I used to feel wrapped up in worry and guilt 24-7... for about 20 years (I'm still in my 20s) of my life. I worried about my family, about my health, about how people viewed me. When I was accepted to dental school this year, suddenly everything started to change. I was never super emotional, but I felt like I had a range. After my acceptance, I haven't felt guilty as much about leaving my family, I haven't worried needlessly about minor things that have no effect on me. I feel very indifferent and unfazed about almost everything, big or small, I don't care as much...I still care some... about what people think of me...and I'm looking for stimulation constantly. (excitement) Granted it has been a long winter, why do you think there would be such a sudden emotional reversal? Has anyone else experienced this? It's almost depressing from having emotional thoughts and guilt all the time to having NOTHING. Ideas?
2007-03-20 07:20:19 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
--Well, as you yourself have mentioned, it has been a long winter...so you may wish to look up some information on "Seasonal Affective Disorder", search the whole phrase, quotes and all if you need to, and see if any of it applies to you.
--Or, to put it in more positive terms....maybe dental school has kept you too busy to dwell on your feelings. It does sound like that is a *lot* of what you were doing, was not just having negative feelings or emotions, but also dwelling on them and letting them really sink in and get to you.
And maybe with school, you just haven't had enough time to do that.
--Or, maybe being "accepted" has had a positive effect on you, and makes you happy in a guilt-free manner, and you can't admit to it as yet. It happens a lot with folks who get depressed (like me), we end up having good things happen, and also end up having to admit to being happy about it *well after the fact* because it's not easy to recognize when you feel good when it is so rare.
--Or....it could well be that being away from your family makes you feel unsafe somehow, and you don't feel like you *can* feel your emotions without there being some risk of harm or failure coming to you over it. I had more or less the opposite problem....my parents were seriously messed up, and so I didn't feel safe to feel much of *anything* at home. So it wasn't until my early 20s that I felt like I was safe enough (being 400-plus miles away from the family) to feel my emotions and remember things correctly.
Point is, it may have turned out like that, only backwards with you. You may have felt safer "at home" than you do now at school. You may now think that your feelings--all of them, good or bad--are a threat to your well-being and need to be buried.
I've had some *more recent* issues with that the past year or two, just in terms of not having any safe outlets for any of my feelings.
But yeah....point is, it could be a lot of things, not all of them that bad. ^_^
Email me if you'd like to know more, or share more. Thanks for your time!
2007-03-20 07:34:17 · answer #1 · answered by Bradley P 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you should be happy about getting past all that guilt...it is in my opinion a useless emotion. Worry is another one that doesn't do anyone any good, doesn't change a thing and just adds stress to your life. It has been a long winter, but I suspect your emotional growth hasn't occurred suddenly, you've just suddenly become aware of it. What I am seeing now, is that you have gotten past old guilts and worries, and you are desperately looking for something else to worry about. Get off the worry habit, you really don't need it. Now is the time to start building a better self image, it's time to start molding yourself for your future and anticipating it without guilt or old baggage.
2007-03-20 14:33:27 · answer #2 · answered by essentiallysolo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's called life ambitions.
You didn't have anything to look forward too. Now you have a goal,a purpose, that's what gets you going everyday.
This is why they say that people need to do physical activity and be involved with extra cirricular activities.
That or you could be glad to get out from under the thumb of your family.(personal experience:-)
2007-03-20 14:36:41 · answer #3 · answered by Tyson boy's dad 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋