. Thus, treatment may include taking medications in the case of a somatic illness or psychotherapy, which can also be combined with the use of medications, in the case of psychological problems.
If you don’t want to see a doctor and want to figure out what’s happening on your own, then try to understand what led to this mood. By anticipating certain triggers, you can eliminate them from your life and see how it affects your mood:

get enough sleep, proper rest is very important;
eat right, make sure you have the necessary complex of vitamins and minerals in your daily diet;
do not be alone with your thoughts, try to be surrounded by other people, especially in the circle of optimists;
don’t burn out at work, get rid of workaholism, if you have one, remember that you need rest, go on vacation if you haven’t been on it for a long time;
always find time for yourself, great, if you can decide on what you love, you will have a hobby that will bring positive emotions;
playing sports and spiritual practices can have a beneficial effect on the human body as a whole and improve his psychological state, improve his mood (for example, by turning to yoga, you will learn to relax, get rid of accumulated negativity, and open up to everything good);
come up with a morning ritual for yourself that will charge you with positive energy for the whole day and give you positive emotions. For example, drink a cup of coffee, do auto-training in front of the mirror, programming yourself for a good day, treat yourself to sweets in the morning.

When noticing manifestations of a bad mood in yourself and your loved ones, it is important to think about how to get rid of this condition. Remember that depression can harm both you and your environment, because negative emotions can be transmitted to other people no less than positive ones. Try to figure out what exactly provokes your depression and overcome this problem. If you are unable to identify the true cause of what is happening on your own, do not be afraid to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist. The specialist will be able to identify the true cause of what is happening and select the best method of therapy.