11 Reasons You Feel Extremely Emotional All The Time
Emotional people a rare breed indeed.
Goffkein.Pro / Shutterstock Being a highly emotional person does not necessarily mean you're sad all the time. It also doesn’t mean that you’re "crazy" or exaggerate everything.
You do, however, feel things more intensely than the average person.
Why do you cry so easily? Well, the short answer to this is that you are able to feel and experience emotions on a deeper level than others.
What does it mean to be an emotional person?
Highly emotional people provide understanding and logic behind what others may perceive as "abnormal" or simply something they don’t understand.
However, it's important to note that there's really no baseline for emotional response. So while one person might perceive your demeanor as being "too" emotional, another person might not even register your emotional behavior.
11 Reasons Why You Are So Emotional
1. Genetics
Studies have shown that people have a genetic disposition to certain emotions. So if you've noticed a family member like your mom or dad has heightened emotions, you have them to thank for your feelings.
2. Sleep deprivation
A 2010 study found that a lack of sleep makes you more susceptible to feeling negative emotions.
3. Anxiety disorders
Research out of Stanford University suggests that those with anxiety disorders have difficulty regulating their responses to negative emotions and may not be able to effectively manage stress.
This means that you might have a strong emotional response to something that doesn't necessarily warrant one.
4. Substance abuse
Emotional regulation and substance abuse go hand-in-hand and create a nasty cycle.
A 2014 study found that not only can the inability to regulate emotions properly lead to substance abuse, but long-term substance abuse can also lead to emotional dysregulation.
5. Certain personality disorders
Some personality disorders, such as Borderline Personality Disorder, create difficulties with proper emotional regulation.
6. Being a highly sensitive person
Highly sensitive people process emotions differently than those who are not, and often feel things more deeply.
7. Eating a poor diet
Everything you eat affects your body, both good and bad. If you're feeling overly emotional, it could be due to your diet.
In fact, it's suggested that eating a diet that is high on the glycemic index can increase depressive symptoms. An example would be carbohydrates.
8. Lack of physical exercise
Physical exercise has many benefits for our health, and refraining from regular exercise and movement can make you feel emotional.
Two studies have proven that daily exercise can help regulate emotions better than not exercising: one in 2018, and the other in 2017.
9. Stress
Stress is something that can really take a toll on your body and mind. Stress can make someone very emotional and feel totally overwhelmed by their inner feelings.
A study from 2018 showed that increased stress levels increase negative emotions such as anger and depression.
10. Hormones
Anyone who has ever experienced PMS or has been pregnant knows that hormones can make your emotions run wild.
Having an imbalance of hormones causes a person to feel all kinds of emotions. Women (and men!) can have fluctuations in their cortisol levels, which cause stress and sleep deprivation.
11. Burnout
Being burned out can cause you to be emotional due to fatigue and lack of enthusiasm. This causes your emotion regulator to fail and let any emotion you feel be expressed.
Despite some of the drawbacks of being an emotional person, there are also wonderful benefits to feeling empathy for others.
9 Benefits Of Being An Emotional Person
1. They develop more profound and meaningful relationships.
Emotional people have high emotional intelligence, which gives them a unique ability to feel emotions and understand others’ feelings, making them very likable. It also makes them honest and great friends.
2. They're in tune with their own emotions.
There are many people in the world who are unable to identify emotions and understand them in a rational sense.
Some may attribute a person or group of people to feeling a certain way, while those who are highly emotional are able to manage their feelings and emotions without having to place blame or reason on someone or something.
3. They're always changing.
Emotional people are aware of their feelings, and if they sense something is off, they change whatever it is that needs changing. It could be certain people in their life or even a certain food.
Regardless of what it is, highly emotional people will change whatever they need to in order to feel at equilibrium.
4. They won’t settle.
These individuals know their worth and value. They know what they bring to the table. They also know exactly what they want and their strong will keeps them in line.
5. They're critical thinkers.
For an emotional person, they are able to critically think things through, whether it's a situation or relationship. They analyze everything and make decisions that are rational.
6. They process their feelings rather than suppress them.
Many people would rather avoid conflict and suppress their feelings so they don’t have to deal with painful or uncomfortable emotions.
Those who are highly emotional are very aware of their feelings and as much as they may want to suppress them, they can’t. Instead, they process them and move on.
7. They're self-aware.
People who are highly emotional are usually self-aware of their verbal and nonverbal behavior. They are aware of facial expressions and body language. One reason for this is that they are skilled in reading and understanding other people's behavior.
8. They’re imaginative.
Because of their intuitiveness and wandering minds, people who are highly emotional have a tendency to love exploring and are adventurous. They seek to learn and understand different things.
9. They have an appreciation for the small things.
Highly emotional people are used to doing things for others; they don't expect to receive anything in return. They do it out of the kindness of their hearts because it feels good.
So when they receive a sweet text message or small gift, they are overjoyed. It doesn't take a lot to keep highly emotional people happy, as they appreciate the little things in life over materialistic things.
How do I stop being so emotional?
First, know that it's OK to feel what you're feeling. If your emotional state isn't negatively affecting your daily life, don't try to suppress them. Repressed emotions are unhealthy and will only lead to further issues in the future as you begin to feel emotionally overwhelmed.
Instead, take the time to learn how to regulate your emotions effectively through therapy, speaking with a mental health professional, meditation, and other methods to manage your emotions.
Brittney Lindstrom is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor.