Do carbohydrates make you feel run down? Does skipping breakfast make it hard to get your day started? Does chocolate give you a temporary rush of happiness? Experiencing mood changes shortly after eating is a result of the composition of chemicals changing in your brain. Once your brain becomes accustomed to your diet, it will begin to crave certain foods depending on your mood. Serotonin, galanin, and dopamine are some of the chemicals in the brain that react to the foods you choose to eat. Some foods you can use to safely alter your mood include: 

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Sibling rivalry can be a driving force in the lives of some children. Striving to be better than their brothers or sisters, they may earn higher grades and grow to accomplish great things. However, if taken too far, this rivalry can leave some siblings feeling inadequate, inferior, and resentful of their more successful counterparts. 

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Mood swings can destroy your life. People near you are gradually driven away; employers are not inclined to grant you raises or promotions; and the effort put into managing mood swings may be overwhelming. Although mood swings are a normal part of life for some people, they can be impossible to live with. 

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Marijuana is all over the news today in reference to legalizing it. Marijuana has often been deemed one of the safest recreational substances. This may perhaps be true considering many studies support the conclusion that cocaine, heroine, alcohol, and even cigarettes are more dangerous. In addition, the pharmacological properties of cannabis have led 36 states to permit its use as a therapeutic drug for those suffering from AIDS, chemotherapy patients, glaucoma, and other painful, debilitating illnesses. Nonetheless, there are still dangerous side effects to marijuana use.  

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Many people who suffer from depression may wonder if they are just feeling a little blue for several days, or if they are truly depressed. Depression comes in many different forms and can seriously impact the quality of a person's life. Depression colors the way we someone sees themselves and the possibilities in the world around them. Often, depression and anxiety mood disorders may go together. There is help for depression in the form of lifestyle changes, counseling and prescription medication. 

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Most people like it when they see their own traits passed on to their children, but not when it comes to a disease or disorder. Unfortunately, several studies suggest that bipolar disorder, along with many other mood disorders, is passed on through families. This appears to be true even if the child is adopted by parents who don't have the disorder. Most people who have the disorder have at least one relative with the disorder. 

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Social anxiety disorder is a mood disorder that causes you to feel nervous in social situations. Also known as social phobia, social anxiety goes beyond everyday shyness. It can make you feel as though you are constantly being judged and criticized by the people around you. The most intense fear that people with this disorder will feel is that they will do something to embarrass themselves in front of other people. 

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a treatment that is used on adults suffering from depression. Depression is a mood disorder that causes an individual to feel empty, lack energy, feel contempt for themselves, and lose interest in things that are normally pleasurable. TMS has been approved by the FDA only for adults who have already tried medication to treat their depression. 

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When your partner is unhappy, it's natural to want to help. Unfortunately, when their anxiety amounts to more than a rough day at the office, it can be challenging to do it right. Perhaps your loved one is irritable or sad, but when you try to draw them into talking about their feelings, they respond with hostility. Worse yet, many women find their efforts to be supportive met by the cold walls put up by an emotionally withdrawn partner. After repeated attempts to reach their partners fail, they give up and the partnership suffers. 

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People who suffer from prolonged stress will eventually start to experience physical and mental wear and tear. It is closely associated with increased risks for heart attack, high blood pressure, and back problems. It is also very closely linked with depression and other mood disorders. If stress is having an impact on your life, seeking counseling is strongly advised. That said, there are several things you can do to reduce the impact that stress has on your life. Here are ten of the most effective. 

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Recent research has shown that couples therapy is the most effective method of dealing with substance abuse, at least in the case of women with alcohol addiction. A recent study was conducted to test the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on women with alcoholism, and to measure the difference in effectiveness when it was combined with couples therapy. 

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