5 Signs of Emotional Instability

Disclaimer, if you can relate to any of these signs, please do not take this feedback as an attack on your character. This article was meant to be a self-improvement guide for those of you who have been feeling a little stuck. Emotional instability is characterized by fluctuating mood, explains consultant psychiatrist Dr. Sylvia Tang. One moment you are feeling happy and energetic, the next you may suddenly suffer an unexpected decline in mood. Have you ever seen a toddler throwing a gale force temper tantrum after his stacks of building blocks fell down? Or when a teenager slams her bedroom door after an argument with her parents? It is common for toddlers and teenagers to experience such extreme feelings. In 2016, Dyer and colleagues published an article in the Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews Scientific Journal, which noted that teens have an elevated degree of emotionality, with more regular, strong and explosive emotions. This is linked to the Clinical researcher Dr. Rashmi Patel and colleagues stated that apart from mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional instability can be caused by medication, recreational drugs, low blood sugar and pregnancy. With that said, below are five signs of emotional instability. Emotional instability may cause you to experience a whirlwind of emotions. It's challenging to get off that emotional rollercoaster when you're delighted one minute and sorrowful the next. Your emotions appear uncontrolled and intense and swing back and forth for no apparent reason, known as extreme mood swing in psychology. According to an article written by Silva, published in 2019, you are generally perceived as emotionally healthy as long as your mood changes do not significantly impact your life. However, if you have significant and regular mood swings, this might indicate emotional instability. Acting impulsively. Have you been forced to move out of your house unexpectedly or end your long-term relationship in the spur of a moment without any apparent reason? In a Bustle magazine interview in 2018, psychologist and bereavement trauma specialist Sherry Cormier, PhD, explained that emotional instability often results in Eventually, most young adults improve their coping problem-solving skills and abilities to grow out of impulsive and emotionally unstable behavior. For others, however, emotional instability and impulsivity continue and worsen throughout adulthood because of traumatic events, illness, abuse or loss. Unexpected reactions. You reach home after a long commute and you can't seem to Suddenly, you feel that your panic-o-meter is off the charts. This disproportionately huge reaction to an apparently trivial circumstance is one of the signs of emotional instability. Psychologist Dr. Ashley B. Hampton told Bustle magazine in 2018 that an emotionally unstable person has unpredictable reactions to events. It could be as simple as someone laughing when encountering a distressing situation. Difficulty calming down. Consider a time you experienced For example, you and your brother were supposed to ride the school bus together, but he woke up late and now you are running late for school. You feel a sudden burst of anger and start screaming at your brother. Psychotherapist Sherry Van Dyke, in her article How to Calm Your Inner Storm, explained that emotions give us valuable information, affect our judgments and drive our behavior. When emotions occur, we attempt to control them through a process called emotion regulation. People who are emotionally unstable struggle to reach emotional equilibrium. Regulating their emotions is difficult. Trouble maintaining relationships. It may be an indication of emotional instability if someone close to you always burns bridges with family members or close friends. In a research article titled Public Health Significance of Neuroticism, psychologist Benjamin Leahy reveals that individuals with emotional instability often experience impairment in their romantic relationships. When these people become irritable, they will choose to express their irritability towards those most accessible to them, their partner or spouse. Moreover, psychologist Dr. Hampton, in a Bustle magazine article, says that emotionally unstable people may encounter problems with people from many spheres of life, including friendships and relationships with co-workers. Final thoughts. There's no doubt that we experience a wide range of emotions in life. Admittedly, there are ups and downs. Still, there's a distinction between reacting to every event in an extreme manner and experiencing a broad range of feelings. Having a wide range of emotions doesn't make someone emotionally unstable, but there are some telltale signs when someone lacks control of their feelings and may require professional assistance. Can you relate to any of these signs? Let us know in the comments. Until next time, bye friends.