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HEADCASE
Section B · Symptoms

The Symptom Library

An experience can show up in many conditions — or in none. Each entry explains what it means and the different circumstances where it can appear.

↙ one symptom, many stories

★ Experiencing a symptom does not mean you have any particular condition.
experience

Mood swings

Shifts in mood — up, down, irritable, flat — that feel larger, faster or harder to predict than what feels typical for you.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Feeling fine in the morning and overwhelmed or tearful by afternoon with no clear trigger.
  • Irritability that seems to arrive out of nowhere and passes just as fast.
  • Mood that tracks closely with what's happening in a relationship that day.
  • A noticeable shift in energy and mood lasting several days.

Worth discussing with a professional if mood shifts are frequent, intense, or affecting relationships, work or safety. If mood swings include thoughts of harming yourself, that's urgent — contact a clinician or call/text 988 (US).

experience

Intrusive thoughts

Unwanted thoughts, images or urges that show up uninvited — often disturbing, and often the opposite of what the person actually wants or believes.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • A sudden violent or taboo image that feels nothing like your actual intentions.
  • Repeated doubts about whether you locked the door or turned off the stove.
  • Intrusive worries about harming someone you love, paired with intense distress at the thought.
  • Unwanted memories that resurface without warning.

Worth discussing with a professional if intrusive thoughts are frequent, distressing, or paired with rituals to neutralize them. If thoughts involve urges to harm yourself or others, treat that as urgent and reach out to a clinician or 988 (US) — having the thought does not mean you will act on it.

experience

Impulsivity

Acting, speaking or deciding before fully thinking it through — the 'brakes' engaging later than intended, or not at all.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Making a large purchase on a whim and regretting it soon after.
  • Blurting out a response mid-conversation without meaning to interrupt.
  • Quitting a job or ending a relationship abruptly during a moment of intense emotion.
  • Driving aggressively or taking physical risks without weighing consequences.

Worth discussing with a professional if impulsivity is damaging finances, relationships or safety. If it involves danger to yourself or others in the moment, that's urgent or emergency depending on severity — call 911 (US) for immediate danger, or 988 for crisis support.

experience

Fear of abandonment

An intense dread of being left, rejected or abandoned by people close to you, sometimes triggered by small or ambiguous cues like a delayed text.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Panicking when a partner takes longer than usual to reply to a message.
  • Testing relationships to see if someone will stay, sometimes pushing people away to confirm the fear.
  • Feeling intense distress around any sign of distance in a relationship.
  • Difficulty tolerating being alone, even briefly.

Worth discussing with a professional if this fear is shaping major decisions or causing significant distress in relationships. It's a very treatable pattern, especially with therapies like DBT.

experience

Dissociation

Feeling disconnected from yourself, your body, your emotions, or the world around you — ranging from brief spacing out to more significant detachment.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Feeling like you're watching yourself from outside your body.
  • Losing track of time or chunks of a conversation.
  • The world feeling foggy, unreal, or like it's behind glass.
  • Feeling numb or far away during a stressful moment.

Worth discussing with a professional if dissociation is frequent, distressing, or interferes with daily functioning or safety (like driving). If you feel unsafe or unable to reorient during an episode, that's worth urgent attention.

experience

Emotional numbness

Feeling flat, distant, or like the volume on your emotions has been turned way down — sometimes a protective response, sometimes a side effect.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Not feeling sad at something that 'should' be upsetting.
  • Going through the motions of daily life without feeling connected to any of it.
  • Difficulty feeling joy or excitement about things you used to enjoy.
  • Feeling disconnected from physical sensations or affection from others.

Worth discussing with a professional if numbness is persistent, distressing, or you're worried it's a medication side effect — don't stop medication on your own, but it's a valid thing to raise with a prescriber.

experience

Executive dysfunction

Knowing what you want or need to do, and still struggling to start, organize, switch between, or finish it.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Staring at a task you want to do and being unable to begin.
  • Losing track of time and missing deadlines despite caring about them.
  • Starting several tasks at once and finishing none of them.
  • Difficulty transitioning from one activity to another, even a preferred one.

Worth discussing with a professional if it's significantly affecting work, school or daily responsibilities over time, rather than an occasional off day.

experience

Sensory overwhelm

Sound, light, texture, smell or crowding hitting harder and faster than the nervous system can comfortably process.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Needing to leave a loud party earlier than everyone else.
  • Certain fabrics or food textures feeling unbearable.
  • Fluorescent lights triggering a headache or irritability.
  • Feeling flooded and needing to shut down after a busy day.

Worth discussing with a professional if sensory overwhelm is a regular part of life and affecting work, relationships or functioning — occupational therapy and environmental adjustments can help a lot.

experience

Compulsions

Repeated behaviors or mental acts carried out to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared outcome, even when a person knows they may not make logical sense.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Checking a locked door multiple times before being able to leave.
  • Mentally repeating a phrase until it feels 'just right.'
  • Washing hands repeatedly beyond what's needed for hygiene.
  • Arranging objects in a specific order to prevent a vague sense that something bad will happen.

Worth discussing with a professional if rituals are taking up significant time (often cited as an hour or more a day) or interfering with daily life. ERP therapy is well-established and effective for OCD-related compulsions.

experience

Paranoia

A suspicion or fear that others intend harm, are watching, or are against you — ranging from mild wariness to firmly held beliefs that feel completely real.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Feeling convinced coworkers are talking about you behind your back without clear evidence.
  • Believing you're being watched or followed.
  • Difficulty trusting even close friends or family's intentions.
  • Suspicion that intensifies with lack of sleep or substance use.

Worth discussing with a professional, generally sooner rather than later. If paranoia involves plans to harm yourself or someone else, that's an emergency — call 911 (US) or your local emergency number.

experience

Identity disturbance

A shaky, shifting or unstable sense of who you are — your values, goals, self-image, or sense of continuity over time.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Values, interests or career goals that shift dramatically depending on who you're close to.
  • Not knowing how to describe yourself to others in a stable way.
  • Feeling like a different person in different relationships or settings.
  • A persistent sense of emptiness or not knowing who you 'really' are.

Worth discussing with a professional if this feeling is persistent, distressing, or paired with other symptoms like fear of abandonment or dissociation.

experience

Hallucinations

Sensing something — a sound, sight, smell, or physical sensation — that isn't there for others, experienced as real in the moment.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Hearing a voice comment on your actions when no one else is present.
  • Seeing shapes or figures others don't see.
  • Feeling sensations on the skin, like crawling or touch, without a physical cause.
  • Brief hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up (not necessarily a disorder).

Worth discussing with a professional, especially if hallucinations are new, distressing, or commanding harmful actions. If a voice or experience is urging you to hurt yourself or someone else, that's an emergency — call 911 (US) or go to an emergency room.

experience

Anger

A normal, universal emotion — but one that can sometimes arrive too fast, too intensely, or too often, in ways that feel hard to control.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • Snapping at loved ones over small frustrations.
  • Feeling rage that seems disproportionate to the situation.
  • Difficulty calming down after a conflict, long after it's resolved.
  • Irritability that's noticeably different from your usual temperament.

Worth discussing with a professional if anger is damaging relationships, work, or leading to behavior you regret. If anger involves risk of harm to yourself or others, treat that as urgent or emergency depending on immediacy.

experience

Emotional dysregulation

Big feelings that are hard to come down from, or that feel disproportionate to what triggered them — the emotional 'thermostat' running hot and slow to reset.

Can show up in many contexts, including

What it can look like · when to talk to someone
  • A minor criticism triggering hours of distress.
  • Crying, rage or panic that feels bigger than the situation seems to call for.
  • Difficulty self-soothing once an intense emotion starts.
  • Emotional reactions that surprise you after the fact.

Worth discussing with a professional if dysregulation is frequent and affecting relationships or daily life. Skills-based therapies like DBT are specifically built for this.

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