Irritated Often? It Might Not Just Be Your Temper! Insights from Doctors

Modern life should come with a trigger warning. Your career, traffic, politics, the environment, loved ones — for many of us they are responsible for nearly constant anxiety and worry. Those challenges have only escalated since the pandemic. You might sometimes feel like you’re the very definition of irritability. 

The question is, what’s normal? Are you experiencing occasional bouts of irritability or are you battling mood swings and disorders that suggest a serious underlying cause? The fastest way to get answers is an at-home test. Of course at-home tests are not created equal. The best ones will do more than just test your blood. They should also provide qualified follow-up care. Getting a consultation with highly trained medical professionals is vital. This personal touch is one reason many have selected Kyla for their at-home testing needs. Here’s why if you are often irritated and worried, the culprit might be bigger than your temper.

Anxiety Attacks and Triggers

Anxiety is on the rise. Not only is it the most common mental illness in the world but according to a U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, almost one out of three adults reported anxiety and depression symptoms in 2023. In other words, if you’re regularly dealing with anxiety attacks and triggers, you are not alone. Post-pandemic issues like others not respecting your personal space, frustrating commutes, and rising prices can contribute to a toxic tidal wave of stress. A medical journal article suggested that the definition of irritability is “proneness to anger.” Often the trigger is when you’ve set a goal and are suddenly prevented from obtaining it. 

Imagine that you want to get into work early on a Monday morning. You’ve fallen behind in your tasks and are having a hard time getting the job done in a busy, noisy office. Yet as you race out to your car, you discover a neighbor’s vehicle blocking the driveway. The same neighbor you’ve asked repeatedly to find a better parking space. How do you react? How loudly will you knock on that neighbor’s door? How many times will you ring their doorbell?

Yet some suggest that it’s about more than just circumstances. Instead, some of us may be more predisposed toward irritability. Medical website Health Direct explains that the definition of irritability “is a state that involves feelings of anger or frustration, of being impatient and quick to get annoyed, especially over small things. People with irritability have a tendency to react with anger to slight provocation. They have a short temper and may snap at people.” 

Irritability can be inherited. Yet children who suffer from unexplained anger or are excessively irritable tend to be carefully watched. That’s because as a leading psychiatric journal noted, “Over the last 10 to 15 years, the number of prepubertal children diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) in the United States has increased at rates close to 500%. This increase was thought to result partly from counting severe and chronic irritability” as a symptom of manic behavior –– a hallmark of bipolar disorder.

Still, anger and irritability, especially in adults, usually passes. It becomes a medical concern when it seems like you’re always battling mood swings, unexplained anger or near constant anxiety and worry. In this case, doctors suggest several suspects. 

First of all, ask yourself if you have been experiencing more stress than usual. For instance, are you starting a new job or have you recently left the old one? Are you getting married or preparing your home for a newborn’s arrival? Life changes, even positive ones, can increase your stress. Of course, the death of a loved one, job loss, or divorce are bigger stressors than planning a vacation.  

Stress motivates your adrenal glands to produce the steroid hormone cortisol, which is  commonly associated with the fight or flight response. In one study, medical students’ “mean cortisol level was found to increase approximately nine times in stressful periods compared with that in relaxed periods.”

Excessive cortisol production is not just a side effect of constant anxiety and worry. It can have serious health implications. It has been linked to heart disease and obesity. It affects your ability to sleep, compromises your immune system, and can even influence your body’s cravings (one reason you may want sweet or salty snacks.) Getting an at-home test from Kyla will help you determine if your cortisol levels are too high. It will also provide valuable information about the levels of other crucial hormones like testosterone and estrogen. It can even highlight another issue that has been linked to anger and irritability. Your thyroid health. 

Thyroid, Blood Sugar Levels and Irritability

Anxiety and mood disorders aren’t the only reasons for excessive irritability. There can also be a physical cause, one that could be revealed by an inexpensive at-home test. In the United States, some 20 million people suffer from a thyroid disorder. This endocrine gland is responsible for making and secreting hormones. Since these hormones do everything from regulating the amount of blood circulating in your cardiovascular system to your fertility, it’s easy to see how valuable a properly functioning thyroid can be. Anger and irritability, along with difficulty sleeping, persistent thirst, and excessive sensitivity to heat are among the symptoms of hypothyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Fortunately, discovering your thyroid levels involves a simple at home test like the ones performed by Kyla.

If your unexplained anger seems to strike every time you skip lunch, then low blood sugar could be the culprit. Have you been feeling “hangry” lately? A portmanteau of “hungry” and “angry,” the made-up word “hangry” has been embraced by marketers. Yet it’s not just something used to sell candy bars. Doctors suggest that low blood sugar can lead to excessive irritability. Ensuring consistent consumption of nutritious meals can significantly help in silencing those cravings.

The key to good health is information. If you’ve noticed a shift in your mood, it’s a good idea to examine its cause. An at-home test could be the first step toward a longer, healthier life. At Kyla Clinics, you will not only discover the source of your irritation but   learn how their proprietary AI-driven medical analysis can put you on the path to good health.

Sources:

1. Anxiety Disorders – Facts and Statistics. Anxiety & Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
2. Vidal-Ribas, Pablo et al. “The Status of Irritability in Psychiatry: A Conceptual and Quantitative Review.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry vol. 55,7 (2016): 556-70. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2016.04.014 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927461/
3. “Irritability and feeling on edge,” Health Direct. January 2022. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/irritability-and-feeling-on-edge
4. “Life Change Index Scale (The Stress Test),” Dartmouth College. https://www.dartmouth.edu/eap/library/lifechangestresstest.pdf
5. “What is chronic stress and what are its common health impacts?,”Medical News Today. May 5, 2023. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323324#health-effects
6. Cay, Mahmut et al. “Effect of increase in cortisol level due to stress in healthy young individuals on dynamic and static balance scores.” Northern clinics of Istanbul vol. 5,4 295-301. 29 May. 2018, doi:10.14744/nci.2017.42103 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371989/
7. “What Does My Thyroid Do?” Cleveland Clinic. June 7, 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23188-thyroid
8. “Symptoms – Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism),” National Health Service (UK). April 11,2023. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/overactive-thyroid-hyperthyroidism/symptoms/#:~:text=Symptoms of an overactive thyroid,mood swings