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Old Nov 16, 2019, 04:39 PM
*Beth* *Beth* is offline
catches the flowers
 
Member Since: Jul 2019
Location: Downtown Vibes, California
Posts: 15,701
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebicycle View Post
Yes, I think it's considered normal by psychologists. Let me explain with a brief story:

I've always known that I've had ADHD, even before I received an official diagnosis. The symptoms just "fit me to a T." Then when it was suggested that maybe I had BP instead of ADHD, that's when I discovered a huge overlap in ADHD and BP symptoms. When I read more and more about the symptoms of ADHD and BP, I learned that there was a marked difference in how people with BP express their anger vs how ADHDers and Neurotypicals express their anger. Supposedly a standard question that psychologists ask parents about their child's anger is, "Can the child be calmed down?" Apparently children with BP cannot be calmed down and remain angry/sad for hours after a specific trigger, which is significantly longer than the typical 5-10 minutes that an ADHD or neurotypical child would remain angry/sad. That's how a lot of psychologists can figure out if there is a mood problem, some sort of emotional dysregulation as part of ADHD/Autism/etc., or no problem at all (i.e., normal emotional responses).

Anyway, here's an interesting article about BP anger: Bipolar Children: The Struggle With Anger - Bipolar Disorder Center - Everyday Health

I know the article is about children, but I've learned a lot by reading about children with BP. Additionally, I think a lot of us still have an "inner child" where we WANT to throw a hissy fit, or WANT to kick things around, or WANT to hit people, etc. etc. because we're angry. However, most of us can restrain ourselves from making a "scene" in public because we're adults and we know it's not "socially acceptable" for adults to do so. But just because we can restrain ourselves, it doesn't mean that our inner child isn't screaming his/her head off. We're still a lot like children in that respect, and I think a lot of us wish we could do what children can get away with.
Once, a therapist told me that deep inside, we are all 6 year olds in adult bodies and have learned how to act civilized...but the feelings inside are the same as when we were children.

I've been reading some about BP in children lately. The article you posted is certainly thought provoking. I was a severely depressed/anxious child. I had terrible rage outbursts - but never at school, they were always at home and more likely when I was alone.
By teen years I had serious issues with authority figures and structure of any kind.

The rumination (as I call it)...those endlessly circling thoughts are almost always about anger/rage (and beneath the anger, shame and pain).
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