Do you have emotional spells at times?

[Greatshield17]

Today I had this sort of spell of anger where, I just couldn’t get my mind off of the angry thoughts I kept having until it subsided in the afternoon. I don’t think it was as intense as the anger I had in the past, but I couldn’t get out of it it just kept going. I am much better now but, I’m kind of confused and bothered by how it took over and just kept going like that.

Has anyone else ever had spells like that? Not just anger but, depression and the like? (I hoped I described well what I was doing through with this)

 

[Booknerd515]

I have emotional spells too. My family knows I can get irritated and moody at times.

I have never been diagnosed with any sort of anger condition, but sometimes I feel anger when I can't sleep and I can't take my mind off of it. The same thing happens to me if I read a bad book or experience something I really don't like. At first I thought it was just how frustration was typically portrayed. I don't feel anger very often, only sometimes, and it can be very intense.

As for depression, I have a constant level of sadness. But there will be times when my sadness gets worse, and I'll go through a rough stage of it, and then it may take a few hours until it will lessen. However when that happens it normally means that my depression is the worst it can get and either my family members will keep watch on me or one of my system members will be active to make sure nothing happens to myself (more recently).

 

[_eri_bellehumeur]

Yes, I experience this a lot. I forget exactly where I read this (likely an autism social media page), but it was basically saying that autistic people can really struggle with letting things go, and that this is related to the need for sameness, and repetitive patterns of behaviour. In the same way that changing routines can be very difficult, changing thought patterns is difficult, so getting out of a bad mood when you're repeating to yourself over and over all of the things that are upsetting you, replaying events, or negative self talk over and over...it's a lot.

For me, seeing it as a product of my autism has helped in that I no longer feel bad about feeling bad. I can accept that this is because of how my brain is wired, and this actually gives me more power over it, because now I have more self acceptance, and can move on from that state. I think humans focus more on negative emotions as we are taught that we shouldn't feel them at all, but they are a part of life, and if approached holistically can help us see where we feel weak, and disempowered. When we can recognize these insecurities we can work on them and become more balanced.

 

[Wolfsage]

Recently had a really nasty episode with that emotion. Emotions are still off from it.

 

[WolfSpirit]

Today I had this sort of spell of anger where, I just couldn’t get my mind off of the angry thoughts I kept having until it subsided in the afternoon. I don’t think it was as intense as the anger I had in the past, but I couldn’t get out of it it just kept going. I am much better now but, I’m kind of confused and bothered by how it took over and just kept going like that.

Has anyone else ever had spells like that? Not just anger but, depression and the like? (I hoped I described well what I was doing through with this)

Emotional hijackings can be really difficult to deal with!! I've gotten better at dealing with them than I used to, but they can still be really difficult. Mine are usually emotional flashbacks, (a symptom of CPTSD). There's also a book called Hijacked By Your Brain by Dr. Julian Ford, and Jon Wortmann. I haven't read it yet,so I can't tell you if it's any good, but (own it, haven't got to it yet), I bought it because it seems to describe what has been known to happen to me at different times when life is stressful. (or, extremely chaotic, depending on how you look at it. Then again, my definition of 'stressful' seems to have become skewed towards only anything past 'nuclear meltdown' or catastrophic level, so I've become less able to recognize lower levels of stress anymore.)

 

[WolfSpirit]

Yes, I experience this a lot. I forget exactly where I read this (likely an autism social media page), but it was basically saying that autistic people can really struggle with letting things go, and that this is related to the need for sameness, and repetitive patterns of behaviour. In the same way that changing routines can be very difficult, changing thought patterns is difficult, so getting out of a bad mood when you're repeating to yourself over and over all of the things that are upsetting you, replaying events, or negative self talk over and over...it's a lot.

For me, seeing it as a product of my autism has helped in that I no longer feel bad about feeling bad. I can accept that this is because of how my brain is wired, and this actually gives me more power over it, because now I have more self acceptance, and can move on from that state. I think humans focus more on negative emotions as we are taught that we shouldn't feel them at all, but they are a part of life, and if approached holistically can help us see where we feel weak, and disempowered. When we can recognize these insecurities we can work on them and become more balanced.

There's a whole lot I could say about this, and a whole lot of research on both the autism part and the whole 'humans are wired to pay more attention to the negative - and potentially dangerous - stuff in our lives, and ... society's attitudes towards emotions, especially negative ones, but I'm going to content myself with saying YES!! Wholeheartedly, to what you're saying 'cause I don't have the energy to elaborate.

 

[Fino]

Yes, and if I'm off medication then they happen almost daily. Luckily, lithium and other medications reduce their frequency by quite a bit.

 

[theporgsnest]

I do, and often have difficulty processing whether it's an overload or burnout, or co-morbid related (depression spiral, unknown trigger anxiety attack, etc). The former is much harder to come out of and doesn't benefit -at least in my experience- from the usual help given for depressive spells. It's honestly too much sometimes to deal with feeling nothing and emptiness to a level of emotions I don't even know how to identify or explain (hi there, alexithymia)

 

[ZebraAutismo]

Yes I get what your saying. Both the depression and the anger. I have moments where I believe it won’t get better.

 

[Greatshield17]

Yes, I experience this a lot. I forget exactly where I read this (likely an autism social media page), but it was basically saying that autistic people can really struggle with letting things go, and that this is related to the need for sameness, and repetitive patterns of behaviour. In the same way that changing routines can be very difficult, changing thought patterns is difficult, so getting out of a bad mood when you're repeating to yourself over and over all of the things that are upsetting you, replaying events, or negative self talk over and over...it's a lot.

For me, seeing it as a product of my autism has helped in that I no longer feel bad about feeling bad. I can accept that this is because of how my brain is wired, and this actually gives me more power over it, because now I have more self acceptance, and can move on from that state. I think humans focus more on negative emotions as we are taught that we shouldn't feel them at all, but they are a part of life, and if approached holistically can help us see where we feel weak, and disempowered. When we can recognize these insecurities we can work on them and become more balanced.

I do sometimes struggle a lot with memories of past wrongs or misunderstandings I’ve received, or a general desire to resolve certain issues I have with people that feel need to be resolved.

 

[Knit Hat]

I do sometimes struggle a lot with memories of past wrongs or misunderstandings I’ve received, or a general desire to resolve certain issues I have with people that feel need to be resolved.

I go through this a lot too. Within the past few months I've been a total mess. It's all been coming to a head lately, and getting on here helps, because for the longest time, I had no idea what this is. I also have another post up, about similar things, because it's all just been building up, and didn't know who to ask for help.