Sana asks: I am an avid reader of gulfnews.com and found your blog very interesting. I need your advice to find a solution to my problem.
My problem is that I always get irritated on small matters and I end up fighting with my mum.
When I sit alone, all of sudden I feel depressed and I cry. From the past two days I feel like I am dumb and I feel like someone has forced me to remain silent. I'm, in fact, a very FUN LOVING person ...
I go crazy when I am with my friends and I used to have loads of fun... all that have stopped now.
Now I don't know what's wrong with me, something has made me silent and I just want to be happy all the time no matter what. Tell me what I should do ...
Dr Sreekumar V. Nair (MBBS, M.D. Psychiatry) replies: It’s quite appreciable that you have been looking for advice and willing to work on your issues. Your fun loving and easy natured traits are also quite promising for a better future.
Though your age and other status are not clear from the description, it’s apparent that you are stressed out and a long way to go ahead in your life. You seemed to be bottling up something in your mind, which is getting displaced as anger onto your mother or onto others.
Rather than trying to forget your problems, you need to look for the other possible options. Break the silence forcefully and gradually get involved with closest people and pleasurable activities, which you used to engage in.
Increased irritability, sudden withdrawal from your friends and your usual enjoyment requires immediate attention. If this state of mind and feelings persist for long it would become severe enough to impact your life in a more negative way.
Your irritability would distance people from you, adding more sadness and frustration. As the more you get depressed, your concentration on your studies/work, your health, your sleep and your interpersonal relationships would be more badly affected.
You need to be taking steps to unburden your mind to a trustworthy person and try ways to fix the real issue. Generally people like to feel loved, wanted and supported, especially important while passing through a crisis phase.
Your mother would be a good choice or it could be any other mature person around you. Emotional support and a feeling that someone is there with you to help you live through your problems would definitely make you more tolerant and deal with it more effectively.
If the problems persist or if it lies beyond the scope of involving your mother then it may need professional treatment, including drugs or psychotherapy. An experienced person or a professional may help you to deal with any traumatic experiences, which you would have undergone.
Disclaimer: This blog is a conversation and is not an alternative for treatment. The recommendations and suggestions offered by our panel of psychiatrists are their own and Gulf News will not take any responsibility for the advice they provide.
