beside myself

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiom

   So overcome by a strong feeling, such as anger, grief, joy or worry, that you can hardly think clearly or control your behavior.

   Grammar: Follows a verb like be and changes with the subject: she was beside herself, not 'she was beside myself'.

   Patterns

   • be beside yourself with something
   • be beside yourself

   I was beside myself with worry when she did not come home.

   Tom was beside himself with excitement on the morning of the trip.

   The parents were beside themselves with grief after the accident.

Common combinations

beside myself with worry

I was beside myself with worry until the phone rang.

beside herself with anger

She was beside herself with anger over the unfair decision.

beside himself with joy

He was beside himself with joy when his team won.

beside themselves with excitement

The fans were beside themselves with excitement at the stadium.

beside yourself with grief

You must have been beside yourself with grief.

Synonyms and how they differ

overwhelmed

Overwhelmed is a general word for being buried under feelings or tasks, while beside myself stresses losing normal self-control.

distraught

Distraught is more formal and always negative, whereas beside oneself can also describe extreme joy or excitement.

frantic

Frantic suggests rushed, wild action born of fear, while beside myself describes the feeling more than the behavior.

Opposites

Word family

beside preposition

next to, at the side of

yourself pronoun

reflexive form of you

besides adverb

in addition, as well

Commonly confused: beside myself or besides?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “beside myself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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