View and mood and how. What is our mood and what does it depend on? Chronic mood disorders

Speaking about the mood, it is necessary to define the concept - "mental state", and whether it is a mood. E.P. Ilyin described this concept in detail in the book "Emotions and Feelings". By this term he means the following:

“In psychology, a “state” is a certain internal characteristic of the human psyche, a relatively unchanging component of the mental process over time.”

Many dictionaries define the words "mood" and "state" as synonyms.

R. Nemov defined the mood as follows:

"MOOD - the emotional state of a person associated with weakly expressed positive or negative emotions and existing for a long time."

The term "state" is used widely and in many areas. It includes: 1. "to be in some position", 2. "physical condition, or well-being", 3. "to be in a state of war."

Mental state is the sum of the experiences this moment feelings like indifference, tenderness, anxiety, confidence, uncertainty, anticipation, inspiration, confusion, impatience.

Confidence, or uncertainty, is a dynamic state when performing some kind of activity, work, or other actions. We can experience uncertainty when communicating with our beloved girl, not knowing what to talk about with her on first dates. This is a state of experiencing several negative feelings: a) anticipation of fear that they will not understand, or that the expected result will not work, b) a feeling of physical unpreparedness for work, d) fear that other people can be let down.

Confidence, on the contrary, is experienced with several feelings of pleasure when a person anticipates the successful satisfaction of his needs.

Let's analyze such a negative feeling as "anxiety".

EP. Ilyin defined it as follows: "anxiety is understood as an emotional state of acute internal tormenting empty anxiety, associated in the mind of an individual with the prediction of failure, danger, or the expectation of something important, significant for a person in conditions of uncertainty." (book "Emotions and Feelings").

As you can see, this is not a feeling, but a state of experiencing an anticipated situation. That is, a mental installation plan with a negative ending. Anxious mood.

From all that has been said, it follows that the concept of “mental state” is often equated with “mood”, giving the latter a smooth and not strong experience. If it is an affect, then it is no longer a mood, but a separate phenomenon, an emotion. Suppose that a person experiences a vague, not strong feeling of jealousy (this is a mood). As soon as he finds out about the betrayal, jealousy is expressed emotionally strongly, then, following the generally accepted logic, this no longer applies to the mood, but the “state” of affect (strong arousal) begins.

In this work, I prefer to use the term "mood", meaning the whole complex of emotional experiences at the moment. And the term itself, which has the root “mood”, is the best suited for this. In the extreme degrees of excitation, one can say that this is "a stressful mood, a mood in an affective form," or "a mood in the stage of passion."

Earlier, in the chapter on feelings, a three-level energy excitability of all feelings was proposed. Therefore, mood will mean the total experience of three groups of feelings: needs, feelings of satisfaction, negative feelings in three degrees of excitation.

Of course, the mood is mainly based on some dominant group of feelings, but there may be confusion. Therefore, there is no need to scientifically count all these states of the psyche, just as it is impossible to count all the melodies composed of seven notes. But to study the experience of a certain feeling and its influence on physiology and environment necessary.

This is the spectrum of all excited feelings. One mood can be long-term or short-term. But we must admit that physical well-being is the basis of a mental state. No wonder they ask: “How is your mood, how is your health?”. The fact is that any illness, even the smallest one, activates the negative feeling of “fear of death”, and this is the strongest negative emotion. According to its neurosignal, it can block many feelings of satisfaction. Positive emotions can only partially neutralize its potential.

What are the types of moods? There is a wide variety of them. It is not uncommon to hear the voiced idea that a person's mood changes several times a day. People are sometimes so unstable mentally that it becomes difficult for them to control themselves.

A person's mood is closely related to emotions. The more stable they are, the more confident and comfortable the person feels. What is the person's mood? We will consider this difficult question in this article.

Joy

This type of mood is characterized by elation of feelings, a sense of positivity. A person internally feels favorable, ready to solve the necessary tasks. The future does not cause him a state of fear, suspiciousness or anxiety. Being in joy, living it with his own feelings, a person freely reveals his emotions. This mood can be called complete satisfaction. A person openly communicates with others and shares with them his positive, which is literally reflected in the eyes. You can always notice from the outside that there is someone in a good mood next to you. He becomes the sun that shines and warms everything around.

Joy helps to cure many different ailments. After all, when a person is in a good mood, all kinds of diseases recede, go away under the influence of positive emotions. It depends on the personality itself, what kind of mood she has.

Sadness

This type of mood is characterized by increased emotional sensitivity. In a state of sadness, a person feels depressed, unnecessary, sometimes even rejected. If a person is “stuck” in this mood, sometimes you need to try to cheer him up, console him. In some cases, sadness can be in the nature of deep reflection, and then the person really needs to be alone. The sensitivity and delicacy of others will help to understand what the mood of their loved ones and relatives is like.

You can not try to force a person out of this state. Sadness can't last too long. It is necessary to rethink significant contradictions, internal conflicts. In the case when sadness is of a protracted nature, we can talk about the onset of depression. What is the mood of a gloomy person? Of course, depressed, he is most often unfriendly and silent.

Inspiration

This state is characterized by a sense of integrity with oneself and the world around. This mood can be called iridescent, in which various ideas easily come to mind and there is a strong desire to bring them to life. Inspiration seems to lift a person above the world, he feels bold, courageous and strong. In this state, a person is able to perform real feats, to be as useful as possible to himself and others.

How to understand that a person is in the mood of a conqueror of peaks? He smiles endlessly, feels confident and light, has positive conversations, from which you involuntarily recharge with optimism! What is the mood most often in such a person? Light, bright, sublime! It is not difficult for him to reach the sky with his hand, and it is not difficult to put a star in his palm!

Anxiety

This condition is characterized by strong internal suspiciousness, discomfort and constant fear of experiencing something negative. People in whom this type of mood prevails are most often suspicious, unfriendly, withdrawn and unsociable. It is difficult to persuade them to some meeting that is clearly not interesting to them, they do not want to make extra efforts. Needless to say, they rarely set realistic goals for themselves, and if they have them in their souls, they do not at all strive to realize them. This is because they do not believe in themselves, in the very prospect of becoming a successful person. What is their mood like? It just doesn't exist. Well, if this is a temporary phenomenon, which after a few hours is replaced by self-acceptance. But this is not always the case.

Thus, we have considered the question of what mood is. The list can be continued indefinitely. The main thing, perhaps, is not to get stuck in negative emotions, not to succumb to destructive thoughts. Don't hang out with people who are always complaining about something. On the contrary, you need to fill yourself with joy and positivity every day.

Mood is a strange thing. In our life, a lot depends on it, and often people themselves depend on their mood, reacting to certain events based on their emotional background. What is the mood of a person, and what does it depend on? What is primary? Circumstances or emotions?

What is mood

A rather ephemeral concept that cannot be felt or weighed, but it is present in a person’s life every second, it can “sick”, it can be “treated”, but this is by no means an organ. So what is it. Mood is an emotional process that lasts for a long time, and the intensity of this process is low. An even (ideally) emotional background is created, against which all mental processes proceed. The reaction to certain events, performance, etc. depends on this background.

Mood types

The answer that suggests itself is good and bad. In fact, it is, a person is either in a good mood, or not in a very benevolent mood. But these are rather generalized concepts, each of which is divided into many subspecies. And these options are so individual that it is impossible to list them all to one. Common designations that are used everywhere.

Working mood. A person is cheerful, energetic, first of all, he is emotionally open to others. He easily makes contact, he has the strength and desire to do business, sometimes even those that were shelved as unpleasant. Best friend in such a mood - a to-do list, but not too long so that the enthusiasm does not fade. A to-do list interspersed with small rewards for oneself can work wonders - a person in such conditions can move mountains.

apathetic. The events that take place around do not cause enthusiasm, everything is seen through the prism of negativity. Anxiety, fears, excessive thoughtfulness, and isolation that are not characteristic of the usual state may be added. Such a mood is unpleasant in itself both for the wearer and for others, but for the person himself it is also dangerous. A long stay in such a state of mind - from two or more weeks, can be an alarming symptom of a depressive disorder, which is extremely difficult to get rid of on your own.

Irritable mood. The name speaks for itself - in this state, those events that would previously have caused joy, cause only outbursts of irritation. Plus, anger, aggression, disgust, contempt can be added to this not the most pleasant emotion - in a word, the whole range of negative emotions.

Exactly neutral mood. Gray stability, without bright emotions, calmness and a neutral, slightly phlegmatic attitude to everything that happens. Strength, both physical and emotional, is not enough for something more energetic, but enough to maintain an even rhythm of life. Person, for a long time one who is in such a state can slide into an apathetic state - precisely because there are not enough vivid emotions, he does not receive them in time, and therefore suffers.

What determines the mood

We must not forget that a lot of processes take place in our body, cunning nature which are quite difficult to catch. However, everyone knows that a person's emotional background can depend on the health of the endocrine system and the balance of neurotransmitters. These are hormones that are synthesized from amino acids, and on the amount of which the mental and emotional health of a person largely depends.

Serious disturbances in the balance between these substances, failures in complex chemical processes lead to diseases and mental disorders. In no case should this be allowed, and if necessary, you need to seek help from specialists who will prescribe the correct treatment.

How to help your mood

If you are determined not to be led by circumstances that will bring anyone to the handle, help your body "work out" the right mood for you! Sports and proper nutrition are recommended from everywhere for a reason - the times when decadence was in vogue and depression were treated with heroin have passed (of course, there are some unique ones, but you don’t have to look up to them).

Now the most common way to achieve emotional balance is yoga. Ancient Indian practices really work and help to find inner harmony, set thinking in a certain positive way, and have a beneficial effect on physical form.

You can relieve stress with the help of strength sports - where aggression can be "drained" on a pear.

Classes in the water - aqua aerobics, swimming - a great option, since negative emotions have long been "washed away" with water, best of all, running water.

In addition to sports, regular exposure to the fresh air and seasonal intake of balanced vitamin complexes will benefit not only your mood, but also your health and overall appearance.

Video materials for clarity

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If the mood changes very abruptly or does not change for a long time, this may indicate that a person has mental illness.

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What is it: definition

Mood- an emotionally colored process that can persist for a long time.

Has a moderate severity (that is, truly acute experiences do not have a long duration).

Mood can significantly influence a person's behavior, his vision of the world, decisions. The longest emotional process from all existing ones.

Mood can be influenced by a wide variety of factors, including:

• state of somatic health(endocrine pathologies, tumor processes in the brain, natural hormonal fluctuations affect mood; if a person experiences pain, discomfort, his mood will be more likely to be negative);
• state of mental health(each mental illness can affect mood: for example, when it will be predominantly depressed, with a manic syndrome it will be inadequately elevated, with bipolar disorder it will adjust to the current phase, manic or depressive);
• well past events, conditions(the attitude of others, relatives, status, level of earnings, features of work, the presence / absence of recent negative events, and so on);
• medicines, alcohol, drugs.

Phrases and definitions associated with the word “mood” have become firmly established in the language.

For example, the expression "man of mood" means a fickle person who must be trusted with care.

Also, this expression can be used to refer to a person whose mood can change from any little thing.

Species and types

Since mood refers to emotional processes, it is directly related to emotions, so the names of mood types intersect with the names of emotions.

The main types of mood:

If a person has mental illness, emotional range shrinks.

But this does not mean that a mentally ill person can have only one mood.

Usually mood swings happen, but not like people do. with a healthy mind.

One mood becomes the leading one, and a person regularly returns to it, because of which he gets the impression that he is constantly in this mood.

What is its background like?

Also, the mood has a background, which is divided into:

1. Reduced. It includes all kinds of moods that can be classified as low: sad mood, depressed, irritable, apathetic, and so on. The expression "low mood background" is often used in special literature: in materials about mental disorders, since a long-term low mood background indicates the presence of a mental illness.
2. Elevated. Includes types of mood related to elevated: joyful, happy, upbeat, inspired, interested, romantic and others.

   As in the case of a low background, a long-term (more than two weeks) elevated mood background can be a sign of mental (and sometimes somatic) diseases.

The mood can be:

If a person has a depressed or, conversely, inadequately elevated mood for more than two weeks, he it is important to go to the hospital.

Scale

Ron Hubbard is the founder of the tone scale, which is directly related to the topic of mood and emotions in general.

Each person has mood swings, but by observing him and noting his emotional state on the tone scale for a long time, you can understand what mood is constant, basic for him.

R. Hubbard proposed an extensive list of states, each of which has its own score. If a person, according to the results of the study, is below the 2.0 mark, he is called low-tone, if higher - high-tone.

If positive events have occurred in a person's life, he goes up the scale, if negative - down.

The higher a person is on the scale, the easier it is for him to achieve high results in life.

List of emotions with points:

This scale helps to better understand yourself and others, to find an approach to them.:

1. Changes in attitude towards the emotions of others: if a person is angry and behaves inappropriately, you will remember that this is a problem with his tone. If you can find out what tone a person has, it will be more convenient to conduct a dialogue with him: you just need to choose exactly the same tone or a slightly higher one.
2. It will be easier to evaluate people, which can get into a close circle. For example, if the prevailing tone for a person is anger or, it will be difficult to communicate with him.
3. If a person is in too low a position, attempts to influence him from a very high side will be useless. So, for example, there is little point in trying to inspire a person who is in a state of apathy.
4. How closer man to you on a scale, the easier it is to find an approach to it and start a close relationship.

A person, according to this theory, seems to “step” from tone to tone, and in order to get inspired from joy, you will need to feel the enthusiasm and sense of beauty.

But it is important to remember that this scale was created by a person who has nothing to do with psychology. Most psychologists do not consider it and do not consider it significant.

That was easier to work with scale, periodically you can note your own state or make notes about the state of someone else, so that in the end you can understand the prevailing tone and find an approach.

How important?

Is it true that a positive mood is the key to attracting happiness?

Here it makes sense to recall the famous full-length cartoon "Inside Out", in which it was perfectly shown why sadness is no less important than joy.

Every mood is important for something: helps to find mutual language with people experiencing similar sensations, develops empathy, gives a sense of the diversity of life.

After all, every person has ever felt a light sadness during cloudy weather and felt at that moment something very similar to happiness.

Positive emotions are definitely important. But trying to contain the negative is extremely dangerous for mental health.

Need to find ways eliminate negative mood only in those cases when it lasts a long time and seriously interferes with life.

A harmoniously upbeat or neutral mood is the key to happiness and stability. But it's impossible to be happy all the time: Happiness is a hormonally determined state that lasts a limited time.

Therefore, it is important to be able to manage mood and maintain motivation so that life is interesting.

What is mood? Learn about this itz video:

“I’m in a bad mood,” we say when everything around becomes gray and dull and any business is not a joy. And in a good mood, we are ready to embrace the whole world, move mountains, and as if wings grow behind our backs. What is mood? Is it possible to learn how to manage this emotional state so that the bright colors of life never fade?

The emotional sphere of a person is represented by various types of experiences. They differ in duration, strength, connection with a certain sphere of life. For example, feelings are always objective, that is, they are directed to a specific object. You can't just love and hate. But emotions are situational and are conditioned not by the attitude to the subject, but by the situation, that is, by a certain set of circumstances. The strongest, but short-term emotional states are, and the most stable ones are.

In the system of emotional experiences, mood occupies a special place, since it colors the whole, all of his worldview and affects the assessment of the environment.

Mood in psychology is defined as the general emotional state of a person that is not associated with a specific subject or situation. More precisely, our mood can change under the influence of some circumstance or event. But this is only a push, an external stimulus. The object that spoiled our mood has long disappeared from our field of vision, but the bad mood remains and will poison the life of us and our loved ones for a long time to come.

There are 3 main features that distinguish mood from other emotional states:

1. Mood is not subjective, but personal. Its characteristics and stability are more dependent on the person himself, his physical condition, experience, worldview, etc.
2. Mood is a generalized emotional state that is not associated with any situation. It manifests itself in all areas of life and affects both our communication and professional activity, and in relation to reality in general.
3. The mood is varied and multifaceted. This is a complex alloy, a kind of mix of emotional experiences. It can be difficult to diagnose and describe even to the individual himself. The mood is ambiguous, it can combine both positive and negative emotions, joy and sadness, peace and impatience, irritation and pleasure.

The well-known Russian psychologist S. L. Rubinshtein, emphasizing the uncertainty of mood, called it "vague" and "iridescent and diverse."

Mood Shaping Factors

The mood arises and changes often, regardless of the desire and the person. Of course, we can tune in and try to create the right mood for ourselves. But this does not always work out, and some insignificant event can bring all our efforts to naught in a single moment. In addition, a person is not always even aware of the reasons for the formation of this emotional experience. And mood is influenced by several factors of different nature at once.

organic wellness

This is the general tone of the body associated with the activity of various physiological systems, primarily hormonal, nervous, autonomic, cardiovascular. Changes in hormonal levels are one of the common causes of mood swings, and heart disease can cause feelings of unaccountable and anxiety.

Equally important is the state of the physiology of higher nervous activity. – nerve cells of the brain are entire factories for the production of various protein compounds, many of which affect the emotional background. For example, serotonin is known as the "hormone Have a good mood”, and the higher the level of this compound in the cerebral cortex, the more positive a person feels. The high emotional tone is also affected by the content of another protein - dopamine. Its excess causes a feeling of euphoria, and its deficiency leads to a deterioration in mood and apathy.

However, the organic sensory background is not decisive, it plays a key role only in obvious pathologies, in mental or physical illnesses.

External factors

The objects, situations, circumstances that affect us are the main factors in the formation of mood. However, their influence is quite complex, since many different objects, circumstances, and events act on us simultaneously. In addition, this impact can not always be unambiguously assessed as positive, negative or neutral.

The influence of external factors is very diverse and often gives rise to ambiguous moods. For example, when a child begins to go to kindergarten, parents experience a real "bouquet" of feelings. This is both relief (finally time will be freed up for household chores), and anxiety (How will he be alone there? How will he get used to it? more disciplined, learn to order), etc.

Any, even a relatively insignificant external event can affect our mood, but it is simply impossible to predict in advance how. So, the bright sun in the morning can color the whole day with positive. Or maybe not to color if another event, for example, coffee spilled on clothes, spoils the mood.

The experience to which you are predisposed will dominate in shaping the mood. Remember the donkey Eeyore from the cartoon Winnie the Pooh. Nothing seemed to change his gloomy mood, simply because he was predisposed to it from the very beginning and was used to expecting negativity.

It is not for nothing that the mood is called a generalized experience, it develops under the influence of various factors, but largely depends on the individual characteristics of a person.

Individual psychological characteristics

Since the mood is personal in nature, it is closely related to the person and the characteristics of his mental processes.

• Easily excitable people with choleric features are prone to frequent mood swings. Their emotional experiences are bright, strong, but unstable.
• Phlegmatic people, on the contrary, retain a certain emotional mood for a long time, but their experiences are calmer, smoother, and their mood is often closer to neutral, without pronounced positive and negative shades. They simply do not understand why choleric people are so excited and worried.
• Melancholics usually have low emotional tone, but are incapable of strong vivid emotions. Therefore, people with traits of this temperament are often in a melancholic mood, in a state of slight sadness and unaccountable longing. Even a minor event that phlegmatic and sanguine people will not notice at all can spoil the mood of a melancholic. Although it is usually not very good.
• It is best to study the nature of mood and understand its influence on the life and behavior of a person using the example of people with pronounced traits of sanguine temperament. Their mood is quite bright and clearly expressed and at the same time relatively stable. It is connected mainly with external factors. Sanguine people are able to experience strong feelings, but are not inclined to get upset or rejoice over trifles. These are energetic, active people, self-confident and able to control their mood.

Personal experience

Our reaction to this or that event is connected not only specifically with this event, but also depends on personal experience, from those associations that arise in the brain under the influence of various situations. These associations play an important role in shaping mood. Moreover, they, or rather the memories stored in the memory, make the mood stable and can maintain it for a long time.

Thus, the sounded melody evokes a memory of a past event and awakens the feelings that we experienced then. These feelings are mixed with a real assessment of the event, its rethinking, and a unique and very complex mood is created, in which tenderness, and slight sadness, and the bitterness of loss, and nostalgia, a bright feeling of returning to the moment when we were happy are intertwined.

Due to the individuality and uniqueness of personal experience, the same event in different people can give rise to completely different moods. For example, someone on September 1 evokes a feeling of nostalgia, regret about the past youth and bright, joyful memories of fun days, friends and childhood pranks. And for some, associations with the beginning of the school year are completely unhappy and are associated with memories of boring lessons, hated homework, strict teachers and constant fear of punishment for a bad grade.

Associations arise spontaneously, often completely uncontrollably, and sometimes their source is completely in the subconscious, which a person does not control. Therefore, often even a seemingly neutral event can leave an unpleasant aftertaste and spoil our mood. Or vice versa, to color our day with the warm light of quiet joy.

Mood types

Since this or that mood is always present in our life and paints it with a variety of colors, create a clear classification different types this emotional state is quite difficult.

Most often they follow the simplest path and distinguish 3 types of mood:

• positive;
• negative;
• neutral.

This is the most simple, but very fuzzy classification. And the point here is not only that the level of positive or negative in our emotional state can be different, but also that the mood is often mixed. For example, meeting with an old friend can create a kind of emotional mix:

• joy from the meeting;
• annoyance that it happened at the wrong time or you didn’t behave the way you should;
• disappointment that, it turns out, you have nothing to talk about, and your interests now do not coincide;
• sadness because of the transience of time;
• hope that the next meeting will be more successful.

This meeting created a certain and rather bright mood, but to what type can it be attributed?

There is another classification of mood types according to the degree of emotional activity and the relationship of mood with human activity. In this case, there are several types:

• Contemplative - a calm mood with a slightly increased emotional tone, but low activity. This is a mood of expectation, when a person can afford to simply observe the course of life, but does not seek to participate in it.
• Inspired - the mood of active activity. He is characterized by a high emotional tone, and a positive attitude is complemented by purposefulness and faith in success.
• Annoyed - a mood in which negative feelings and low activity are combined with increased emotionality. Negative attitude extends to almost everything with which a person interacts, including inanimate things. Often this mood is colored by feelings of resentment or guilt, anger or confusion, that is, those emotional states that knock a person out of their usual life rut.
• Good-natured - generally positive, but passive mood. The emotional tone is increased, but the activity is average. This mood is close to contemplative, but more socially oriented.
• The melancholy mood is characterized by low emotional tone and passivity, it is characterized by feelings of sadness, unaccountable longing and aversion to any kind of activity.
• The mood of apathy is also characterized by an extremely low level of activity and a reduced emotional tone. But negative feelings are not pronounced here, so subjectively such a mood is often assessed as neutral. Only sometimes a person has a feeling of anxiety due to the fact that he does not want to do anything. Quite often, the mood of apathy is associated with fatigue, the consequences of overexcitation or.

Sometimes they are classified as types of mood, but this is not true. If we are talking really about a depressive state, and not about simple melancholy, then here we are dealing with a disease, a pathology that requires treatment by a specialist - a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, depending on the degree of its development.

However, any classification of mood is limited and to some extent flawed. This emotional state is so diverse, iridescent and often contradictory that it is impossible to clearly distinguish its types.

Can a person control his mood? Undoubtedly. After all, this emotional state is personal, that is, it primarily depends on the person himself. Moreover, each of us has our own proven ways to increase emotional tone: someone goes in for sports, someone listens to music or reads books, leaving in a fictional world; someone communicates with friends or their pets. An excellent way to improve mood is in any of its manifestations. Therefore, do not be discouraged, create a positive mood for yourself.