Irritability is defined as an abnormal response to stress that involves anger, agitation, and extreme sensitivity. It refers to a low threshold for frustration that results in frequent outbursts of anger or aggression.
Some key things to understand about irritability:
- It often arises in response to minor frustrations that would not provoke such a reaction in most people. For example, someone with high irritability may have a meltdown over small inconveniences like traffic jams or waiting in line.
- It can manifest verbally through angry outbursts, emotionally through tearfulness, or behaviorally through aggression towards objects or other people. Shouting, hitting things, throwing items would all be examples.
- The intensity and duration of the irritated response is disproportionate to the triggering stressor. An irritated person has a hard time winding down once upset.
- It negatively impacts relationships and day-to-day functioning. Frequent blow ups can alienate friends and family. Issues managing irritability are associated with poor academic and work performance.
So what causes such hair-trigger irritability? In many cases it results from
underlying issues such as:
- Hormonal imbalances - Issues with estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and cortisol levels are common causes of irritability. If your hormones are out of whack, it's easy to feel on-edge, stressed and prone to snapping. (Vitality Balance Clinic offers comprehensive lab testing and individualized treatment plans to help patients identify and rebalance the specific hormones causing their irritability issues)
- Mental health disorders - Conditions like anxiety, depression and PTSD predispose people to struggle with frequent irritation and agitation. Irritability is also a hallmark symptom of bipolar disorder.
- Neurological conditions - People with autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease and other brain issues can experience irritability from overstimulation, loss of control or inability to communicate needs appropriately.
So as you can see, irritability stems from biological or psychological origins that make it hard for someone to respond to daily life stresses in a composed, rational manner. If you struggle with chronic, extreme
aggravation and angry outbursts, support is available in the form of counseling,
behavior modification techniques and even targeted medical treatments.