“My mood just crashed out of nowhere!”

Has this ever happened to you?

Imagine your day is going perfectly.

You have your morning juice, work is fine, you have a nice lunch with colleagues, your boss goes home early, (and so do you)… Dinner tastes great. Life seems fine.

Then – BAM!

You sit on the couch and suddenly feel completely and utterly depressed.

Your mood is ruined out of nowhere.

You have no energy or interest to watch a movie, talk to friends, or even scroll through social media.

You can’t put your finger on what’s wrong. But there is a persistent feel of emptiness, that came out of nowhere.

Naturally, you start wondering: “Where is this coming from? Why do I suddenly feel like this?”

Here’s the thing:

If you know what causes such drops in your mood, you can spot the pattern – and stop it before it spirals.

When depression hits suddenly, we become low, indifferent to activities we usually like and unmotivated to socialise. We might even snap at family and friends for absolutely no reason.

We find it difficult to focus, and get lost in “brain fog”.

And once your mood dips, it invites opportunities for you to feel even worse.

But the good news is, in most cases, it’s not you. It’s just a combination of external factors, (subtle triggers you don’t notice), that can throw your mood off balance.

The Snowball Effect

What am I talking about here?

Let me walk you through a very familiar scenario.

I want you to remember a random evening when you got slightly bored.

You started mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram. Oh wait…, was that your friend in the Maldives? Okay, now you’re not only bored, but also annoyed.

But you know how these things work, right? You didn’t stop scrolling.

You started examining all the pictures of the said “friend” and noticed that last month they had been in Northern Europe with their SO. And last year? Japan.

Oh, and was that a brand-new car in the background??

Now you’re jealous.

“Why is life so unfair? I’m sitting here watching Naked and Afraid while everyone else is living the dream!”

Now you get the stupidest idea to check on how your ex is doing. What, they already have someone new?? It’s been only three months since the breakup!

Okay, now you’re depressed.

You put on a sad playlist and pour yourself a drink. Or a couple of drinks. You stay up too late, toss and turn all night.

The next morning you stroll yourself to work, because you’re tired and your head pulsates like a Christmas piñata. Your work week starts horrendously.

(And so on, and so on).

The above scenario sounds funny, but is actually a pretty common one, many people found themselves in.

Do you see now why you should catch yourself immediately, before your mood spirals like this?

Sudden Depression Is Usually Due to External Factors

Let’s circle back to your day that suddenly felt ruined.

A low mood is rarely “out of nowhere”. Something triggered it – you just didn’t consciously register it.

Let’s examine some scenarios that may have happened:

1. Did someone today bring you bad news regarding someone you know?
2. Did someone today disrespect you, and you didn’t stand up for yourself?
3. Are you still recovering from a breakup?
4. Did you recently quit smoking/drinking/another bad habit?
5. Do you have a lot on your To-do’ list?
6. Are the holidays coming soon?
7. Did you get enough sleep last night? Did you eat well today?

If you heard bad news today – hearing about something tragic, (e.g. a colleague’s child got in a car accident), can get stuck in your head, even if you consciously forget about it.

Psychology says that the effect of hearing that something bad happened to someone (even if it’s on the news), can trigger a trauma response. If you are very sensitive, you might even get depressed by such bad news, even if they have nothing to do with you and, you can’t do anything about it.

If someone offended you today, yelled at you or brought you down and you didn’t confront that person, the act of disrespect can get stuck in your head as unfinished business.

Even if the offence is “minor”, you might think about it later when the sting comes back. This is one way “sudden depression” sneaks in. To avoid such negative feelings out of nowhere, learn assertive skills.

A breakup can leave us devastated for months, and sometimes even years. If you recently broke up with someone and you haven’t gotten over them yet, know that healing isn’t linear. You will have good days and bad days.

You may just have had a “good day” where you haven’t thought about your ex at all, but suddenly you hear a song or someone drops a comment. You get reminded of your good times and then…the pain is right back.

If you’re still recovering from a breakup, know that even if you already feel better, it will take some time to fully heal. You can also check out the breakup section for more useful articles, and get the book How to get over your ex in 30 days.

If you recently dropped a bad habit such as smoking, drinking, or using substances, naturally, your mood will be fluctuating for a while. Abstinence can be so powerful, it causes changes in the brain. Withdrawal affects dopamine, the brain’s “reward” chemical, making you feel low.

Don’t worry, it won’t last forever – you just need to be persistent.

After a few months, your hormones will balance themselves out and you will feel happier and healthier than ever. If you’re dealing with addictions, check out this section.

If you have a lot of tasks to do, you can easily get overwhelmed. And that can mask itself as depression. I have one proven method that you can use right now: write down everything on your to-do on a sheet of paper.

You can also write down every single thing that’s bothering you like:

“I’m worried my cat will get sick if I leave it in a cat hotel”.

Then, cross them off one by one.

Replace broken bulbs in the bathroom? Check; Repair a broken suitcase wheel? Check; Book a dentist appointment? Check. Cat in a hotel? Well, is there any other way if you MUST travel? If not – Check.

Putting everything on a list empties your head and you get a little dopamine kick with each checkmark. Neat, isn’t it?

If it’s December and Christmas holidays are knocking on your door, your dread may be more normal than you think.

Some people get very anxious by the anticipation Christmas and family gatherings. Many don’t like the holidays and even hate them with passion. If this sounds like you, check out How to avoid the stress of Christmas holidays.

Very often, what you think of as “sudden depression” is your body’s stress response to being hungry or tired.

With lack of sleep and eating sweets and junk food, your cortisol (the stress hormone) levels rise and you get grumpy and annoyed.

This is related to the so called brain – gut connection.

Just as stress can cause you to lose your appetite, research shows that an imbalance in the gut microbiota can also affect brain function and mental health. (Check out the ultimate food diet for battling anxiety.)

Last but Not Least: When It’s About You

There’s one powerful reason why you may suddenly feel depressed. And this time, it has everything to do with you.

You get randomly depressed when you don’t live the life you truly want.

If you have dreams and visions that you keep ignoring…, but instead:

• live your life on auto-pilot,
• do the same boring 9-5 job,
• get home, eat, watch TV, sleep, repeat, and
• you don’t have something to inspire you,

you will only get so far by distracting yourself before depression hits you.

This is why, in moments when you don’t have anything to do, you will realise you feel unfulfilled.

If deep down you know you want a different life, don’t ignore it. Read this article: How to achieve all your dreams.

Don’t worry if you currently feel stuck in a work routine that feels like prison. I have a radical solution for you.

Did this help?

Also see:

What to do when nothing’s working out

Why are you constantly dissatisfied?

How screen time is ruining your mood

TheThinkAbout is a website based on psychology in practice and experience.

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