Like most people preparing for days turning into weeks of isolation, I started the stay-at-home period with a set of goals.
I would take on all of the things I’ve always wanted to try but never had time for – yoga, cooking, binge watching classics. Four weeks in, and I was still feeling optimistic and well-settled, satisfied with the fact that I wasn’t letting the situation get to me.
Then one grey morning, I woke up to find my laptop cable not working – and emotions I didn’t know I was capable of burst forth.
I felt on top of the world one moment, and down in the dumps the next: is that normal?
Dr Vedrana Mladina, clinical psychologist and wellness counsellor at NYUAD says that it’s not just normal given current circumstances – but that we actively need to “allow for it”.
“Feelings are important indicators and mirrors of what is happening around us and inside us. In extreme situations, we tend to experience extreme feelings,” she says.
If you feel like you’ve been having bursts of irrational emotions, you aren’t alone.
Fuelled by my own outbreak, I took to posting on social media asking if any friends or family were experiencing the same. I may not be a social media star, but of the 60 plus people who responded to the poll, 96 per cent voted “yes”. That's pretty telling.
So how can people best deal with mood swings?
The first step is to understand exactly what they are. As Mladina specifies, “it is a sudden and extreme change in mood in a short period of time without an obvious trigger.”
Prateeksha Shetty, clinical psychologist at RAK hospital, names some obvious or not-so-obvious triggers that precede these incidents. “It could be worries about daily plans or living, concerns about stability or uncertainty, or anxiety over a past trauma. The shift in mood is often followed by brooding or some attempt at problem solving.”
Sound familiar? Mladina adds that mood swings are increasingly common now that people are more aware of their feelings, given the lack of distractions.
“We are also trying to manage unusual amounts of global uncertainty on a daily basis and that causes increased emotional disregulation that leads to mood swings,” she adds.
Three ways to help keep mood swings under control
Track your emotions: If you feel like your emotions are getting the best of you, the first thing to do is identify them.
“Today, there are phone applications that help you track your mood. Or, if one is more traditional, keep a thought diary for a trigger-mood-rating on a daily basis,” says Shetty. “Being more self-aware helps you become more mindful, and reflect on things that are really bothering you.”
But don't dismiss your feelings – let them pass through you and try to find your way back to the calm
Finding coping mechanisms: Every person deals with mood swings differently, so Shetty recommends finding what works best for you personally.
It could be finding a distraction, engaging in a productive activity (like cooking or exercise), reaching out to share your experiences with friends or family, or even “self-talk” to challenge irrational thoughts. “Questioning the validity or rationality of one’s thoughts can help put things into perspective,” she says.
Embracing the emotions: It is important not to berate yourself or be hard on yourself for having irrational emotions. "Notice and name the feelings, and allow them to be there," says Mladina. "Take short mindful breaks and focus on paced breathing, re-instating calm to restore emotional. But don't dismiss your feelings – let them pass through you and try to find your way back to the calm."
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Elvis
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
