MOOD Swings

Go wild for a while.

- Ritu Kamra Kumar

We are made of flesh that bruises and bleeds, bones that break and a mind that is susceptible to wild mood swings." -Kilroy J. Oldster

The other day, one of my friends in college asked me, "Are you okay? You seem low in self-esteem." In a mood of self-denial, I promptly replied, "I am fine, not at all in a bad mood. But yes everyone is just annoying." Back home I pondered over the remark of my friend. I realised that I had been behaving rather awkwardly for the last few days. My father, too, had enquired about my well-being. I had put up a brave front assuring him that all was well. It was just the stress of meeting deadlines to finish the syllabus as university examinations had got preponed. So when my friend came with a similar observation, I peeped inside my mind and felt there had been a wild shift in my mood of late, from being happy to suddenly becoming sad, acting mean without any reason and then repenting.

Am I suffering from mood swings? A conversation with self, I say, "Yes!" And it made me feel panicky until I talked to my elder sister who happens to be my agony aunt also.

Sharing her travails, she told me how she also acts impulsively due to peer pressure and sometimes without any rhyme or reason.

Well! She made me understand that mood swings are common in both males and females. Hormonal shifts or stress levels can lead to significant changes in moods. Females tend to be more prone to symptoms of hormonal change than males, particularly during tough phases of their lives, be it monthly menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, hormonal changes such as fluctuations in oestrogen, household drudgery or striking balance between work and career etc.

And my sister Anu said, "If you are feeling messy, you are going to create something beautiful."