Irritability

Irritability is often a common symptom of mental illness. That doesn't mean that every one who feels irritable has mental illness, its more that those with a mental illness often find themselves in a foul mood. Often times it is trivial things that set us off, things so minor that its almost silly that are emotional reactions are so great. Since we can't really change the events and situations we have to work on making our selves less irritable.

Now when I am irritable I am complete bitch. The nastiness that come out of my mouth is quite a difference from my normal friendly attitude. I will often regret the things I have said and have actually strained and broken up friendships due to the perceived fighting words.

Psych Central has a great article on 7 Quick ways to stop being irritable. While the article is well written and very informative only a few of the methods listed there really helps me to lower my levels of frustration and low tolerance for things that lead to irritability each time. The others are hit and miss depending on how irritable I am. So I thought that I would share my methods.

One of the ones that works for me is alone time. Most of the time when irritability isn't fully caused directly by my illness it is more the result of stress and stress if it piles up can directly cause my illnes to get worse. I can usually feel it brewing, extreme stress leads to irritability and then paranoia ramps up. When this happens I will attempt to devote some time just to myself. Maybe I'll read a book, write or work on puzzles. These tasks tend to be relaxing for me and often times if I can relax my irritability will lessen a bit and I can slow or halt the progression. I will also engage in mediation, sometimes by doing simple mind clearing I can improve my mood.

Think of an activity that you enjoy doing and do it. Work on hobbies and just focus on the task at hand and basking in the good feelings that come about when we do something that we love. Enlist friends and family if the task needs two or more people. The idea is to have fun and lower your stress levels in hopes of making the irritability more manageable.

I also monitor my sleep. I'll ask myself “Am I getting enough sleep?” Often times tiredness leads to a sour mood and if I can regulate my sleep better it will improve the next day. Sleep is a very important thing to monitor if you have a mental illness, besides a decrease need being a symptom of a mania a lack of good quality sleep can affect mental health in general. If I'm not getting enough sleep I'll adjust my bedtime to an earlier time. Remember to try and take at least an hour before bed to wind down. During that time try to engage in non stimulating activities and relax. By doing this you prepare your brain for sleep. 

The article mentioned being honest with yourself. Yes, try to be honest when figuring out what has set you off, but also be honest with others around you if you can. I will explain as calmly as I can to loved ones that my threshold is lower that day and also point out if anything that they are doing is making things worse. That way it can be a team work approach to helping me remain stable.

It is also important to think before acting and talking. This is the area that usually gets me in trouble. I just blurt out the first things that bubble up in mind without regard to what I am actually saying. If the topic being spoken about is cause of major stress ask if the topic can be changed for a bit to allow you o calm down.

Every person is different and what works for one person may not work for you. That is why it is important to individualize techniques to reduce irritably. Don't get discouraged if any of the methods here or the one mentioned in the article I linked to don't work. Do what is right for you, it might take time and experimentation but don't just give up. If needed work with a therapist to help cultivate the tools that work for you.  

So what works for you dear readers? Leave a comment in the comment section and share the little things that you do to help decrease irritability.