beside yourself.

So emotionally overwhelmed that ordinary composure or judgment is disrupted.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• beside yourself with worry
• beside yourself with fear
• almost beside yourself

On the page

She was beside herself with worry when the school bus failed to arrive.

He became almost beside himself with fear as the water rose.

Beside themselves with anxiety, the parents called every hospital in the district.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Usually requires with plus an emotion; fear, worry, grief, and joy are all possible. Specify fear-related emotion rather than assuming it. Change yourself to myself, himself, herself, ourselves, or themselves to agree with the subject.