I am a 30-year-old woman, and I am thriving in my life on all accounts. 

I'm privileged to have a secure and loving relationship (7 years in), a large social network, real friends, good ties with my family. I was not abused as a child. I don't actively carry any baggage around from my past (any longer, at least). I have my weaknesses, but I generally like to think of myself as capable, empowered &amp; self-aware. 

I want to make it clear that I'm being honest here: I'm not in denial, nor am I trying to paint myself to have the perfect life. All I'm trying to say is, I am not the poster child for mental health issues. In fact, I'm probably quite the opposite. 

However, I do suffer from moderate depression (I'm currently in remission). And then today, over nothing consequential, I had a full-fledged emotional breakdown: complete mental shutdown, loss of control, unable to process rationally, self-hate, emotionally self-harming behavior, thrashing &amp; wailing (the kind the neighbors can hear) type of episode. 

It lasted 30 minutes at most, but it took quite a few hours to get to baseline again. This doesn't happen often (anymore). Once every few months. 

Common triggers are: 
- Hunger and crankiness 
- Conflict and unresolved negative energy
- Feeling trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of discontentment
- Frustration with self

I've not been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, but was exposed to it when my therapist introduced me to DBT to help deal with the outbursts I had when battling depression.  

The description of BPD hits close to home. However, I don't feel this is part of my identity or everyday life. While it is debilitating when it happens, it doesn't affect my ability to function well in general. It just makes for a handful of bad days out of a year. Yet I can't help thinking, "'Normal' people don't do this". (Yes, I know "normal" is a terrible word.)

I have and would seek out therapy, but it's honestly very difficult to work on consistently when occurrences are so far and few in between. 

The examples we see of those struggling with coping mechanisms seem to always be so extreme. I can't be the only one who both feels they are generally thriving in their lives while still struggling with a different emotional frequency than "normal", right? 

Can you relate to this? Do you have any thoughts?  I'd love to hear your story. It would help me feel less alone. 