It’s perfectly normal for humans to have mood swings.

Feeling a bit low or blue during the winter months? Or maybe just feeling a little depressed now and then? Well don’t despair or feel anxious over it – adding to the feeling. It’s perfectly normal for humans to have mood swings – and to have negative moods that can last for days or even weeks.

The slightest shift in the balance between serotonin and melatonin, adrenalin and noradrenalin, and other chemicals in the body can affect our moods – and it is NORMAL for us to do so and feel that way when we do.

According to University of East London psychologist Professor Mark Rapley, “Bottling up anger and sadness is never a good way of dealing with things; problems tend to come back and bite us harder further down the line. The trouble is, we’ve become so obsessed with being happy that we now see being down as a real problem – when, in fact, it’s perfectly normal.

“We’re constantly encouraged to be anxious about whether we are happy or depressed, yet these feelings are not illnesses, simply part of regular human experience. Life would be so much duller if we just muddled along in the middle without feeling any emotions at all. Learning to recognize that it’s normal to feel angry or sad is a good thing for our mental health.”

Balance is boring!

Feeling blue or “down” offers you a chance to reconsider – to ponder and reflect – and maybe take action to alleviate the blues. And in the course of solving the blues problem, maybe you’ll come out with new ideas to make the rest of your life even better than before.

When I feel down, I sometimes think that “all is lost” or that “it will never end” or I just can’t see me ever coming out of it. Such thoughts come from “absolute” thinking – which is normal when one is feeling under stress.

In reality, if I were to investigate, I’d notice that 99.99999+% of my life is going along wonderfully – and only the tiniest portion has gained my attention and is really “bugging me” – why? Because it is out of the ordinary! And maybe the feeling is simply something I ate – that changed my chemical state to the blues. If I will reconsider my mood tomorrow morning when my body chemistry has had time to change, maybe things will look differently, too – and probably will.

However we are feeling right now, chances are we’ll feel differently within a very few hours. And not necessarily because of environmental influences – rather, maybe due to just a slight elevation of a single chemical in our body.

Some change therapies influence body chemistry directly – like pharmaceutical therapies. Other change therapies, like Rapid Eye Technology, hypnotherapy, or Emotional Freedom Technique take another approach and use the body’s inherent drug store to affect change from within. I like the latter idea in that I don’t have to introduce some chemical to my body’s chemical system, the side effects of which I can’t control.

So next time you feel blue, don’t despair or worry – adding to your problem – it’s probably simply a natural and normal mood. If it lasts for some time – several weeks perhaps – maybe it’s then time to seek assistance from a qualified healer. First, though – make sure you’re not just experiencing life as a human should – with moods, attitudes, feelings, and chemistry!