Mood fluctuations are not always associated with a mental disorder. Each person normally experiences a rich spectrum of emotions that affects social functioning and often it is self-regulatory. Cyclothymia (mood instability) or dysthymia (depressed mood) are typical examples of similar mood fluctuations. Careful consideration should be given to the individual characteristics of each case in order to assess how long the fluctuations are experienced and to what extent they affect thenormal functioning.If frequent mood swings create difficulties in everyday life or social functioning, an assessment is performed to find the causes and to create new behaviors.
