Do commercials make you cry?
Do you get unreasonably angry while driving?
Having outsized reactions to normal events is a sign you've had your emotions invalidated as a child.
Emotional invalidation occurs when parents try to brush away your feelings rather than attend to them. Or, they may rush to fix your problems, rather sitting and listening to how you feel.
If your emotions were regularly invalidated by your parents, here are some phrases you would have heard as you were growing up:
"You're over-reacting"
"Stop being so sensitive"
"It's not that bad"
"Other kids have it worse"
"I never acted like this when I was your age"
"Only babies cry about this"
Emotional invalidation is usually unconscious and unintentional. Parents who do this never had their own emotions validated, so they're uncomfortable whenever their children have strong feelings. Instead of being felt, emotions get stashed and ignored.
But emotions don't just disappear. If they aren't felt in the moment, they'll come out later in an uncontrolled way. Tears and anger are two common ways this happens.
If you had your emotions invalidated as a child, it's possible to change, heal and grow. You're an adult now, and can witness and care for your own emotions and find ways to express them.
Just don't keep them locked inside.