8 Possible Medical Reasons Why You’re Constantly in a Bad Mood

Depressed people might also experience unexplained physical pain such as back pain or headaches, feeling of guilt, and frequent thoughts of suicide or death. However, if you’re not having those symptoms, but are constantly in a bad mood for unknown reasons, it’s a good idea to visit your physician to figure out what might be causing those unpleasant symptoms. A specialist will want to rule out other conditions with symptoms that can mimic depression.

A person with bad moods caused by a health condition will have certain abnormalities on tests, like abnormal thyroid hormone levels. In addition to a physical exam, your healthcare provider might do a psychological evaluation in which you’re asked about your feelings and thoughts. You can also do a test online to help figure out if what you’re experiencing and feeling is actually depression. But it shouldn’t replace a doctor’s appointment.

There is a big chance that your bad mood is provoked by a health condition. Here are some tips that can help you recognize the reasons and ease your mind:

1. Your daily patterns are affecting your mood

There are lots of physical reasons that might make you be in a constantly bad mood. Having physical pain or discomfort can result in irritability, like being hungry, not sleeping well, or not following a healthy diet.

Try eating snacks between meals, not using your device before going to bed, and doing more physical activity to improve your mood.

2. You’re inactive

If you have a sedentary lifestyle, that could be the root cause of your bad moods. Just going for a short walk can help you alleviate depression and anxiety and help boost your mood. Physical activity helps your body produce more “feel good” hormones such as endorphin and dopamine.

But it’s best to check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise routine. Exercise can be as simple as going for a walk in a local park and being outdoors, especially in nature, which has positive effects on your mood.

3. You might have thyroid problems

Hyperthyroidism, which is common for women, is a condition in which the butterfly-shaped gland in the neck starts to produce too much thyroid hormone which can affect your health and mood. It can be the reason for your extreme mood changes. The thyroid hormone influences everything that’s related to your metabolism.

It can also raise your nervousness, restlessness, and lead to difficulty concentrating. Another common thyroid condition that can also affect your mood is called hypothyroidism. People with this condition often feel low and depressed. The emotions hypothyroidism sufferers experience usually depend on how long they’ve had the disorder and how severe it is. If you have a more gradual onset of an underactive thyroid, you’re more likely to feel depressed or lethargic.

4. You suffer from chronic pain

Long-term health conditions can make you irritable, especially if your current efforts aren’t providing relief. People with chronic pain feel uncomfortable all the time. Some drugs, including opioid painkillers, can also lead to irritability as a side effect. This affects a person’s daily life which is another reason for bad moods in people with chronic pain.

If your treatment doesn’t seem to help, you can try natural methods to alleviate chronic pain such as acupuncture, regular exercise, taking vitamin D supplements, following a Mediterranean diet, stretching, cognitive behavioral therapy and even consuming more turmeric.

5. You may require therapy

A mental or emotional health problem can often provoke some mood changes as well. Those who have anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or a possible personality disorder can suffer from a constant bad mood. Oftentimes, when a person experiences anger, they are reacting to external stimuli, which is leading to an internal feeling of guilt or shame.

If a person is told they constantly have a bad mood, it’s essential to pay attention to that. If your mood is affecting your daily life and your interpersonal relationships with your kids, coworkers, partner, or friends, you need to seek out professional mental health help.

6. You lack vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for your health that plays a role in many processes in your body, like bone development, brain functioning, and others. However, vitamin D is also crucial for your emotional health. And given that vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, many people experience a bad mood for that reason.

People with a long-term vitamin D deficiency may develop lots of chronic conditions, and depression is not an exception. So, if you know you lack this vitamin, consider talking with your doctor about vitamin D supplementation. Other ways to get vitamin D include getting more sunlight and eating vitamin D-containing foods such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, red meat, egg yolks, liver, and fortified foods.

7. Your hormone changes during PMS are triggering mood swings

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a sneaky thing that affects three in four women. It’s characterized by a combination of symptoms that occur about a week or two before a period. Although for most women PMS symptoms are mild, others may experience severe symptoms that can interfere with daily life.

Since PMS causes an imbalance of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, many women feel irritable and angry during this period. To relieve PMS symptoms try the following tips:

- Sleep well. Get about eight hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation has been connected with anxiety and depression and can make PMS-related moodiness worse.

- Get regular exercise. Getting regular physical activity can help overcome depression and improve mood before a period.

- Try healthy ways to fight stress. Consider trying meditation, yoga, or massage.

- Consume more healthy foods most of the time. Avoiding foods and drinks that cause a sharp change in blood sugar levels can help you prevent mood swings and irritability.

8. You might be developing diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a quite common condition that affects nearly 10.5 percent of the US population (more than 20 million people). Abnormal blood sugar fluctuations can lead to mood changes and make you irritable and angry. Those mood changes are especially noticeable during the onset of diabetes, so it’s essential to look for the early signs of this condition such as frequent urination, dehydration, weight loss, constant feeling of hunger, fatigue, blurry vision, poor wound healing, tingling feet, and frequent urinary tract infections.

An imbalance in blood glucose levels contributes to an imbalance of chemicals in the brain such as serotonin. If you suspect you have prediabetes, it’s best to visit your primary care physician as soon as possible.

The Bottom Line

Your mood can be directly affected by many health problems. Therefore, if you feel the blues for an unknown reason, you should pay attention to other symptoms you might be experiencing, along with mood swings. It is important that you seek medical care to figure out what’s causing a bad mood.