We want everybody to be safe out there because we are getting reports of … it’s going around! It’s eating people’s faces and souls! He’s a crazy creature!

One year ago today, Sick Puppies released what I believe to be their most powerful song since “White Balloons“, “Odd One“, and “Creatures“. With that, I feel it only fitting that we take a good hard look at these impeccably written lyrics:

PAIN! It’s come alive! It’s pouring out of my veins! I’m drifting in and out, turning insane. At the edge … I’ve kept it in until now … I’m afraid it’s too late! I feel it coming out!

STOP! Before I take your mother fuckin’ head off! I’m seeing shit that I don’t wanna speak of! Bottled up everything up until now. This is it! Fuse is lit! So, get the hell out!

Rage that won’t subside … eating me alive … look into my eyes … I’ll scream until I spit blood! I would stop myself if I could! Get away! It’s too late! I’m changing!

Oh my God, what have I done? I can’t believe what I’ve become! I can’t stop hurting everyone! What’s this creature I’ve become?

Far be it from me to break the news to ya, my friend, but this “creature” you become is nothing more than the living embodiment of emotional dysregulation, i.e. having difficulty managing your emotions and the way you react to them, which in turn can lead to extreme if not inappropriate outbursts. It’s not a diagnosis, by the way, but rather, a description of how our emotions are managed, or rather should I say – MISmanaged.

A person’s inability to regulate emotions can, however, be a symptom of very serious mental health conditions. Do you have trouble calming down when you’re upset? Do you experience rapid mood swings or struggle with impulsive behaviors and thoughts? Well, my advice to you is call a mental health professional ASAP! With the right help and the willingness to face your ‘lil monster in the mirror, you CAN take it down!

“But, Cat! I can’t afford to call a mental health professional!”

YES, YOU CAN!

Just CLICK this pic:

Perhaps one of my favorite things about myself is that I haven’t become the monster I probably should have after all the trauma I’ve survived in my life. I mean, could I have used it all as an excuse to rage against humanity? Yes, I suppose so. Actually? Now that I think of it, there was a time in my life when I did! “It was kinda like a storm!” … and by “it”, I mean THE CREATURE I once WAS! One thing we all need to understand about extremely kind, nice, and loving people, however, is that their other side is just as extreme. It’s the hell they survive that makes them gentle, so, don’t mistake their self-control for weakness. The beast in them is merely sleeping, not dead.