By Jancee Dunn
Sigh if this has happened to you: You’re heading out the door, feeling reasonably upbeat — your outfit is cute, the weather is sunny. And then, wham! Your husband asks, “Why do you look so tired?” You forgot your phone. Oops, it’s dead. And now you’re late. A rotten mood builds. Though you’re aware of what’s happening, you can’t stop it.
It’s probably not much comfort to know that bad moods are having a moment: Americans reported record high levels of negativity about the future in an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. “If things look uncertain, there’s no question that people will be crankier than normal,” says Jair C. Soares, M.D., director of the University of Texas Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders. Kicking it up another notch is the amplification of social media (ISIS! Ebola!): “The 24/7 media frenzy of contemporary life makes people even more apprehensive,” Soares notes.
Meanwhile, we’re in one of the least perky times of year, which wears on some of us more than others. A study published in the journal Emotion found that inclement weather can make a person’s foul mood even worse. It sure doesn’t help when someone tells you to cheer up. “You’re not getting any empathy,” points out psychologist Guy Winch, Ph.D., author of Emotional First Aid, “and that only makes you feel annoyed.”
If reading this has upset you, take heart: “It’s important to have emodiversity — a variety of negative and positive feelings,” says June Gruber, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. If we’re never out of sorts, we can’t fully appreciate the sweetness of happiness. That said, nobody wants a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. The key to keeping it cheerful: Squash that snit before it starts.
–
What to do: Eat every three to four hours or so if you’re prone to food mood swings, choosing unprocessed foods as much as possible. Regularly nosh on good-mood foods. Stick with your resolve to avoid trans fats; researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a link between trans fats and irritability (it’s been shown that they interfere with the production of mood-stabilizing omega-3s). Oh, and if you need to have a difficult conversation with your mate, it couldn’t hurt to first have some protein. Major issue? Break out the porterhouse steaks.
Head over to Health.com to read more about how to prevent a bad mood.
More from Health.com:
12 Worst Habits For Your Mental Health
11 Surprising Health Benefits Of Sleep
13 Ways To Beat Stress In 15 Minutes Or Less
How To Beat A Bad Mood originally appeared on Health.com
