The 5 Mood Types Part 1. What your Moods are Telling You

Written By Annika Taylor

Have you heard of amino acid therapy? I’ve been able to reduce my fatigue, stop panic attacks and gain better sleep and extra focus with amino acid therapy, and so have my clients! It’s been such a helpful tool for me and for so many people wanting to find quick relief for their moods, cravings and low energy.

In this post, I’m going to go over what the False Mood Types are and how amino acid therapy helps us address each type. You’ll get a deep-dive into each Mood Type so you can learn if your mood, focus, cravings or energy health are actually from false moods, not true emotions!

Table of Contents:

  • What is Amino Acid Therapy?

  • The 5 Main Mood Types:

    • Low Serotonin ‘Under a Dark Cloud’

    • Low Dopamine ‘Suffering from the Blahs’

    • Low GABA ‘Overwhelmed by Stress’

    • Low Endorphins ‘Too Sensitive to Life’s Pain’

    • Low Blood Sugar ‘Hypoglycemic Mood SwingsWhat your moods are telling you

False Moods or True Emotions?

The term ‘False Moods’ was coined by Julia Ross, a psychotherapist who began using nutritional therapy in her mental health counseling clinic with incredible success.

‘False Mood’s describe the way we feel when our body is lacking in vital neurotransmitters to keep our brain and body in balance. Julia Ross found her client’s tended to develop very specific sets of traits and mood types when low in any of these key neurotransmitters.

‘True Emotions’ describe how we naturally feel as our most balanced selves. These are real, genuine responses to life’s ups and downs. When the four main ‘emotion generators’ (serotonin, GABA, endorphins and catecholamines) are in good supply in the body, moods are stable and we’re able to express our true emotions.

“True grief moves us through our losses, true fear warns us of danger, true anger can defend us from abuse, and true shame can teach us to grow and change.” 1

But what happens when those neurotransmitters are depleted from toxins, trauma, chronic stress or epigenetic expressions? Well, basically- our moods suffer, sometimes astronomically. Medications may help in these cases, but what gets me excited about amino acids is: they help in actually addressing the supply issue right away!

What is Amino Acid Therapy?

Amino acid therapy is a natural and drug-free way to replenish depleted neurotransmitters with isolated amino acids in supplement form. This method has been used to end cravings and support mood health for decades.

One of Julia Ross’s studies involved 100 people who came to her clinic with significant mood problems, and were given amino acid therapy and a few nutritional changes. 98 of those people reported major improvements in their moods within 2 weeks. Most had improvement within 24-48 hours!

She developed the ‘Mood Type’ questionnaires which are used to determine which mood type (or types) you fall under. This is based on the typical traits and symptoms we’ll see in people when a neurotransmitter is too low. Neurotransmitters are hard to test accurately with lab testing, so these neurotransmitters quizzes have been used by practitioners instead, with very good outcomes.



Note: The Mood Types and nicknames for each type below are from Julia Ross’s book “The Mood Cure” . The symptoms are adapted from ‘The Mood Cure” and Trudy Scott’s book “The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution”.



The 5 Main Mood Types:

1. Low Serotonin: ‘Under a Dark Cloud’

This is the neurotransmitter most of us have heard of, as it’s commonly related to depression and anxiety. Chronic elevated cortisol can lower serotonin production. Serotonin functions as both a neurotransmitter and a hormone, and is often called the ‘feel good’ hormone. It’s responsible for regulating our mood, reducing anxiety and depression, supporting normal bowel movements and good sleep.

Low serotonin can also be responsible for PMS symptoms like anxiety and irritability before a woman’s menstrual cycle.


Symptoms of Low Serotonin:

  • anxiety/panic attacks/phobias

  • depression

  • feeling worried or fearful

  • afternoon sugar cravings

  • PMS

  • eating problems

  • irritability, anger, rage or aggression

  • excess self-criticism

  • insomnia or poor sleep

  • OCD symptoms + ruminating thoughts

  • winter blues

  • headaches/migraines

  • digestive problems

  • fibromyalgia, TMJ or pain syndromes


2. Low Dopamine/Catecholamines: ‘Suffering from the Blahs’

When you have enough catecholamines, you’ll feel energetic, upbeat, and engaged in life. Chronic stress can deplete the body of catecholamines. The main catecholamines are dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

These neurotransmitters have key roles in the fight-or-flight response and can often be too low because of low thyroid or adrenal function, low D or low omega-3’s.



Symptoms of Low Catecholamines:

  • Depression with apathy, feeling bored or flat

  • Low on energy, physical or mental. Have to push yourself to exercise

  • Needing a lot of sleep, slow to wake in the mornings

  • Craving stimulants for energy

  • Easily bored

  • Lack of focus, ADHD symptoms

  • Lack of drive and low motivation

  • Attention deficit disorder

  • Indecisiveness and procrastination

  • Craving carbs, alcohol, caffeine, stimulants like recreational drugs for energy



3. Low GABA: ‘Overwhelmed by Stress’

GABA (or Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) is one of the main neurotransmitters that calms and relaxes us. It’s called an inhibitory neurotransmitter, because it literally helps block excitatory messages from getting to the brain. When we have enough GABA, everything just feels like it’s going to be okay.

Our thoughts feel more organized, muscles more relaxed, and we can move through our day with a lot more ease. But if we have lower levels, we can feel very overwhelmed by our thoughts and experiences. Regular life circumstances may start to feel like they’re just a bit too much- because there’s no brake to keep our brain from going into full stress and panic.



Symptoms of Low GABA:

  • anxiety/panic attacks

  • feeling disorganized, often running late

  • tense, tight muscles and muscle aches

  • darting from one thing to the next

  • feeling easily irritated or frustrated

  • racing thoughts, can’t ‘turn your mind off’

  • feeling stressed, burnt-out, overwhelmed

  • stomach in knots

  • tight jaw, or clench your jaw

  • craving carbs or alcohol to calm you



4. Low Endorphins: ‘Too Sensitive to Life’s Pain’

Endorphins help reduce pain in the body and the mind. A ‘runner’s high’ is attributed to the release of endorphins from exercising. Low endorphins can be caused by prolonged stress or difficult life experiences.

Low endorphins can make us tear up easily, be more intolerant to pain and feel sad a lot for ‘no reason’. Sometimes people are just more prone to having lower levels because of their unique epigenetic expression. You might notice that you really gravitate towards certain foods to help comfort that extra pain you’re feeling, whether mental or physical- or both.

  • Sensitivity to emotional pain

  • Sensitivity to physical pain

  • Crying or tearing up easily

  • Eating to soothe your mood, or comfort eating

  • Really, REALLY loving certain foods, drugs or alcohol

  • Craving a reward or a numbing treat



5. Low Blood Sugar: ‘Hypoglycemic Mood Swings’

Low blood sugar is a very common cause of anxiety, mood swings and fatigue between meals. Your brain needs a steady supply of glucose to function normally and give you stable moods.

When blood sugar drops too low several times a week (or day!) you’ll experience many different symptoms of anxiety and fatigue. Do you:



  • Tend not to eat three nutritious meals a day, or often skipping meals

  • Tend to rely on caffeine and sweet or starchy foods

  • Generally feeling better after eating

  • Notice negative moods (and cravings for sugar or alcohol) dissipate as soon as you eat a good meal

  • Feel impatient, edgy and irritable or blow up when you skip or go too long without real meals

  • Become anxious, weepy, or depressed when you skip or go too long without real meals

  • Feel nervous, stressed, even frantic when you skip or go too long without real meals

  • Feel dizzy, shaky, or headachy when you skip or go too long without real meals

  • Trouble concentrating or making good decisions when you skip or go too long without real meals



Which Mood Types Do I Have?

Download a fillable PDF Mood Type Quiz below to see which of the Mood Types you have.

Remember, it’s okay to score high in multiple Mood Types. It’s very common! This quiz is a tool to help you get an idea of which neurotransmitters need support, and it’s the same one I use with my own clients as we’re assessing their Mood Types.

In my next blog post, I’m going to go over the different amino acids I use in my practice (and for myself) to support each Mood Type, as well as nutrition and supplement suggestions. I hope this Part One blog post was helpful and gave you validation, encouragement and insight into your own mood health!











Want to learn more about amino acid therapy?

Julia Ross’s website: https://www.juliarosscures.com/mood-type-questionnaire/

Trudy Scott’s website: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/



Further reading:

‘The Mood Cure’

‘The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution’



References:

1 Julia Ross, The Mood Cure, Chapter 1 p 4

Annika Taylor
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What’s Causing my PMS + Anxiety every month??