The best way I can think to explain the crushing and completely overwhelming cascade of thoughts and emotions is a whirlwind. The torrent of fears, stress, pain and frustration seem to come at me in a jumbled mess – unable to grasp at one idea with enough firm determination to make any productive decisions. One minute I am fuming at some slight I could easily overlook at another time, the next moment I am a crumpled fragile wisp of who I really am, bursting into tears.

These storms come rarely, much less frequently than years past. Medication once helped flatten out the highs and lows but I’m in a place where I rather work through it naturally because I know it will not last forever; sometimes a day, a week, rarely more. In the final moments of these torrents I occasionally have an epiphany – some spark of light like an idea or a new determination that helps to edge me out of the emotional turmoil and into a more rational state, all while driving me towards new goals.

Fascinating how the mind works.