Beside oneself

Today when we say, “I was beside myself” it signifies a state of extreme intensity that can be positive or negative. One can be beside oneself with joy, fear or anxiety. To be beside oneself, literally means schizophrenia or madness, and indeed this was the first sense in which it was used. The source is the New Testament, Acts of the Apostles, 26: 24, when Festus accuses Paul. “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.”