Am I normal?

[Dazed]

Hi all,

I have an exam coming very soon. This examination is very important to me to the point that I had to quit from my job to study for it. Recently though, I just want to be over with it.

I noticed that in the past month, I have been very irritable, more angry than calm, unkind, and unforgiving than I usually am. Even the smallest thing can spark me off.

I also notice that there are times when I just seem to 'drift'... almost detached from myself and from my surroundings. Sometimes I find myself staring blankly at something for some period of time and giving emotionless responses when people tell me something or ask me a question.

I also seem to be easily affected by triggers. Sometimes when I see a movie or scene that is tragic, it gets me all blue for the rest of the day and when I see something happy, it's like it for the rest of the day.

Any idea guys?

[malign]

Well, "normal" being one of those bell-curvy things broad enough to contain everybody, somewhere -- yeah, I'd say you're normal.

You're very stressed, and that makes you easily distracted and irritable. Yep, sounds normal to me.

By the way, I frequently "zone out" the way you describe, especially when tired. And all the other things you mention, too. So if we're not normal, at least we're similar.