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Understanding and Managing Mood Swings

Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.

Today at a Glance:

• How to Understand and Cope With Mood Swings

• What Most People Get Wrong About Calories

• The “Productivity Revolution” Has Lost Its Way

How to Understand and Cope With Mood Swings
Dr. Zindel Segal & Dr. Norman Farb

Lights, Camera, ...
Mood swings can feel like your emotional bassline suddenly shifts key—one moment you're grooving, the next you're out of tune with your world. While emotions react to what's happening now, moods linger, shaping how you interpret everything around you. Swings in mood often happen without a clear cause and can be unsettling, especially if you're used to feeling steady. They may reflect personality traits, stress, or even deeper mental health issues. Instead of chasing a perfect mood, pay attention to your patterns, care for your body, and seek support when needed. These emotional shifts might just be offering you clues to deeper self-understanding.

Action!

1. Track your mood patterns. Pay attention to how your mood changes daily, weekly, or seasonally. Record shifts along with sleep, food, exercise, and stress levels in a journal. Review regularly to spot patterns—like irritability after poor sleep or feeling upbeat before the weekend—and use this insight to anticipate and manage your moods more effectively.

2. Avoid unnecessary triggers and try ‘sense foraging.’ When a mood shift hits, pause and observe your bodily sensations instead of spiraling into overthinking. Ask yourself what you’re feeling, physically and emotionally, and whether the sensation is familiar. This practice can help you identify subtle triggers like overstimulation, lack of alone time, or too much caffeine—and guide small, helpful adjustments.

3. Recognise deeper influences on your mood. Acknowledge when hormonal changes or life transitions (like menopause or becoming a parent) are shaping your mood. Set an intention to notice these shifts early, and take time to update your models of yourself in the world in response to these life changes, and give yourself time to process changes.

4. Get support and another perspective. Let trusted people know when you're struggling, rather than trying to handle everything alone. Frame it as a request for support, like asking for company or a night out. This not only relieves some pressure but also gives you access to their perspective—and often, a helpful dose of connection and humor.

5. Know when to seek professional help. If your mood swings are extreme, persistent, or lead to impulsive behavior, panic, or deep despair, it’s time to talk to a mental health professional. Serious mood instability can be treated effectively with the right support—so don’t wait to get help if your moods start interfering with your life.

What Most People Get Wrong About Calories
Aadam

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A calorie is a calorie—it’s simply a unit of energy, just like a kilogram is a unit of weight. So yes, 100 calories from a chicken breast are the same as 100 calories from a Snickers bar in terms of energy. The real difference? How your body processes them. Protein burns more energy to digest than fat or carbs (hello, thermic effect), and whole foods keep you fuller longer thanks to fiber, density, texture, and water content. Meanwhile, ultra-processed foods—though equally caloric—go down easy and fast, often leading to overeating. So while a calorie is a calorie, not all foods are created equal.

Action!

• Focus on eating more whole, protein-rich, and fiber-filled foods—they help you feel fuller, burn more energy during digestion, and are less likely to lead to overeating, even if the calorie count is the same. (Just consider how 5 medium-sized apples have the same amount of calories as 1 snickers bar. Which option would leave you more satiated?)

The “Productivity Revolution” Has Lost Its Way
Mike Vardy

Lights, Camera, ...
More than 30 years ago, Peter Drucker warned that the real challenge of work wasn’t doing more, but using knowledge effectively. Yet today, we’re drowning in meetings, notifications, and busywork—measuring productivity by how much gets done, not whether it matters. The tools meant to empower us often just create more work about work. The solution? Expectation management: define what matters, eliminate the rest, and give people space to think. It’s time to stop chasing productivity and start pursuing productiveness—fewer tasks, more impact. The productivity revolution didn’t fail; it just forgot what it was fighting for.

Action!

1. Define clear expectations – Show what good work looks like so people can focus on what truly matters.

2. Shift focus from busyness to outcomes – Use metrics that measure real impact, not activity.

3. Cut unnecessary tasks – Eliminate work that doesn’t lead to meaningful results.

4. Protect time for deep thinking – Schedule regular blocks for strategic, uninterrupted work.

5. Empower with autonomy – Set clear goals, then give people the freedom to reach them their way.

TOOL TIP

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FUN FACT

The Moon is shrinking. But only very slightly – by about 50m (164ft) in radius over the last several hundred million years. Mysterious seismic activity, known as moonquakes, could be to blame.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.