Irritability
And how to avoid it, possibly.
If you google irritability, medical definitions include, a feeling of agitation, impatience, or annoyance right through to “increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as smells and sounds”, with causes chiefly cited as stress, anxiety and even autism. Obviously, if you have a bad night’s sleep, you’re bound to feel a bit cranky, and we’re all familiar with being hangry, but I was interested to understand the itchy red mist of irritability that descends on a quiet Sunday as your neighbour fires up his lawn mower. Plus, since hitting perimenopause, oh boy did my irritability threshold plummet!
What I found fascinating is that every single ‘health’ website assigned a physical or physiological cause as the source of irritability. In addition, descriptions often included phrases like, “It can be normal, but if it persists, it may indicate a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.”
But having just finished an extremely thought-provoking book called Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, by Robert Wright, who taught psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. With his help, I think I have a new way of looking at ‘irritability’, and furthermore, a potentially easy cure!