Man, sometimes I just have weeks where everything frustrates me. This week was one of those weeks no matter what I tried, I couldn’t pick up my mood. Just irritable and…well, pissy. All week. So today, in an effort to help myself (and ease the burden on those around me), I looked up ways to improve your mood and stop feeling so dang irritable. And I’m sharing them with you today!

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Pounds lost: 51.8

% to super goal: 41%

Still doing the damn thing! Even if I’m irritable!

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At least one good thing happened this week: I finally met my November goal and hit -54 lbs! I gained it back afterwards, but I’m still down overall from last week so I’m going to focus on the good. 

I hate it when I get irritable. I know I’m just bringing down everyone around me, and I can’t seem to stop. It’s like this ugly emotional miasma around me. I know my family sort of walks on eggshells when it happens, because they just want to do something to fix it and make me feel better, but the problem is inside me and not something they can do anything about. Them treating me delicately makes me even more irritable, and the cycle continues. I am blessed that they put up with me some days!

Even stuff that would normally not bug me gets completely under my skin. And then EVERY LITTLE THING drives me crazy once I’m in that space. 

So what can I do about it? Here are some ideas I found around the interwebs, plus some I thought of on my own. I’ve linked some sites below as well. 

Identify the Source

Listed in almost every source I found was to try to identify what’s making you irritable, whether it’s something that happened, or whether you’re missing sleep or are hungry. Another cause might be too much caffeine or alcohol. Whatever it is, even if it’s small, it’s important to figure out what’s causing your irritability. 

Self-Compassion

Take some time to give yourself a little compassion. Everyone has bad days, and everyone gets in a bad mood sometimes. Give yourself a mental hug and reset. You can ask someone else to give you a hug too!

Exercise

I think lots of people think of exercise when they think of mood elevators. All the hormones that get released into your system when you exercise help improve your mood, and it can help get rid of any nervous energy that’s causing your irritability. 

Gratitude

This might be considered avoidance or deflection, but I notice when I’m in a bad mood, it helps me to list out some stuff I’m grateful for. Or, if I’ve got my journal handy, reviewing my gratitude journal will remind me. 

Me Time

This is something I forget often. When I don’t get enough time to myself, it stresses me out, and I tend to get irritable when stressed. This one is particularly hard for me around the holidays, because it seems like there’s so much to do, and places to go, and so many demands on my time, that I don’t get enough time just to myself. 

Food and Sleep

Hanger is a real thing, people. If I’m hungry, I lose my shit. I feel like I become a different person. Almost as soon as I eat, I feel so much better. Same with sleep – when I’m tired, my fuse is short and my sarcasm goes on overload. Taking a nap can help, but better yet, I need to try to get as good a night’s sleep as I can.

Journal

This kind of goes along with the first one, because I think I can use journaling as a way to help me figure out why I’m irritable. Making a list of the things weighing me down might help me get it out rather than burden someone else with it. Maybe tracking irritability will help me, too! I mean, who knows, maybe it IS a that-time-of-the-month thing. 

Meditate

This I think will also help me. Spending some time relaxing and getting away from external stimuli by just meditating for a while would probably calm me down. 

So that’s what I found. If you’re having the same thing happen to you, maybe this will help! If you’d like to check out a couple more resources, see below. 

• 7 Quick Ways to Stop Being Irritable | Psychology Today
• 12 Strategies to Use When You’re Feeling Irritable | A Conscious Rethink

Until next week!

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