If mood swings are not dealt with healthily, they could be responsible for ruining relationships. If you have noticed that your partner is experiencing mood swings, you need to learn how to bring that to their attention and find solutions for it as a couple.
And, this is exactly what we’ll be helping with and guiding you through in this article.
A few steps to deal with mood swings in a relationship:
1. Have an honest talk with your partner:
When your partner is showcasing mood swings almost every day, it’s more than natural that you feel negatively affected by them. You probably keep hoping that, if you stay out of their sight when their mood takes a bad turn, it will end up going away, but this isn’t the way to a healthy relationship. Most of the time, people don’t even realize how serious their mood swings are.
A good way to start this conversation is by attempting a non-confrontational approach. People who experience mood swings can feel frustrated when they are confronted with it because they feel like they are losing control. You need to reassure them from time to time during the conversation that the goal is not to make them feel bad, blame them, or accuse them of anything but to help them overcome it instead.
Tell them that their constant mood swings make them unpredictable, which in turn makes you feel anxious and it could even ruin your day. Hopefully, your partner will see how much this affects you and your relationship and will be better at communicating their mood states.
2. Being there to help each other strengthens the relationship:
The best way to help is by asking how you can help. Sometimes, we feel like we shouldn’t be asking what we should do to help and just try to make a decision alone instead. However, this could lead to misunderstandings or not help with the situation at all.
It will always be better to ask your partner directly what are the things you can do to make them less stressed and more stable. Your partner probably has an idea of how you could help but hasn’t expressed it out loud because they were too busy dealing with their mood swings.
By tackling your partner’s needs directly you will be taking the load off their shoulders and giving them time to focus on their mental health. Some things can’t be prevented like work deadlines or important family occasions, but you can help with things around the house or in areas of your life as a couple that aren’t governed by as many variants.
3. You need to learn how to control and deal with it:
Unless your partner has a genetic predisposition to have mood swings, what may be causing them is poor mental health. Your partner could be suffering from some type of anxiety due to a lot of stress, or even depression. This is not something you can instantly get rid of once you realized you have it, but there are ways of learning to live with it and even make the symptoms almost disappear.
If you notice that your partner is highly stressed and anxious because he is living a very fast-paced life either at work or socially, or both, maybe you should try to engage in activities that make them slow down and relax.
Physical exercise is one of the most recommended solutions, and it’s something you can do as a couple. If there is a physical activity or sport you both enjoy practicing don’t think twice, and if it’s something done outdoors it’s even better.
Doing things that exercise your brain like puzzles, board games, or reading are also great for managing stress. Essentially you will be keeping your brain occupied with healthy exercises instead of just watching tv for hours before going to bed.
It also gives you a chance to have fun conversations with your partner while you are playing. And, more importantly, it gives you the impression that you have enjoyed your partner’s company and had quality time together rather than wasted your time with them on TV, not looking at one another, not talking, and minimally acknowledging their presence.
4. Learn how to read your partner’s behavioral signs:
If you notice that your partner is especially irritable during some times of the day or during a specific day of the month, you should start taking mental notes about it. Although you’ve brought to your partner’s attention that they have mood swings and found some solutions on how to best deal with them, there will always be times when they feel so overwhelmed that they can’t cool down easily.
You don’t need to waste all your time and energy to shield your partner from potential triggering situations, but you can learn to see patterns or see it coming in their body language. Whether you have mood swings or not, there are those times when you just need to let your frustration out alone. And that’s exactly what you should let your partner do.
Now if you follow these steps your partner would be able to deal with their mood swings, they can isolate themselves if they sense that something happened and they can’t deal with it calmly. They have also learned to ask for your advice and help in how to deal with certain things. That’s when you have your chance to step in and be there for your partner.
In the meanwhile if you want more help or if things got worse, then here’s an article that we recommend on how to deal with explosive people.