A mood is more diffuse and less intense than an emotion or a feeling but longer lasting. Most typically, we don’t quite know why we’re feeling the way we are during a mood, but we are very certain when feeling an emotion. Moods also can be the aftermath of an emotion. Have you ever been annoyed at someone, couldn’t stop thinking about it, and ended up in a bad mood? Often, it doesn’t feel as though anything caused it—it’s just a state of being, but one that’s completely tied in with our emotional responses to life. “Mood disorder” is a common term nowadays, describing a psychiatric condition
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