Why do you think what you think?
Why do you feel what you feel?
Why do you do what you do?
Sine Wave Syndrome (SWS), also known as Sine Wave Effect (SWE), or mood phase shift keying, is an enervating condition where one’s mood keeps changing. It can emerge from negative thinking, overthinking, living a non-structured life, or not being competent regarding what drives you.
The model above shows a few different things. One is the blue line in the center. This is the neutral point. When your feelings are at this point, you do not feel sad or happy. One will feel uttermost happy in the green, and in the red, one will feel down. We all know and experience feeling happy or sad sometimes. What makes the sine wave syndrome different is a pattern in this. Notice that between the sine waves, tiny pulses visible are. That is because the sine wave syndrome is relative to one another.
The methods and solutions for conquering the sine wave syndrome are best practices. Therefore they are being optimized every day by receiving feedback and experiences. The goal is not to feel happy every day but to decrease the depth of your ‘down phase’ and increase the length of your happy phases. Your input and personal experiences will definitely be much appreciated. Be sure to leave a commend to enlighten everyone who is reading this.
I trust the next chapter, because I know the author
The Importance of Conquering your Sine Wave Syndrome
It is important to know why we do what we do to conquer your inner Sine Wave Syndrome. In other words, there are three questions that you should answer in your life to know who one really is. As easy or ambiguous as these questions may sound, they are all, one by one, an important aspect of mindfulness and aid in the process of conquering your sine wave syndrome. Some may consider SWS as spiritual garbage, which it is not. Let’s dive into the three questions one should answer to know who you are:
Why do you think what you think?
Why do you feel what you feel?
Why do you do what you do?
Do I suffer from Sine Wave Syndrome?
The right question would be; to what extent do I suffer from SWS? The short answer is yes; everyone suffers from Sine Wave Syndrome. To answer this question correctly, there are various steps you can consider doing right now. The sine wave syndrome quick scan can measure the extent to which you suffer from SWS. It is also uttermost essential to find out what your passion is. Lastly, a massive step for one would be to be competent regarding SWS and know a few tricks on coping with it.
Just like one needs to learn to deal with their emotions. Mingyur Rinpoche, a Tibetan teacher, once stated that your mind is like an inn. Emotions are its visitors who are just passing by. You have to embrace all the emotions that come in; sadness, doubt, anxiety, envy, grief, shame, fear, and so on. It is important to embrace positive emotions as well. As cringy as it may sound, never fight against your emotions. Learn to befriend them, embrace them.
Why is Sine Wave Syndrome a problem?
It is impossible to ignore that Sine Wave Syndrome definitely affects our daily lives. Therefore it is a significant problem that is underestimated by society. Back in the day, I had a checklist containing common traits regarding the sine wave syndrome. Whenever I discovered a new aspect, I wrote it down.
While I was reading various personal development books, some of those discovered aspects were mentioned for the correct measurement. Many people in my environment were suffering from these common, identified traits.
Therefore it felt like my personal mission to share my discovered wisdom to help as many people as possible to conquer their so-called sine wave syndrome. Or at least aiding people by making them competent. Especially during the pandemic, a lot of people were feeling depressed. They got stuck in this so-called down phase.
Understanding the roots of depression
The down phase of the Sine Wave Syndrome can eventually lead to depression. It is stated that all of us will experience some form of depression eventually in our lives. There is nothing wrong with having these so-called down-phases.
You can learn and discover a lot about yourself in this phase. Be aware that this effect will fall off when being in this state or phase for too long. Therefore it is vital to have these up-phases as well as shown on the model of the sine wave syndrome. It is almost scary to know that study shows that more than half of us will suffer from depression at some point in our lives.
To be the master of yourself and your mind, you must become competent in the field of depression, one of the lowest depths of the depth phases according to Sine Wave Syndrome.
It is vital to know that depression is a brain disorder and a state of mind. For ages, it has been the leading cause of disability.
More about depression
Depression is a mood disorder that makes you feel sad and aid in the loss of interest. It affects how you think, feel, and behave. If you paid close attention to this page, the things it affects are also the three key questions one should ask oneself; why do you think what you think, why do you feel what you feel, and why do you do, or in this scenario behave, what you do. The video below may help you understand more about depression to conquer your Sine Wave Syndrome.
Best practice regarding Sine Wave Syndrome
It is essential to be competent in various aspects that can trigger your down-phase state. For instance, there are six human needs that everyone has. They are a critical factor in the happiness of your life. Not utilizing them correctly may cause the opposite effect.
The TED talk below is about ‘why we do what we do.’ Tony Robbins, an American coach, motivational speaker, and philanthropist, wants to know why you do what you do. The invisible force that drives you. Tony spent a long time finding out what makes the difference regarding the quality of people’s lives by best practices. How can you make the invisible, like dreams and passions, visible? Tony dives into this concept more in-depth in the video below.
Tony Robbins: the 6 Human Needs
Tony Robbins came up with a list of six human needs that people crave. First on the list is certainty. All human beings need to feel particular. This assurance helps you to avoid pain and allows you to gain pleasure. Secondly, uncertainty. We as humans need new motives and a change of environment by going into the unknown and searching for change. Thirdly, people crave significance. We all need to feel special, meaningful, and unique.
Fourthly, we value relationships and friendships very much, because we require a strong feeling of connection and love. Fifthly, growth.
Tony Robbins states that process equals happiness. Humans need to make improvements or else they will become bored and tired of not making any progress.
Lastly, humans show growth so they can give. Therefore contribution is an essential human need. ‘The secret of living is giving. The more you contribute and help others, the better you will feel. Having great control over these six human needs can definitely aid in conquering your sine wave syndrome. Below is a list to summarize all the six human needs:
- Certainty
- Uncertainty
- Significance
- Connection & Love
- Growth
- Contribution
The lack of daily routine; as simple as ABC
Having a particular structure or routine in your life can positively affect your sleep schedule, enhance your performance, improve how you feel in general, and boost your energy level. On the counter side is the cost of procrastination, the life is that you could have lived. It is an essential aspect of sine wave syndrome. On the other hand, not implementing a routine can evoke the opposite effect. Therefore it is essential to have a daily routine or habit in your life.
Everything in our lives is based on habits. Charles Duhigg gave a thought-provoking statement regarding this proposition; A habit always takes place in our brain in three steps, also known as the three Rs of habit formation:
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going
Reminder
that initiates or triggers the behavior (also known as cue)
Routine
The action one takes on the behavior itself
Reward
The gained benefit from doing the behavior
Daily habits are underestimated
You may wonder what habits have to do with defeating the sine wave syndrome. One should never underestimate the power of a habit. This phenomenon was confirmed for me by Stephen Duneier, an American who can’t concentrate on things for longer than five minutes but managed to achieve so many remarkable things.
Because habits create these neurological cravings, they are extremely powerful. Those behaviors are rewarded by the release of dopamine; the pleasure chemical. Those chemicals aid in us feeling happy.
Philosophy & Existentialist
For me, diving into philosophy really helped me in different aspects. Asking yourself specific questions like ‘what’ and ‘how’ about several topics can help you understand things better in general.
Reading about different perspectives on an ideology can indeed be thought-provoking. For example, Jean-Paul Sartre’s view on the world. What drove them to think like that.
By exploring philosophy, you will discover that minor problems are irrelevant. It is also essential to know different types of ethics and how they were formed. Some of them are absolutely an eye-opener and critical factors in conquering your sine wave syndrome. Mark Manson, the author of ‘The art of not giving a f*ck,’ also described this in jester.
The origin of SWS
There were always many people in my environment that experienced these so-called mood changes. One period in life, they were uttermost happy. During the other period they felt down. But those periods usually didn’t overlap with other people I thought experienced this. That’s why I started to identify common traits that they all share and named this phenomenon ‘Sine Wave Effect,’ which later changed to ‘Sine Wave Syndrome.’
I often check in on people in my close circle on how they feel on a scale from one, which signifies rock bottom, to ten, which means reaching the highest form of happiness, excluding the moment of orgasm, of course. Don’t get me wrong, but Anton Szandor LaVey and Brian Warner always were unbelievably great sources of inspiration when I was a kid.
A few years later, I started to read various self-development books, which provided me with so much energy. Therefore I learned a lot of theoretical practices. The five books that inspired me the most are the alchemist think and grow rich, rich dad, poor dad, the 4-hour workweek, and the seven habits.
For example, there are three happiness levels: pleasure, passion, and purpose, just like the ikigai states. Obviously, I had no real-life proof, but I found some methods to boost people’s given numbers. For instance, if someone said they felt like a six, I could turn that into a seven or eight with different methods, which are further explained in detail on this website.
Lastly, I truly loved diving into the words of ethics & morality, and philosophy. Different writings really made me think. One is the work of Franz Kafka. Especially ‘The Metamorphosis,’ originally named ‘Die Verwandlung.’ Things honestly sound more sophisticated ‘auf Deutsch.’ All jokes aside, Kafka’s work definitely makes you reconsider various aspects of your life. At least for me, it did.
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
How to Conquer SWS and Manifest Happiness
There are numerous ways to conquer the sine wave syndrome and manifest happiness in your life. Therefore it is essential to find out what drives you. This website has a variety of self-improvement topics that can help you find out what you genuinely love doing.
Beating the sine wave syndrome is about finding the balance in your thought. Everything in this world is in balance. One should not evade negative thinking as it is part of life. That being said, one also should not forget about the positive things either. Both should at least be in balance. Although focussing more on the good things in life tends to work better. The downside is that one will not strengthen one’s mind if one only focuses on the good stuff.
Some people are always highly positive in life but tend to get depressed if only a sprinkle of negativity enters their life. Keep in mind that all struggles and pain are relative. One kid could have as much, if not a worse, feeling of pain and sadness if he gets rejected as one who just lost their mother. If that kid suffered for a long time, it has strengthened their minds. If the other kid never had to face any of those problems, they could get depressed from even the slightest bit of negativity.
Always be aware of your thoughts because you can significantly impact your own ideas. YOU control them. According to the ‘law of attraction, you will attract everything you focus on in your life. That is based on that what you give your energy and attention to. For instance, if you stay focused on the positive and good things in your life, you will automatically attract positive and good things in your life. Keep in mind that you always have to improve yourself daily to become the best.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soulInvictus by William Ernest Henley. This simply means that you completely control your feelings and your destiny, disregarding the circumstances. You are operating the steering wheel of your own life. Therefore you can choose and alter your own destination. Thus the sine wave syndrome aids in steering your own so-called ship. This is written by the poet William Ernest Henley, born in 1849. It’s impressive to notice that there have been many self-development books around that time, and tons of people have claimed to reach the enlightenment state.
FAQ
The prevalence of Sine Wave Syndrome is difficult to estimate accurately, as it is a common experience that can affect individuals to varying degrees. However, it is safe to say that a significant portion of the population may experience mood phase shifts and fluctuations at different points in their lives.
Supporting someone with Sine Wave Syndrome involves providing empathy, understanding, and a non-judgmental environment. Encourage them to seek professional help, such as consulting a mental health professional or therapist, who can offer guidance and tools for managing mood fluctuations. Additionally, encouraging healthy lifestyle habits, such as maintaining a structured routine, engaging in self-care activities, and promoting positive thinking, can be beneficial.
Recognizing Sine Wave Syndrome starts with being aware of recurrent and significant mood shifts or fluctuations in your daily life. If you find yourself experiencing frequent changes in mood, swinging from highs to lows without a clear trigger, it may be indicative of Sine Wave Syndrome. Consulting a healthcare professional or mental health expert can help provide a proper diagnosis and guidance tailored to your specific situation.
No, Sine Wave Syndrome is not recognized as a formal medical or psychological disease or disorder. The term “Sine Wave Syndrome” appears to be a conceptual framework used to describe the pattern of mood fluctuations resembling the shape of a sine wave. It is not listed in any official diagnostic manuals such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). While individuals may experience mood swings and fluctuations, attributing it to Sine Wave Syndrome is not a medically recognized condition. If you have concerns about your mood or mental well-being, it is recommended to consult with a qualified healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate guidance.
The abbreviation ‘SWS’ stands for Sine Wave Syndrome. It refers to the enervating condition characterized by mood phase shifts and fluctuations, resulting in a pattern of emotional ups and downs similar to the shape of a sine wave.
A diagnosis of Sine Wave Syndrome is typically made by healthcare professionals or mental health experts, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, or licensed therapists. These professionals will evaluate your symptoms, conduct assessments, and consider your personal experiences to determine if Sine Wave Syndrome is a suitable diagnosis for your condition.
Sine Wave Syndrome is not limited to any specific geographical location, including America. It is a phenomenon that can affect individuals from various cultural backgrounds and regions. The experiences and prevalence of Sine Wave Syndrome can vary among different populations, but it is a common human experience that transcends national boundaries.
Anthony J. Vasquez is known for spreading awareness for Sine Wave Syndrome.
