Ask me about when an individual states their mind is in “Turmoil.” I believe half of the individuals who struggle with diverse types of mental illness frequently feel that their lives are burdened with a lot of emotions, such as interruptions in their daily lifestyle, rivalry, and turmoil. Turmoil is just another word for confusion that includes panic attacks, mood swings, unhappiness, despair, and that only touches on a few of the emotions that many individuals with a mental illness feel. The trademark sign of emotional turmoil is when an individual feels extremely “out of control.” I will not sugarcoat it because there may be times an individual will and can become violent due to their mind being in a state of “turmoil.”

An individual’s issues seem larger than life to them, and they are very intense. Being able to calm themselves down once they are aggravated is often particularly challenging. It is exceedingly difficult to watch a loved one go through a “state of mind” where they are out of control, unable to focus on just a simple daily lifestyle. There are times when an individual may flare up with uncontrollable emotions that are entirely different from their original personality. This can frighten loved ones, friends, co-workers, and other individuals. Their outburst may include shouting, irritability, pacing from room to room, throwing things, and saying things that are not true, presenting a hostile attitude towards certain family members, friends, and other individuals.

 Sometimes an individual may lose their temper due to frustration over the simplest thing. There may be other times they act carelessly, unable to sense that things may be dangerous to them. This makes it difficult because they are unable to recognize things or their surroundings that can put them, as well as others, in danger. They become unaware of their surroundings, which can lead to that individual not being able to eat, drink, or take their medications, or could lead to an inability to sleep. Of course, everyone is different, and some may overeat and sleep much more than usual. Often, when an individual becomes silent and unsociable, they may even refuse to acknowledge or talk to anyone.

Many reasons can cause turmoil in an individual’s life that creates a “mental meltdown.” The loss of a loved one, detachment from a relationship, whether it is a friendship, parents, marriage, their children, loss of employment, financial hardship, refusing to seek help when necessary, or refusing to take prescribed medications to improve their mental wellbeing. Even with ongoing serious health problems, being involved in an abusive relationship, or even witnessing a horrible event. Unfortunately, when an individual suffers from any type of mental illness, these common triggers can be devastating to them. According to “The Free Dictionary .com website, “Turmoil is a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance, tumult; agitation: disquiet.”

How does emotional turmoil affect an individual’s mental health?

Most of the time, it is due to distress. And there are many circumstantial triggers related to distress, as noted in the above paragraph. I learned years ago that an example of this would be my neighbor’s house burning down. Unfortunately, her family lost everything in this disaster. My neighbor, who had always been a strong individual, completely broke down. She ended up with medications to help calm her nerves and was in therapy for several years. The point here is that anyone, regardless of how mentally strong they seem, can break down due to a disastrous event that has occurred in their life.

Throughout the years, while working within the medical field, several individuals not only suffered from emotional mental turmoil but also from physical distress and displayed symptoms of several types of body ailments, such as upset stomach, stomach pains, joint pain, headaches, and muscle spasms. So, one can honestly say that when an individual shows signs of emotional turmoil, not only does it affect them mentally, but also physically.

Emotional Turmoil is often attributed to extreme and devastating feelings. It has been known to cause mental confusion and emotional disharmony. Often, it is due to diverse types of conflicts, frightening circumstances, or continuing aggravations. Acknowledging the basic reasons of emotional turmoil can help individuals to recognize triggers and establish coping methods to manage their emotions adequately.

Note:

It would also be helpful to set up therapeutic sessions with interventions to help an individual cope, such as counseling, accurate methods/ techniques, and cognitive -behavioral therapy, on a regular schedule.

References:

1.Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary. S.v. “turmoil.” Retrieved February 15, 2023.https://www.thefreedictionary.com/turmoil

2.NeuroLaunch.co. https://neurolaunch.com/psychological-turmoil/ 3. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/