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Are you having a hard time dealing with a moody friend? Here’s something you need to think about if you want to give your friendship a real chance.
With friends, it’s a different story. We need to exert some extra effort in understanding their mood swings as a show of support. By knowing the various ways to deal and address a friend’s mood swings, people can improve their friendship and even help them manage it.
1. Keep your calm and carry on
When a moody friend has constant shifts in emotional states, it can sometimes trigger a negative reaction which can be anywhere between annoyance, anger, or frustration. Letting these take over you won’t help you or your already agitated friend which is why it’s important to always practice being calm when your friend lapses into their mood swings to be able to handle the situation effectively.
2. Don’t take their sudden mood shifts personally
A friend’s mood swings should not be taken personally. For one, it will help you keep calm to effectively address their behavior later on and most importantly, your friend’s moodiness isn’t likely caused by something you did.
Keep in mind that moody people themselves sometimes don’t understand their own feelings so it’s better not to take it against them.
3. Learn to read between moods
A friend’s mood swings usually have specific triggers which you will eventually recognize the more time you spend with them.
Recognizing what these triggers are will allow you to know when to give your friend some space to process their emotions, as well as to give you training experience in calming your friend down in case the situation gets out of control.
4. Ask what’s wrong instead of telling them
The act of asking is a gesture that’s always related to empathy. If you ask a friend “what’s wrong?” you exude an image of concern and understanding compared to telling them an insensitive statement such as “what you’re feeling or doing is wrong”.
Doing the latter invalidates their feelings and makes them less likely to open up and listen to what you might have to say to them later on.
5. Learn when to give your friend some space
Some moods, especially the aggressive and violent ones are best to be given some time to dissipate instead of attempting to reason them out of your friend’s system while they’re in the moment.
On top of the risk of conflict from continuing to attempt to talk to them while in such moods, people will need a bit of a cool down period after a mood swing in order to be receptive to reasoned conversation.
