For once, I feel very defeated. My son turned 2 yesterday and for the past 3 days he is throwing tantrums about everything, constantly crying when he doesn’t get his way and just seems like a whole different person instead of my usual sweet boy. Is this the terrible 2’s?
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Yep! He’s emotionally regulating so he’s at a point of learning how stuff feels and trying to understand the spectrum of human emotion. Most important thing you can do is try your best to be patient and take a little you time whenever you get a chance and recoup. There are a bunch of things you can try, most of them will probably only work once (lol) but just remember, you’ve been dealing with emotions for eons compared to him, all of these feelings are brand new to him. It’s like when a kid is learning math for the first time, it can be frustrating and confusing and a lot of adults get frustrated because they can’t get in the mindset that they’ve had basic math etched into their brain for years whereas to a kid this is a whole new concept. Hang in there mama, you got this!! 
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Guess what my solution is.
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It could be a food allergy, undiagnosed Celiac disease. will cause emotional and behavioral issues.
Sounds like it. He has big emotions he can’t quite name. He has big ideas he can’t quite express. And it’s frustrating! Plus now he’s expected to learn so many things and start taking responsibility: getting dressed, brushing teeth, maybe putting clothes away, trying new foods, sitting still for longer, and SO MANY NOs!
Try a chart of faces and feelings like they use with non-verbal patients and have him point to the emoji that best fits his feelings, and you can name it. If he has the attention span, watch the “Inside Out” movies either in chunks or in its entirety to give him an idea and a name for how he’s feeling.
Let him punch or scream into a pillow. Maybe you can jump up and down with him or run in place to exhaust that negative energy.
Or just sit quietly and calmly with him as he has his tantrum, then offer a hug after he’s exhausted himself. Have a talk about what upset him later when he’s calm. Tell him what you do to calm down when you are mad or frustrated.
He’s in a period of growth, which is hard and can be frustrating because he feels out of control. Give him as much choice as possible so he feels he has agency over SOMETHING.
The red pants or the blue pants? Green beans or broccoli? Brush teeth or bath first? The sheets with the bunnies or the bears? O.J. or apple juice? Elbow or rotini pasta? Corn or potatoes? Park or playground? Coloring or Duplos? No more than three choices at a time though.
This is the age of reading books over and over and over again so they know by heart what comes next. It’s because they are learning words, sequence, narrative all at once and gain new insights each time it’s read. It makes them feel confident when they sure of what comes next.
My 2 year old granddaughter threw a screaming fit because I wouldn’t let her use scissors on the dog.
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Typical toddler, distraction worked for me until they were of age to understand big feelings
Yea welcome gets better around 3.5 yrs old just stand your ground he will test you. I have twins and I am ready for them to reach 3.5