Moods

[wolfy]

How moody are you? I've noticed I can be quite moody. Sometimes quiet and reserved. Sometimes high on attention, needing it. A need to perform.
I'm interested in how moody everybody is. Lets talk.

 

[kuranes]

I'm not sure how moody I am. I think that I may consider myself to be doing what comes naturally most of the time. I suppose an outside observer might see it differently.

I can get extremely angry or happy about things happening, but...... would I have felt that way about them if they had happened on a different day, based purely on my own default setting ? Not sure .

I don't feel a need to rein in my reactions as much as some people do. When I read one member recently talking about how he was afraid he was letting people who picked on him ( with racial slurs etc. ) "get to him" ( mentally and/or emotionally ) I agreed with the advice of the member who replied "you are right to be concerned, and should confront them" since these bullies in question seemed unavoidable.

Although I can understand the reasoning behind the maxim "Act, don't react", I can't honestly say that my moods may or may not influence my course of "action".

 

[wolfy]

I can get extremely angry or happy about things happening, but...... would I have felt that way about them if they had happened on a different day, based purely on my own default setting ? Not sure .

Things can affect my moods. But usually my mood will just swing for no reason.
Funny thing that.

 

[kuranes]

Things can affect my moods. But usually my mood will just swing for no reason.
Funny thing that.

How do you notice the change ? I would think that the very thing that would be observing the changes would also be affected itself, causing it to compensate without measuring the fact .

 

[wolfy]

How do you notice the change ? I would think that the very thing that would be observing the changes would also be affected itself, causing it to compensate without measuring the fact .

I feel a need to come forward and perform. Like a high. Or a need to be left alone to observe. I can observe my energy and my engagement with the moment objectively.

I suppose my question is are other peoples moods stable?

 

[kuranes]

Ahhh. I go through the same thing as far as cycling through times when I want to interact or perform, and times when I want to be alone. I saw those more as changes in energy level versus changes in mood. * shrugs *

 

[wolfy]

Ahhh. I go through the same thing as far as cycling through times when I want to interact or perform, and times when I want to be alone. I saw those more as changes in energy level versus changes in mood. * shrugs *

Thinking about it I guess I equate energy levels with mood. What does mood mean to you?

 

[kuranes]

Thinking about it I guess I equate energy levels with mood. What does mood mean to you?

I associate them more with emotions.

"He was in a good mood" = "He's happy and its infectious"
"He was in a bad mood" = "He's angry or depressed etc. and may snap at you, or dismiss you for little cause"

Admittedly what others think of my "moods" may not always be in line with my own opinion. A "bad" mood ( someone pointing it out to others about me ) might just mean I'm working something out that requires concentration, and so I don't want to be distracted by others.

People will rarely acknowledge being in a "bad" mood ( except retroactively ) , and I think this is due to two reasons.
( 1. ) Connotations of the word "bad"
( 2. ) The phenomenon I mentioned earlier, that the very thing which would be observing is affected.

Oddly enough, people will often be surprised if told they "seem to be in a good mood" too, however. They usually won't go so far as to deny it, in this case, though.

It's funny, but I've noticed that whenever children are crying in a family atmosphere, the parent will invariably explain it by saying "S/he's just tired", but sometimes the crying started the instant the baby was told they were going to the bedroom for sleep. I asked my brother in law to explain this seeming contradiction once, and he said "He's just afraid he's going to be 'missing out' on something that happens while he's asleep."

I wonder how many of us are doing the adult equivalent of this with a "mood" signaling tiredness that we don't wish to acknowledge ?

Yet I believe that I can be angry or depressed without being tired. I am told I am likely an "F", though, and I make no "Mr. Spock" pretension about being objective about myself.

 

[Anja]

I have a wide and mercurial spectrum of emotion.

That's both a blessing and a curse.

When I was younger I found my feelings states to be unmanageable - both in the enjoyable and the unenjoyable range - on occasion.

I spent quite a lot of time learning about feelings and how to deal with them.

I think my range of emotion continues to be a generous one but the intensitiy has lessened. Or possibly the practice in dealing with emotions has caused less need to be acutely aware of what's happening on the feelings level.

A great deal of my affective state has to do with weather, time of day and even with what I've eaten.

And for me there is also a definite energy component related to my feelings.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

I always thought I was fairly emotional stable, but I'm beginning to realize that I just don't really show my emotions as much. In other words, I can be moody; I just don't bother other people with these unless I know them well.
And there's certain times where I'll just get really irritated all of a sudden, but that's usually when I'm also pretty stressed. So I guess how stressed out I am is a pretty good indicator of how moody I'll be.

 

[Neo Genesis]

I feel a need to come forward and perform. Like a high. Or a need to be left alone to observe. I can observe my energy and my engagement with the moment objectively.

I suppose my question is are other peoples moods stable?

How often does this occur? I typically go through a cycle as well, with the peak and the valley each lasting 2-3 days. Of course, outside stimuli certainly accelerate this pace.

 

[Bella]

I'm moody. It doesn't go outward though, like the OP mentioned. It's just an internal shift and I don't like how easily it can happen. I get bothered and irritable too quickly.
Now that I think about it, the shift usually comes because of people, it doesn't really happen when I'm alone. (unless teh interwebs doesn't want to work)

 

[Anja]

Yes, gloomy. Stress is a major trigger for me with mood fluxuatation.

It doesn't even have to be a "bad" kind of stress. Just too much input!

 

[gloomy-optimist]

Yes, gloomy. Stress is a major trigger for me with mood fluxuatation.

It doesn't even have to be a "bad" kind of stress. Just too much input!

Exactly! It's horrible too, because I like to concentrate on what I'm working on, and when I have too many priorities with no distinguished "main" priority, then stress levels go through the roof and social ability plummets. Moodiness is definitely connected to that, and I really hate it...
My sister is ENTJ, and I wish I could handle stress as well as she can :sad:

 

[ajblaise]

I don't think I'm moody, but I never really thought about it in detail. I'll get in hyper good moods sometimes I suppose, and I don't get in bad moods that often and my friends tell me I'm very optimistic. I like to think that I'm usually a few levels above "content" most of the time.

Is being quiet considered to be a moody by some people? I'll get spurts of quietness when with people sometimes, especially if I'm not interested in anything anyone is saying.

 

[Quixotic]

I too have extremely mercurial mood swings, switching from utter joy to cataclysmic misery in a second's notice without benefit of an environmental catalyst....which leaves me scratching my head in wonder half the time... It's mostly an internal warfare, so outsiders rarely see the inner roller coaster ride my emotions often take. Even those closest to me only get a sneak peak because I don't feel as though it's necessary to start whining frantically for no reason whatsoever. heh. It was harder to control my powerful emotions when I was younger, but as I'm getting older, it's much easier to keep myself in check. phew. These days, I'm feeling more stable than I have ever felt. Sure I still have my constant up and downs, I just don't let my emotions manifest outward in my behavior towards the external world. And I don't let them rule me. It's oddly liberating.

 

[Anja]

I too have extremely mercurial mood swings, switching from utter joy to cataclysmic misery in a second's notice without benefit of an environmental catalyst....which leaves me scratching my head in wonder half the time... It's mostly an internal warfare, so outsiders rarely see the inner roller coaster ride my emotions often take. Even those closest to me only get a sneak peak because I don't feel as though it's necessary to start whining frantically for no reason whatsoever. heh. It was harder to control my powerful emotions when I was younger, but as I'm getting older, it's much easier to keep myself in check. phew. These days, I'm feeling more stable than I have ever felt. Sure I still have my constant up and downs, I just don't let my emotions manifest outward in my behavior towards the external world. And I don't let them rule me. It's oddly liberating.

I'm not sure about other types, but I think it takes INFPs some time to learn how to deal with this.

Yeah. Mindfulness. The concept that a feeling does not necessitate action. That was a surprise to learn about.

 

[wolfy]

I feel a need to come forward and perform. Like a high. Or a need to be left alone to observe. I can observe my energy and my engagement with the moment objectively.

How often does this occur? I typically go through a cycle as well, with the peak and the valley each lasting 2-3 days. Of course, outside stimuli certainly accelerate this pace.

Mine last something like that too. I can't see any reason for the change. No stimuli that I can perceive.

 

[Jack Flak]

"I had a very bad dream. It lasted twenty years, seven months, and twenty-seven days."

 

[wolfy]

People will rarely acknowledge being in a "bad" mood ( except retroactively ) , and I think this is due to two reasons.
( 1. ) Connotations of the word "bad"
( 2. ) The phenomenon I mentioned earlier, that the very thing which would be observing is affected.

I would think people don't admit their bad moods because to do so would put the onus on them to take responsibility for it.
Especially in an argument if you admit to a bad mood it gives the other person leverage. Not that I would know.