Life is not a straight line. It comes with its ups and downs. It’s natural to have bad days and feel emotionally vulnerable at times. However, if even minor disruptions in daily life regularly leave you feeling irritated, it may be a sign of emotional instability. If this happens consistently, don’t ignore the symptoms, your mental health and well-being could be at risk. Emotional instability can have a significant adverse impact, so it's important to recognize and address it early.

In this blog, we will discuss the impact of emotional instability on mental health and well-being. Additionally, you will get to see the reason behind emotional disturbances, the symptoms of serious mental disorders, what their symptoms are and when to seek help.

What Are the Major Symptoms of Emotional Instability?

Ever wondered why some people stand their ground strong during tough times. And others crumble when faced with a crisis. The answer is- Difference in personality. However, the next question is- Why is your personality this way? The reasons can be many. Let’s find out.

1. Early Life Trauma- Kids need emotional stability around themselves while growing up. If a child experiences daily fights between the parents, sexual abuse at a very young age or dealing with emotionally unavailable parents, he or she will automatically develop mental disorders while growing up.

2. Genetic Component- Believe it or not, genetic components are something you cannot ignore when it comes to mental instability. It is scientifically proven that genetics and heredity play a huge role in the life of a person suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. However, it is important to remember that just like depression, the ability of coping with stress also differs as per genetics. Some people tend to cope well while others struggle to deal with emotional problems and sometimes succumb to mental instability.

3. Overly Competitive Nature- There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. However, if you don't know how to face failure, the road to emotional health is going to be really tough for you. Overly competitive people often get into depression due to consistent failures. Such people often become emotionally unstable with symptoms like irritability, mood swings, hopelessness or withdrawal from their social life.

4. Life-Changing Incident- Losing a loved one, divorce, break up or an accident can lead to a sudden change in behaviour. Unexpected death of a loved one often results in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. On the other hand, heartbreaks and cheating can make a person have trust issues leading to aggression and more emotional responses on every irrelevant matter.

5. Hormonal Irregularity- Hormonal imbalances like PCOD and PCOS are mostly suffered by females, especially at the reproductive age. Additionally, Pre-Menstrual Syndrome is also responsible for emotional instability in women. They tend to sound more irritable, less interested in conversations and more argumentative in behaviour. However, this is more situational and normal most of the time.

Effects of Emotional Instability on Well-Being & Mental Health

If you are an emotionally unstable person, you are going to face problems in every aspect of your life, be it family, career, romantic relationships or health.

• Family life- An emotionally unstable person will not be tolerant to slight disagreements and bursts the moment if someone disagrees with him or her. Or the person might withdraw himself completely from the family. Staying aloof from all the family members, lying on the bed all the time, avoiding talking to parents and family gatherings.

• Social life- A person with an unstable mind has serious effects on its career as well. You don’t feel like interacting with your colleagues or you become irritated if any of your juniors asks the same question twice. In short, mental instability makes you the least favourite person among your office colleagues and social circle.

• Romantic relationships- You are happy this moment but extremely aggressive the next one. How can you expect someone to trust you? Your unreliable behaviour makes you less trustworthy thereby increasing conflict and misunderstandings.

How to Deal With Emotional Instability?

We recommend some simple yet important daily life steps to help you keep emotionally stable.

• Do Breathing Exercise- Deep breathing exercises help regulate the nervous system. Start with short periods of focussed breathing and then gradually increase the time duration. This technique has been proven very effective for people who have problems dealing with anger issues.

• Do health check up- Usually, we think it is only the outside environment which is triggering our emotions. However, it is not always the case. Sometimes our bad physical health is responsible for mental instability. Problems like high blood pressure, hormonal imbalance and bad gut are responsible for fluctuating mental health.

• Engage in creative activities- Be a part of creative classes like painting, writing, music, pot making etc. These activities make you mindful and divert your mind from stress and give you a break from daily troubles.

• Emotional regulation techniques- Take pause before giving any response. Count to 10 before you answer anything to anyone. Avoid impulsive behaviour during conversation and understand it is not important to react to every comment. Understand that not every time, people are targeting you. In short, take comments and remarks of people lightly.

• Know if you need help- Understand that not all the problems can be solved on your own. If you think your problems are getting more severe, contact a professional right away. We have mentioned serious warning signs below. If you think you are experiencing the same, please do contact the professionals.

• Keep yourself motivated- The next question is - How to motivate yourself? Watch podcasts on managing stress, go out on family outings, join self-awareness programs, start taking interest in spirituality and talk with close ones.

Emotional Instability: Serious Disorders, Warning Signs & Ways to Regain Control

The following anger management tips can prove a boon for those experiencing mild anger.

Type of Mental Disorders	Symptoms	Treatment
Borderline personality disorder	Losing touch with reality, unstable self-image, suicidal thoughts	Psychotherapy or talk therapy, Schema Focussed Therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment
Bipolar Disorder	Episodes of mania & Depression	Cognitive Therapy, Medication, Lifestyle regulation & support group
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder	Intense emotional reactions, numbness, flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts	Grounding Exercises, CBT(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), Exposure Therapy
Cyclothymic Disorder	Emotional ups and downs, mood fluctuations(less severe than bipolar disorder)	Antidepressants, structured routine, Stress reduction Techniques, CBT
Intermittent Explosive Disorder	Physical or verbal aggression, guilt after episodes, explosive anger outbursts	Anger Management Therapy, Relaxation Techniques, Mood stabilizers

Conclusion

Emotional instability can be destructive if it starts interfering with your daily life. Minor episodes can be handled on your own however mental problems like Intermittent Explosive Disorder and Borderline Personality disorder demand professional help. In such cases, one should contact an experienced psychological counsellor for therapies and lifestyle support.

A mental health issue is equally severe as a physical health problem. Ignoring mental health can make your and your loved one’s life problematic in the long run. Note down your symptoms, see if it belongs to a severe category mentioned in the table above and get in touch with a psychological counsellor right away.

Remember, you can only become the best version of yourself only if you know how to handle life situations amidst life crises and stress.