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Dear all,
I've talked to some of you recently, but anyone else I've not seen around lately -- hi, and sorry for neglecting you!
I'm opening a new post with a question which is personal to me, and I would really appreciate your advice.
These days I find I tend to be either happy and enthusiastic or down and a bit irritable. There's not really a 'normal' in between. It depends on the day, and on some days I can find myself switching between the two extremes very quickly -- in a matter of minutes, though more usually over an hour or two.
I've identified a few factors that play a part -- tiredness, blood sugar levels, time of day, levels of stress and frustration. Today I was feeling happy, so on a whim I asked some peers at work if I seemed grumpy a lot of the time. They said yes. I had not expected it to be so visible, but apparently it is. This worries me a bit, as I'd prefer just to appear 'normal'.
When I'm feeling low it doesn't stop me working or carrying on as usual, but it does make me feel pretty terrible and is probably noticeable to others. When I'm feeling high I can feel a bit 'too' high, and the adrenaline is uncomfortable. Not so high that I'm likely to do something rash, but just ... well, a bit unpredictable.
Does this happen to other people, or is it peculiar to me?
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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I think you are normal, and a little lonely. So it manifests itself as mood swings. In itself that is "ok" sort of, but it isn't making you feel happy. That means you need to work out strategies to cope with the swings, and also try to work out how to lessen them.
That sounds like you need a magic wand, but you don't, not really. You see you are a remarkably brave person except that you sometimes don;t see it. And all you need is to deploy some of the bravery some of the time. But I know you are private as well.
I'd desperately like to be able to find you a boyfriend. He wouldn't be perfect, but he'd be someone to practice dating with. And we all need to practice before it even goes half right. And the reason for a b/f? Not the love affair of the century unless you are lucky, but simply someone to share highs and lows with.
Any ideas, anyone, how we do that?
Now, I am a bit sensitive when someone mentions blood sugar, even as a throw away line. I'd also suggest you pop in to see the quack for a full MOT. (US colleagues: an annual vehicle roadworthiness test) If there is a physical cause it is always worth catching it early.
I know nothing here will come as a surprise to you. And I know and respect the fact that you may not agree with me 
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Well, many of us go through patches like that - I know that I do. So it isn't peculiar to you.
But I do have a couple of concrete suggestions -
timmy is right that it's worth popping in to your GP for a once-over, and especially blood-sugar stuff (they may also want to check thyroid).
repugnant though the idea is (especially at this time of year), exercise (especially outdoors) is a great mood regulator: it doesn't have to be anything vigorous - thirty or forty minutes brisk walk twice a week is what works for me, but it's a pretty individual thing.
take some time out just to be yourself unthinking, if you can. Do you have / can you get a keyboard or piano where you are? I know a couple of people who find playing, and random improvising, a great way of cutting down stress (and so, irritability or mood-swings).
hugs 'n stuff
NW
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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Tim,
Well, you're absolutely right that I'm a bit lonely. When I'm busy and have a clear task which I'm enjoying, everything seems much better, and when mundane reality hits again that's when I tend to feel down.
There is definitely a link with blood sugar -- when I've not eaten for a while I get irritable, and I often feel much better within minutes if I eat something with lots of sugar in it. Does that suggest a problem? Neither of my parents (both doctors) have flagged it as being something worth being concerned about when I've mentioned it.
David
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Hi NW,
Regarding exercise -- I walked a couple of miles to pick up my car today from the garage and I did feel better afterwards, so I'm sure you're right. I've just moved to about 500m from work, so (while I walk there and back every day) there's not a lot of incentive to do a great deal more -- there's no gym or swimming pool nearby. I will give some thought as to what else I could do, though.
You're absolutely right that a piano is a super way to relax. I heartily recommend it to anyone. I have a keyboard, which is better than nothing, though a real piano is much better. I've been looking to get a real piano for a few weeks now, and will probably get one in the next month or so ... if I ever manage to decide what I want.
David
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Hi David!
Though I no longer need it since I was diagnosed as technically diabetic, I keep a packet of glucose powder in the cupboard to combat sugar lows. They would typically arrive at lunchtime and render me virtually incapable of action or concentration. The glucose acts quickly. Try relaxing a little more. I noticed you expended a lot of nervous energy when we met. Relax mentally, physically and consequently emotionally.
Hugs
Nigel
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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Well, Deeej, I don't know you as well as the others and think they are offering good advice, but you do seem to me to take a lot out of yourself - and not just in excessive hours of work.
I guess what we do is cause more navel-gazing and that's probably a move in the wrong direction.
Love,
Anthony
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james
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Getting started |
Location: England
Registered: September 2008
Messages: 24
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I tend to agree with Timmy, and have a chat with your g.p.
i assume you eat healthy.if you stress out easy then that can cause your symptoms.
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