Why Am I So Emotional

Many physical and mental conditions can make a person feel more emotional. Stress and hormonal changes are among the most common.

Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Trauma survivors may react emotionally in a way that is out of proportion to their current situation.

A rape victim might feel panic when they see someone who looks similar to their rapist or anger if news reports about rape are published.

The National Center for PTSD stresses that anger is a common result of trauma. In fact, many returning soldiers killed their spouses or other members of their families in the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

This small number of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) suggests that war trauma may have caused excessive violence and anger.

Learn more about PTSD by clicking here.

One 2020 study, Trusted Source, discusses childhood trauma, mood disorders, and trauma-related conditions like PTSD.

Mental health problems

Many mental health disorders can impact a person’s emotional state. Depressive can make someone feel angry or sad. Specific symptoms can vary depending on a person’s socialization and environment.

According to research (Source), men who are depressed may show more anger than sadness.

Bipolar disorderTrusted sources can cause a shift between intense feelings of depression and intense feelings of joy. Anxiety disorders are more likely to make someone fearful or reactive.

Hormonal shifts

The chemical messengers of the body are hormones. Changes in hormones, especially sudden and dramatic changes, can affect an individual’s emotional state.

For example, a study conducted in 2016 by Trusted Source on people with Hypothyroidism found that 60% of them experienced depression. The thyroid can indirectly affect other hormones.

The use of steroids and other hormone-related conditions, such as pregnancy, menopause, or puberty, and low or high testosterone, can also alter emotions.

The media portrays a period as the cause of excessive emotion in a healthy person, but research has not proven this to be true.

A 2012 review of past studies found that people’s moods can change at different times during their period. This suggests that there is not a consistent correlation between a woman’s menstrual cycle stage and her mood.

Only 14.9% of the studies reviewed found a connection between premenstrual mood and the period. People with premenstrual disorder, a mental illness linked to menstruation, may experience mood changes during their period.

Socialization and cultural norms

Culture helps determine the level of emotional expression that is acceptable. Socialization can affect how a person judges their emotions and those of others.

The majority of research Source indicates that boys and girls are socialized differently. This suggests that girls are encouraged to show more emotion, whereas boys are taught to express anger more. This could explain why men are more likely to express anger but less likely to see anger as an emotional state.

Gender and other social factors can also influence a person’s interpretation of emotion.

Gender stereotyping starts in childhood. According to a 2016 study, adult caregivers tend to perceive female infants as having higher-pitched cries even though the screams of male and female babies are identical.

People who are worried about their emotions should consider whether they are being “too emotional,” if it’s causing harm, or if their emotional expression is simply a mismatch between their culture and their environment.

Physical Health Issues

Physical health problems can impact mood in many ways. Physical health issues can make everyday functioning difficult, draining energy and making a person moody.

People with pain (Trusted Source), especially those who have chronic pain, can experience mood changes or an abnormal amount of negative emotion.

Physical problems can also affect mood directly by altering the way your brain processes information or changing hormones.

For example, people with a type of Frontotemporal DementiaTrusted Source can experience intense mood swings. These people may have intense feelings or episodes of aggression that can lead to inappropriate behavior.

Find out more about frontotemporal degeneration here.

Unmet physical needs

The mind and the body are not two separate entities. It is possible that changes in the physical state of a person can affect their emotional state, particularly when they are less able to handle stress or have a heavy physical workload.

Blood sugar changes Source, which may occur when someone is eating a lot of sugar or poorly controlled Diabetes, can cause mood swings. Someone may feel overly emotional, or they might not know why.

Some people feel overly emotional when tired. It is important to remember that some medical conditions, such as depression Trusted Source, can make you feel moody and tired. Chronically tired people, even after getting enough sleep, should consult a physician.

Gaslighting

It is a way to minimize someone’s experience and the severity of their stress by dismissing them as being excessively emotional. It is particularly common to ignore women’s emotions as excessive.

A 2008 study by Trusted Source indicates that women are more likely to wait in the emergency department for treatment because of this bias. Recent research on chronic pain suggests that doctors view men as courageous while dismissing women for being overly emotional.

The person feeling the emotion may dismiss it based on gender stereotypes.

Research shows that men and women are socialized differently. Many people may not consider excessive anger to be extreme emotion, but they might view extreme sadness as an indication of being overly emotionally charged.

Stress

Stressed people may appear more emotional or have mood swings. This can be due to several factors:

Stress can affect a person’s ability to cope.

Stressed people may ignore their physical needs and feel hungry or tired.

When you feel overwhelmed, it can be difficult to handle even minor stressors such as a child interrupting your conversation or your spouse calling.

This is a common and normal reaction to stress. It does not indicate that there is something wrong with the person. This reaction can increase focus, however, by triggering conflicts with family members and other challenges.