Something happens. I get emotional in a negative way. My ability to try and think through it rationally leads down ratholes that simply reinforce my negative thinking more and more, making the negative feelings worse and worse. It's like swimming upstream against a raging river. I eventually find my way back, but it can sometimes take a while. Sometimes, afterwards, I can see clearly what happened and attempt to resolve the issue in my right mind. Other times, I have no idea. It's frustrating. But don't ask me to think about it while I'm that state.
Of course, if this emotional state occurs when I'm supposed to be being dad, well you can guess that my decision making abilities pretty much suck. Same goes for any other time where I can't simply disappear for a half hour to find my right mind.
Now I'm sure everyone goes through this kind of thing from time to time, but this is different. This happens several times a week, depending on what's going on. A number of things can set me off. Not sure why the hair trigger, but I do know that if I ever get emotional, do yourself a favor. Don't ask me to think.