Being irritable occasionally is part of being human. But when it changes from the occasional time to being permanently in a mood and biting other people’s heads off, it’s definitely time to change.
If there’s no apparent reason for your moodiness – apart from maybe feeling a bit “under the weather” – then there’s nothing you can home in on to stop yourself getting in a mood.
If that’s the case, here are some things you can do to stop feeling moody and generally lift your spirits.
Cut down on the caffeine and alcohol
Caffeine is a stimulant and alcohol is a depressant but they can both cause mood swings and if either was only just discovered there’s a good chance they’d be on the “banned” list.
Caffeine is especially addictive – if you’re drinking too much of it, don’t quit immediately unless you want some of the worst headaches you can remember. Instead, cut down gradually – use decaff if you still want most of the taste.
Likewise with alcohol – reduce the amount you take. Lower strength beers, make a “spritzer” out of wine and a fizzy drink (although be careful with diet drinks as they have their own side effects, sparkling water is a good option), stop using home measures for spirits.
Get some exercise
Exercise is good in lots of different ways.
Not only does it help make you fitter, it lifts your mood. Maybe not while you’re doing the exercise if it’s too strenuous but it releases our body’s natural feel-good chemicals (endorphins) and they can help lift your mood quickly.
Exercise doesn’t have to turn you into a gym rat. If you’re stuck at home and there are some stairs you could walk up and down, that works. So does a brisk walk round the block.
Little niggles can turn into mountains
It’s not unusual for small things – often almost inconsequential on their own – to really depress our mood.
It’s often said that if you’ve just bought a car and something major goes wrong, people are unhappy but reasonably OK because it can be fixed (probably under warranty) but if there’s a squeak somewhere and the garage can’t work out where, people are less tolerant.
The same goes for any small problem. It’s small, but it’s not getting fixed. So it makes you irritable and sends you into a nastier mood than you’d like.
Two options here: train yourself to ignore the niggle (not necessarily easy but not impossible) or finally fix it!
Chill out
We don’t relax as often as we should. It’s something we seem to un-learn as we get older.
Relax with whatever method works best for you:
- A hot bath – this works well last thing at night
- Your own playlist on sites like Spotify
- A power nap – a great way to recharge yourself fast
- Meditation – whether it’s a traditional method or a modern one, it works
- Listening to a happiness brainwave track (the track does the hard work of getting your mind out of its sullen mood)
Sleep well
Sleep is important and if you’re not sleeping well, that can affect your mood.
- Don’t have screen time too close to your bed time.
- Make sure your room is as dark as possible
- Keep to a bed time routine – try to be as consistent as you can
- Wind down before you go to sleep – watching the news is a specially bad idea
- Listen to a relaxing track to help you get a good night’s rest
Reduce stress in your life
Stress can have a knock on effect on your mood.
We all have a different tolerance for stress and we tend to show it in different ways.
Stress takes its toll on our bodies and sometimes – with moods and irritability – on the people around us.
One easy way to reduce stress naturally is play something in the background that’s designed to put suggestions in your mind to reduce the stress you’re experiencing. This track will do that using some chill out music and subliminal messages that get directly through to your subconscious and help de-stress you.
Breathe
Deep breaths can be a quick way to help you calm down and be less moody.
You’re already breathing so it’s a perfectly natural thing to do. All you’re doing is focusing more on your breaths.
Nice, long, deep breaths in. Maybe holding your breath for a second or two, Then an equally nice, long, deep breath out.
Totally natural and a quick way to lift your mood at any time.