“I feel disconnected like I am drowning beneath the surface and can’t breathe,” concedes a SAIT student who suffers from anxiety.
Almost everyone has been there. It isn’t unusual to let stress take over when emotions are running high, (Jane – not her real name) explains.
When her stress levels are high, Jane says that she “tends to shut down,” it causes her life to become a “chore” and Jane finds it difficult to cope.
“I don’t usually share this with people, but since you said this is confidential – I was diagnosed with bipolar a few years ago and it’s like I go from zero to sixty, you know,” another person divulges in private.
Bipolar disorder, in layman’s terms, is a disorder in which an individual fluctuates between two emotional extremes – depression, or extreme sadness, and euphoria, which is the technical term for extreme happiness.
Bipolar disorder often can feel like being on an “emotional rollercoaster.”
She explains that one minute she feels “hot” and the next she feels “cold” for “no good reason.”
People with bipolar disorder tend to be impulsive and need to be formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist in order to receive treatment.
“I don’t like the word bipolar. It makes it feel like something is wrong with me, when actually it feels like a part of me, it is who I am.”
Most people who suffer from psychological disorders implied or stated that they felt like their disorders or emotions are a sign of weakness.
“Sometimes, I get super – angry and I get explosive, and I say and do things I don’t mean. I don’t even need a reason I’m always angry,” stated (John – not his real name), a young adolescent male.
For some people who don’t have a formal diagnosis, at times they can feels “overwhelmed” by emotions.
He explains that his “rage bubbles” and he feels as though the world is all “red,” and “it makes” his “blood boil” because he gets “pissed off.”
Another young man says that although he “doesn’t show it,” he feels emotions as well, but he just doesn’t know how to express them.
“I do feel emotions – sadness, happiness, and all the other things, I guess I just don’t feel them that strongly,” he stated in a voice devoid of emotions.
“Every once in a while, I get really depressed and it is hard to deal with because it comes and goes and I don’t know. It’s complicated I guess,” a young woman confides.
Throughout our lives we each experience depression from time to time. For some the feeling lingers longer than others, but the feeling is over all the same.
“School gets overwhelming. Work gets overwhelming. Life gets overwhelming. I just wish that I didn’t have to exist for a while, so I can just curl up into a ball in my bed with a book or something and leave reality behind for a bit.”
“If you find yourself struggling there are resources that can help you,” experts advise to seek help from a professional.
Although everyone experiences emotions, not everyone feels exactly the same, and not all emotional outbursts are mental health disorders, they add.
Disorders are persisting conditions that affect other faucets of life. Even then, they say try not to put labels on yourself or others that often allows for more problems to arise.
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