Dr. Stern says that an occasional meltdown is completely normal. “You may suddenly burst into tears or lash out with anger because you feel out of control, overwhelmed with pressures and things in your life that are unpredictable. That doesn't mean something is 'wrong' with you,” she says.
For many kids and adults, meltdowns happen when they get too much information from their senses. The brain is too stimulated by certain sounds, sights, tastes, or textures. It gets overwhelmed trying to process it all. This is called sensory overload.
Another reason we get angry over small things is that we personalize everything that happens to us. So even if something has nothing to do with us, we can't help but take it personally. This can lead to feeling like we're constantly under attack, making us angry.
A nervous breakdown (also called a mental breakdown) isn't a mental health diagnosis, but it does cause sufferers to feel overwhelming stress, as if they're losing control. Stress life events and/or underlying mental health conditions, like depression, anxiety or PTSD, can precipitate a nervous breakdown.
Our triggers are rooted in our past traumatic experiences. In an effort to protect us from further harm, our brains scan for stimuli that might indicate a threat. That means that sometimes, we have outsized reactions to seemingly innocuous stimuli.
Additionally, anger can be a symptom of certain mental health conditions, including intermittent explosive disorder, bipolar disorder, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. You may also experience irritability or frustration if you live with depression or anxiety.
Similarly, people with ADHD can also experience 'meltdowns' more commonly than others, which is where emotions build up so extremely that someone acts out, often crying, angering, laughing, yelling and moving all at once, driven by many different emotions at once – this essentially resembles a child tantrum and can ...
Tantrums, or meltdowns, are sudden outbursts of frustration and anger. Aggressive behavior and rageful outbursts are common among children with ADHD, even though these behaviors are not formally part of the diagnostic criteria. There are many reasons why kids with ADHD have meltdowns.
A mental breakdown, sometimes referred to as a nervous breakdown or ADHD meltdown, is not actually a clinical term,1 though it is considered a form or manifestation of an anxiety disorder. It arises from overwhelming stress and varies in symptoms.
It's one of the challenging or explosive behaviors we see in those who have ADHD. Sometimes it appears as poor self-esteem, yelling, rage, or tears. But sometimes the challenging behavior is your own in reaction to your spouse, child, sibling, or friend who has ADHD: “Why did they not hear me? Now I'm the angry one.”
It is often characterized by feelings of overwhelming fatigue, reduced productivity, and a sense of hopelessness or despair. Those experiencing ADHD burnout may find it even more challenging than usual to initiate and complete tasks, maintain focus and attention, and regulate their emotions.
With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior.
Emotional dysregulation and managing your emotions start in the brain itself. ADHD can often result in memory impairments that allow emotional reactions that are stronger than anticipated. As a result, your brain is flooded with one intense emotion like anger, sadness, or frustration.
Hyperactivity (talks a lot, fidgets, always on the go, etc.) Impulsivity (blurts out, interrupts, lies, angry outbursts, difficulty waiting, etc.) Inattention (forgetful, loses things, disorganized, makes careless mistakes, etc.)
Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining.
Overview. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
However, Mezulis notes that even people without a history of trauma can be triggered when something elicits a strong emotional reaction. Some people cope with stressful events more easily than others; consider the impact such events might have on people with mental illnesses.
Overstimulation is not only a symptom of ADHD; it's often seen in autistic people as well. People with ADHD and autistic people may display similar signs of hyperactivity when overstimulated, such as being extra reactive to sensory input (i.e., becoming fascinated by a specific object or fixating on a sensation).
Though not often listed as symptoms, other indications of ADHD in girls and women include co-occurring depression and anxiety, difficult romantic relationships that can lead to intimate partner violence, trouble maintaining friendships, and at least one space in her life in disarray (messy house, messy bedroom, or ...
Problems with emotional dysregulation, in particular with anger reactivity, are very common in people with ADHD. You are not alone in struggling in this area. Anger may indicate an associated mood problem but often is just part of the ADHD.