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Thursday, August 1, 2013

On Overreacting

Sorry for the hiatus, y'all. I had some Internet access issues. Turns out they had accidentally unhooked our cable instead of someone else's. It was an accident, but I had been so frustrated and almost angry with the company.

This may seem like a trivial thing, but it got me thinking: how many times have my emotions run out of control over something incredibly stupid? How many times has it been due to my mental health issues? How many times have I blamed my mental health issues when it's really just something everyone struggles with?

Let me be clear: those of us who deal with mental illness DO perceive, experience, and react to some situations differently than "neurotypicals" do. However, we can learn to react in appropriate ways, where necessary (not every "different" reaction needs to be "normalized"). In fact, learning to step back and evaluate the cable situation allowed me to treat the technician with respect, where I would have otherwise bitten his head off.

When you find yourself feeling emotional, I encourage you to take a step back, breathe deeply (but don't hyperventilate) and really assess the kind of response the situation REQUIRES, not the one you feel.

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