Try some techniques to calm yourself down.
“For people who find themselves irritable on a regular basis, mindfulness and deep breathing exercises can help calm the nervous system,” says Stuempfig. “Sensory activities that focus on what you hear, smell, taste, and feel in the moment can help you spend less time worrying about past or future events and feel less irritable.”
From meditation and yoga to painting and gardening, there are countless sensory activities that adults can try. Dancing and listening to music can also be mindful practices.
Raines similarly recommended focusing on your five senses as a way to calm yourself down in moments of stress. For example, you can touch something soft, tap your fingers, take a deep breath, smell a scent, or stare at a piece of art on the wall.
“Pay attention to your environment through each of your five senses, or whatever senses are open to you,” she said.
Take inventory of large areas of your life.
“If you find yourself frequently having angry reactions that are disproportionate to the cause, it may be helpful to take inventory of key areas of your life and consider where your unmet needs lie.” “No,” Stuenfig said. “Are there traumatic events from the past that have accumulated and have not been adequately addressed or processed? Are there losses from the past that have not been acknowledged? Are there tensions in the relationship that need to be resolved and resolved? ?”
She advised asking yourself if financial or work-related concerns are affecting your overall stress levels or if you’re feeling lonely in your life.
“Recognize that your ’emotional bucket’ fills up quickly, and take the time to think about why this happens,” says clinical psychologist Zainab Delawala. “Even though everything may seem fine on the surface, you may be operating just below a threshold and not have a healthy buffer to deal with temporary setbacks as the day unfolds. We need some space to work together and in a way that doesn’t derail us.”
Just keeping things “under control” and hoping everything will go according to plan is not a sustainable approach as unplanned changes and problems will inevitably occur. Addressing the big issues bubbling beneath the surface gives you the bandwidth to respond to unexpected moments in healthy ways.
Reach out to your loved ones.
“Emotions that are upsetting are very different from emotions that involve outbursts,” Rains says. “If anger or frustration is accompanied by outbursts or other difficult behaviors, it can be helpful to have support to find ways to cope.”
Even just telling a friend about your experience can make you feel like you’re helping. This applies not only in moments of overreaction, but also in general.
“Call someone you trust to vent and process your feelings,” Henry suggested.
If you feel that your emotions are overwhelming and lead to changes in behavior, reach out to your loved one. You may realize that your reactions are related to communication issues that need to be addressed.
“Two common themes that can cause chronic irritation are resentment toward others and difficulty communicating to meet one’s emotional needs, and these factors are often interrelated. ,” said Stuenfig. “It’s very common for people to have a hard time expressing themselves and therefore internalizing their emotions. This can lead to a buildup of resentment, and they don’t want to ask for what they need. Instead, they continue to feel dissatisfied and their baseline levels of anger and frustration increase.”
