High and low moods

[Rainbow1234]

Hi all,

I have been having such a mixture of emotions for a long time and it’s getting harder to navigate. I have found I get extremely irritable at a drop of a hat and I can’t let it go, my once empathetic self is becoming lost. Once I am angry or down I can’t pull myself out of this feeling, I tend to go through really high high’s like I am happy with how everything is going and really low low’s like I’m not where I need to be and play the victim internally.

I overanalyse everything to the point it wakes me up during the night and it causes me to have less self esteem which I am worried will hold me back.

I don’t want to talk to family or friends about this as I don’t feel close enough to share and I find it hard to approach the subject with my GP . I hold myself and my actions to a high standard which I think is part of my downfall and take on everyone else’s problems which I shouldn’t.

I wouldn’t mind seeing someone or seeing what my options are but I don’t know how to move forward.

any advice would be great.

[manicmonkey]

Hey Rainbow,

I think many of the people on here will identify with your situation.

I know exactly what you mean about taking on other people's problems, I do that too.

If you have a regular GP, maybe try seeing another GP that you don't have any history with? Just try to see them as your mental health doctor. You might feel a little less anxious about opening up to them.

Have a dig around on Healthengine and Hotdoc for a local GP who lists mental health or depression in their profile. There's a "Speak to a GP or a Psychologist online" option on Healthengine too.

Good Luck.

[Just Ken]

If you haven't seen a GP about this yet, definitely go, and make sure that you mention that your moods are both high and low. Try to find a good GP. They probably won't bulk bill, but will be much better at directing you to the correct further help.

[therising]

Hi Rainbow1234

I feel for you so much as you try so hard to navigate your way through a minefield of emotion without a map.

While sensitivity is a gift in many ways, sometimes it can also feel like a curse. I've found being sensitive to the need for analysis, being sensitive to empathy and being sensitive to the need for self questioning can have both a bright side and a dark side.

Analysis provides the opportunity to process our progress and make better sense of life and our challenges in a variety of ways. Over analysing can definitely get in the way of actively living. Personally, I'm a shocker when it comes to over analysing. I can spend so much time thinking to the point where I have to employ strategies to break free from being in my head so much. It's then that I can begin getting out there to experience life without thinking getting in the way. It becomes more about feeling life, rather than thinking my way through it.

While empathy generates deep connections, unless we can find ways to vent other people's emotions we've taken on, we can be left holding onto a lot of emotion until it becomes intolerable and even exhausting or depressing. If you're a deeply empathetic person, I imagine you can easily sense when something's off with someone and/or you may be able to walk into a room and easily pick up on the vibe of the room. Not everyone has this ability. If you do have it, you need to be careful in the way you manage it, not letting it get the better of you. Googling 'Strategies for an empath' may help.

Being sensitive to self questioning is a gift that allows us to move forward in evolutionary ways. There are lots of people out there who definitely should be questioning and wondering about their own emotions and behaviour but unfortunately choose not to. I've found such people are typically closed minded. A self questioner is typically and open minded person, looking to find the best in themself. Finding the best in yourself through the highs is absolutely liberating and exciting. On the flip side we'll also find the parts in us we'll question and need to let go of. This side is packed with challenges. Harsh self judgement is often a biggy, for sure. Try trading self judgement for wonder. 'I wonder why I think the way I do' instead of 'I'm so stupid for thinking this way'. See what naturally comes to you through wonder.

Venting extreme emotion is so important. Breath it out, cry it out, talk it out. Working it out in some way becomes key.

🙂