How To Deal With Irritability (And Stop Snapping At People Who Don't Deserve It)

Are you often annoyed or irritated? Do too many little things agitate you and people grate on your nerve to the point that you sometimes feel like you’re going to lose it?

You’re not alone. In our culture of pushing ourselves too far, it isn't hard to get irritated. What’s hard is shaking it. One of the best ways of overcoming irritability is by keeping our physical needs in check.

Think of physical discomfort as putting pressure on your physical and emotional coping mechanisms. In science, this pressure is referred to as allostatic load and has to do with the cost incurred by our bodies to maintain homeostasis — to keep our bodies going under stress.

Tolerating mounting discomfort can take a toll on our bodies and our patience, as it should. Discomfort is our body’s signal to our brain that it needs our attention.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of our day, with so many competing demands on our attention, we can miss our bodily cues of discomfort. And sometimes the habit of suspending our physical needs (and ignoring them) gets so entrenched that we fail to recognize what it is that we need.

Irritability is often a byproduct of unmet and often ignored physical needs and can be a signal that our body requires attention.

Tuning into your body to scan for physical discomfort or unmet needs can be a powerful tool in understanding what’s going on for you when you are feeling irritable. Chances are good that at least a couple of items below are going on and, with attention, could be easily solved.

Here are some common physical stressors that can lead to irritability. Recognizing these areas and keeping them in check can go a long way in helping you learn how to deal with irritability when it strikes. You could get to the point that you never feel irritated:

1. You feel hungry or thirsty.

Irritability tends to occur more often just before mealtime — we probably all know that. But knowing that doesn’t mean you are solving the problem.

If you notice that you feel irritable when you’re hungry, but not after your hunger is satiated, be sure to carry along power-snacks or drinks to consume just when you feel a twinge of hunger. This way, you’ll stave off irritability, yet not completely ruin your appetite for the meal.

The connection between hunger and flying off the handle is documented. In fact, just recently, a New Yorker article entitled "The Good, the Bad, and the Hangry" summarized research on "the downside of hunger: crankiness", detailing the effects of the "mental state now popularly known as ‘hangry.'"

The colloquialism "hangry" signifies hunger as being a direct cause of anger. Since irritation is a gateway to anger, just being hungry can signal a potential escalation from irritation to anger.

2. You feel tired.

Sleep deprivation can be a key driver of irritability, leaving us feeling constantly on edge, and stress can interfere with getting enough sleep. With so many responsibilities, coupled with the availability of any movie download off the internet, people are just staying up longer hours these days.

Be diligent about getting enough hours of nighttime sleep — it’s worth skipping some dishwashing or the latest video download. And if you need a snooze during the day, take it – a 20-minute power nap can revive you so effectively that you won’t feel irritable.

3. You feel hot, cold, or uncomfortable in your clothes.

Temperature gradations can wreak havoc on your body, and being uncomfortable is one of the many ways we add to our physical stress load. If you are sensitive to tactile experiences or temperature, recognize the resources it requires to ignore your discomfort, and look to give yourself a break whenever you can.

Dress in comfortable layers, be prepared for temperature changes and make sure to be in comfortable clothes when you are at home.

4. You recently worked out.

Exercise provides a tension release that people often need to maintain calm. If you’ve gone more than a couple of days without breaking a sweat with at least a 20-minute workout, be aware that you might be risking irritability.

5. You need to go to the bathroom.

Why delay that trip to the loo? Go when you need to go, lest you be unable to hold a calm conversation.

6. You have allergies.

Reactions to environmental or food allergens are on the rise and can be uncomfortable — and even dangerous. Lately, awareness of food allergies has become more prevalent in the United States, with people paying more attention to the inflammation caused by allergic reactions.

Some people find that by eliminating certain types of foods or ingredients from their diets, they feel calmer all around. For example, reducing or eliminating dairy or gluten can help.

If you think food could be an irritant for you, consider working with a nutritionist or try an elimination diet to figure out what foods might be triggering your irritability.

7. You're hormonal.

It’s trite to say that an agitated woman is menopausal or "probably just has PMS", yet hormones can elevate sensitivities and increase irritability. And it’s not just women — men also are known to have hormonal ebbs and flows, just not during predictable cycles like women.