Hi All, time to vent ...

I'm so sick of people calling me "oversensitive" because I react to things by crying or getting angry when I feel someone has said something hurtful. I fluctuate very easily from being calm, together and happy to being really upset/raging mad. Since my BP dx I understand now that these swings are a part of the illness which has been a relief to know, but I can't seem to escape this label of being "oversensitive" or "overreactive". According to certain people I am close to, and even to my pdoc, I should be more "rational" in my responses.

Personally I feel like my sensitivity or reactiveness are not necessarily "over" the top. I know that most people react with words, well I have learned to react with emotions because I have been made to feel throughout my life that talking back is not ok. Generally I have also been taught that emotions are also not ok so I bottle them up. I end up not wanting to talk about them so I just cry or rage instead. Often this is the only way I can feel relief.

It seems to me that in most people's cases, reacting to criticism or other hurtful things is ok. But crying and anger are something to be ashamed of.

I want to learn how to manage these emotions better and not get to the point where I explode, and to be able to use words to respond to people or situations. But in the mean time I just want to be accepted as me with all my particularities and weirdnesses.

Does anyone else have a problem with being "over" sensitive like this? How have you dealt with it?