Mental Health Unreasonable irritability

[D n A]

Normally I am a pretty happy person, but occasionally I will get stressed out/upset over something very minimal and then overreact to the point where I feel out of control. Once I've calmed down, I feel guilty and stupid for behaving the way that I did and can't understand why I reacted as such, especially when it comes to getting angry at close friends/family.

Within the past two weeks I've had 2-3 of these 'episodes.' One was at my boyfriend, who has experienced my outbursts a few times in the past before, and he was rather concerned and confused with my reaction. Another was at work, where I gave unnecessary attitude to my manager, who ended up pulling me aside to speak about how I need to calm down when I become stressed. And the third one was today- I became frustrated about something silly and had a child-like temper tantrum about it, smacking myself in the face and calling myself an idiot.

This doesn't seem right to me, especially when I sit down and wonder if I am going crazy. I get irritable too easily and I'm afraid of how it might affect my relationship with my partner, and my job- both now and in the future. My job has been a little more stressful this past month and I think that is adding to the pressure.

Background information about myself:
- I was diagnosed with ADHD at 10 but didn't start taking medication until I was 15. I quit taking the medication at 18 and now believe that I may have just been diagnosed wrongly, although I do know that occasional irritability may be a symptom.
- My aunt on my mother's side has bipolar disorder; and my grandma's cousin (on my dad's side) suffers from schizophrenia.

These episodes probably happen about once or twice a month normally, I'm wondering if I might be suffering from some other mental disorder, or if there are some ways that I can possibly calm myself down or prevent these episodes from occurring.

 

[neversickanymore]

Hey D n A.. so here is a thought.. you may be internalizing your emotions..

Day 1 boss talks to you in a minor you feel is inappropriate so you are irritated but say nothing
day 2 you feel the boss nit picking your work you feel a little pissed but do nothing
day 7 your boss tells you to do a hard lamn project while all your coworkers get to work on a fun slack easy one, you think this is BS but say nothing
day 11 your boss says no to an important time off request and gives you no reason.. you are devastated but do nothing
day 16 your boss makes fun of your shirt in front of coworkers you initially feel embarrassed but this changes to anger an hour later, you say nothing
day 17 the boss, jerkoff that they are, has you clean up a mess they made while you are already really busy.. your loose it, but say nothing.

day 18 that boss asks you a question about a project you did, you go absolutely insane and not only give that boss a piece of your mind but a piece of any mind you can find
day 19 you wonder why you went off on that boss for asking you a simple question

The reason this happens is that emotions need to be released and if you don't release them in a good way they will find away to get out on their own, emotions getting out on their own are uncontrolled, uncontrolled emotions are dangerous.. a good way to make sure emotions don't pile up is to deal with them as they come.. if someone does something that cause a negative emotion you should try speaking to them rite at that instant in a cool appropriate way.. get thing off your chest as soon as they land and they will never fester and blow.. hope this helps

 

[RobotRipping]

my girlfriend has the same issue; was recently diagnosed with ADHD and noticed that dexedrine decreases the instances of these episodes. Part of it is definitely psychological and embedded in your thinking so something like cognitive behavioral therapy seems particularly well suited to help with this issue.

you can't prevent the real life situations that happen, but you can have control over your reaction to it. That is the only thing you have control over in fact. Harnessing that control is difficult but try to recognize the pattern to these episodes and stop it in its tracks next time by taking a step back and thinking about it reasonably, or talk it out with someone you trust.

it sounds like you have anxiety and racing thoughts, for people with adhd, the medications will filter all these thoughts out so you can calm down. If that doesn't work then you may have an anxiety disorder that can probably be worked out through therapy.

 

[neversickanymore]

really good advice robot

 

[Pretty_Diamonds]

BREATHE! Deep breaths.

Count down from 10, slowly.

Remove yourself from whatever situation to get fresh air and calm yourself down.

When you feel yourself heating up, recognize this, breathe, remove yourself, count down from 10.

 

[D n A]

Hey D n A.. so here is a thought.. you may be internalizing your emotions..

Day 1 boss talks to you in a minor you feel is inappropriate so you are irritated but say nothing
day 2 you feel the boss nit picking your work you feel a little pissed but do nothing
day 7 your boss tells you to do a hard lamn project while all your coworkers get to work on a fun slack easy one, you think this is BS but say nothing
day 11 your boss says no to an important time off request and gives you no reason.. you are devastated but do nothing
day 16 your boss makes fun of your shirt in front of coworkers you initially feel embarrassed but this changes to anger an hour later, you say nothing
day 17 the boss, jerkoff that they are, has you clean up a mess they made while you are already really busy.. your loose it, but say nothing.

day 18 that boss asks you a question about a project you did, you go absolutely insane and not only give that boss a piece of your mind but a piece of any mind you can find
day 19 you wonder why you went off on that boss for asking you a simple question

The reason this happens is that emotions need to be released and if you don't release them in a good way they will find away to get out on their own, emotions getting out on their own are uncontrolled, uncontrolled emotions are dangerous.. a good way to make sure emotions don't pile up is to deal with them as they come.. if someone does something that cause a negative emotion you should try speaking to them rite at that instant in a cool appropriate way.. get thing off your chest as soon as they land and they will never fester and blow.. hope this helps

Thank you, this is exactly what has been going on and I finally had a meeting with a coworker & assistant manager regarding some problems with a manager at the restaurant I work at. It has been concluded with the owners that if the problem manager doesn't improve within the next month or two, she may be let go. There were some other issues that were also addressed and it made me feel so much better getting it all off of my chest. It's difficult to stand up for yourself and speak up when there is a problem with someone who is higher up than you, but luckily the owners and the rest of my colleagues are on my side and I feel much more comfortable.

I think that a stressful working environment is the main reason for my outbursts. They have only been occurring more frequently since I starting working at the other location where the problem manager resides.

In the future I will remember to address issues as they occur so that I may handle them better. Excellent advice, I appreciate it

 

[kaywholed]

Stress is a normal and healthy human condition.

I manage it three ways.

1) Mitigate it before it becomes and issue. Let my friends and coworkers know what stress me and avoid it.
2) Learn to manage being stressed. Find routines or mental games to manage stress.
3) Know when and where to blow off steam. Take a break if you need to. 2 minutes alone can change everything. Do something you love before and/or after stressful situations.

On top of that I try to stay active and eat properly to maintain a stable healthy mind&body. Yoga and good food has made a world of difference for me.