Why am I so cranky?

Factual Questions
1

For the past few days I’ve been having violent mood swings - one moment I’ll feel tired, lethargic, uncommuncative and extremely cranky (ie. I’ll get mad at people for little to no reason), the next moment I’ll feel (almost) normal again.

However, I never feel fully normal. Usually I’m very energetic, always jumping over fences and stuff, and I don’t get mad easily. Now, even when I’m feeling at my best, I feel a little lethargic and don’t want to do much exercise.

I’ve been desperately trying to figure out what’s wrong with me! I have quite a poor diet, but I’ve been eating like that for many, many years and have never felt like this. I don’t think I’m deheydrated either; I’ve been drinking more water, and I’ve been fine on the amount of water I drink for a long, long time.

I’ve just started half term away from school, which may have some influence (we have a full six-day week, which wears one out very quickly), but, again, I’ve been at the same school for a while and haven’t felt this bad.

Sleep: I’m getting about 8 hours a night, and although I should really be getting 9, I’ve survived quite happily on 7-8 for years.

I have no other symptoms of anything, so I don’t believe I have any illness (although my whole family and my girlfriend were sick with the flu a week back), and I’m not particularly stressed.

Can anyone suggest what may be making me so cranky? ie. Suggest something else that might be making me feel like this, or incorrectly thinking it’s not one of the problems above. I hate getting mad with people so much, and getting irritated so easily, and no one else seems to be able to help.

Help! :frowning:

2

I and various people I know have been in therapy, so this is “where I’m coming from” (i.e. I am not a therapist).

Do you have a good doctor? Not necessarily a psychotherapist, just a regular M.D. I would suggest seeing the doc about this. It’s possible this may have something to do with your diet. Or have you been drinking alchohol more than usual?

Barring anything physical, it sounds like perhaps you may be depressed? I was a while back, and the symptoms included fatigue, irritablity, etc., as you have described. There are other psychiatric conditions that have similar symptoms, though, so you’d need to talk with a professional to be diagnosed. Proper medication can help tremendously (if that’s what’s prescribed for you).

If your M.D. doesn’t feel compepent in this area, he/she will refer you to someone who is.

Don’t put off seeing a doctor, these things can get worse, and if you get really deeply depressed it will become more and more difficult to drag yourself off to see the doctor. So do it soon.

3

“Maybe you’re not getting enough ketchup. Ketchup has natural mellowing agents.” Garrison Keillor (who spells it Catchup) for the Ketchup Advisory Board

4

See a doc. Don’t want to read about you in the BBC’s online news edition. Hope you feel better.