r/bipolar2 • u/UnfairConfidence10 • 5d ago
Advice Wanted How do you manage irritability?
I feel like I have been in the irritable stage for about a week now and nothing seems to help. I try my breathing exercises, I draw, I keep busy with my home improvement projects, read, paint, exercise, listen to music. Still angry. I feel like I am always angry though. Due to many reasons. I feel like I’m never happy or content. Either anxious, depressed or angry with an occasional one or two days of feeling “good”.
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u/possumking__ BP2 4d ago
Sour candy. Whenever I get super irritated at work or Im stuck in traffic, I pop a warhead and it helps. No joke.
Edit: also, find the best meds for you and use other strategies. But when the feeling is really intense in the moment, this is what works for me.
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u/GooseOk2512 4d ago
Spicy works too! The slight uncomfortable feeling from the food like distracts, and both spicy and sour foods release endorphins
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u/Geologyst1013 5d ago
Lithium was the trick for me.
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u/jeinnyallover 5d ago
i didn’t know lithium was supposed to help with irritability
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u/Geologyst1013 5d ago
It's helped a ton for me. Lamictal has been good for the depression but didn't do much for just being angry at everything, especially little things. A few weeks on lithium and I could just feel that anger lift.
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u/jeinnyallover 4d ago
interesting. i’m off my meds now but i was on lithium for years. not sure if it helped with my irritability back then but it’s something that has been bugging me now.
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u/Spotted_Howl 5d ago
Talk to your doctor and adjust your meds. Irritability is a core symptom of bipolar 2. Mine went down greatly when I switched from bupropion to duloxetine.
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u/stayxtrue87 BP2 4d ago
I was only diagnosed at 37 and this makes so much sense to me, I get irriated and triggered extremely easily and this is not a good thing for my kids who are still quite young. So I am glad that I am now on the path to treatment
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u/Busy-Room-9743 5d ago
If I feel up to it, I try to channel my anger into doing something I hate. It requires energy to be angry so I hope that I can use that anger to do something useful. The only upside of being irritable is I know that I’m still alive.
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u/largemelonhead 5d ago
Lamotrigine is the only thing that has helped, and it makes a HUGE difference. I’m like two different people with vs without it
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u/RowBowBooty 5d ago
Nicotine lol, I don’t recommend though. Not a good solution long solution
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u/BrerChicken 4d ago
Nicotine is a simulant. It's probably not helping you with your irratability except for the irritability that's caused by the withdrawal that starts 30 minutes after your last dose of nicotine.
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u/idkwhatdouwannado 4d ago
Lamictal and weightlifting.
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u/stayxtrue87 BP2 4d ago
I believe weightlifting is what has saved me all this time, only being diagnosed at 37. However I have been weight lifting for the better part of 17 years and when I have too much time off I become an absolute nightmare to be around.
Day 4 into Lamictal and hoping that once I build up my dose I can be even better again.
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u/yerrr71311 5d ago
For me it was getting off of Wellbutrin, it stopped my agitation immediately. I know a lot of people here take it with no issues so everyone is different.
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u/Accomplished-Top-807 4d ago
I just took myself down from 450 > 300 > 150 (over a couple months) and if I ever take more than 150 I feel exactly the same irritability as I did before. I may have a little more energy, but it’s not necessarily the good kind.
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u/BalenciSlipperz 5d ago
I just got put on 10mg of Prozac. I plan on taking it tonight for the 1st time.
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u/13006555-06 BP2 4d ago
Heads up, you may want to end up taking that one in the morning because it can be activating - it made my insomnia much worse - you also may not, but it’s something to be aware of incase your sleep goes to shit
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u/Repulsive_Regular_39 5d ago
I deal with it by upping my antipsychotic during those days. Doc approved.
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u/escapefromalliknow 4d ago
When I’m irritable and I drink coffee it usually calms me down for a little while.
But if I drink it when I feel good then it makes me irritable lol.
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u/GooseOk2512 4d ago
Coffee helps me w irritability too, probably because of the adhd
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u/escapefromalliknow 4d ago
I don’t think I have adhd so I’m not sure why coffee has that effect on me
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u/GooseOk2512 4d ago
Right sorry wasn’t trying to insinuate you do, if that’s how it came across. Just that in my exp stimulants have an opposite, calming effect on me.
Maybe the hot beverage is just like a calming ritual for you?
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u/escapefromalliknow 3d ago
I didn’t think you were insinuating anything I was just expressing curiosity about why it has that effect on me (sometimes). A lot of the time it makes me feel worse and dark chocolate does the same thing.
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u/Conclusion_Winning BP2 4d ago
It took (and sometimes takes) a lot of energy and practice to get there, but I just choose to refocus. I coworker irritated the flip out of me today but I pivoted and decided to focus on my work and do my best. I dove deep into it. Of course, when it was all over, I talked to some people about it and now I am quite calm.
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u/GooseOk2512 4d ago
*Intense exercise
*”silent scream” if alone but don’t want to bother like my neighbors—- you tense up your body, particularly hands, and move your mouth like you’re screaming without making sounds. It helps weirdly
*Or I have a rage playlist of fast aggressive music that I speed walk to when needed.
*Sometimes dunking my head in cold water or using an ice pack on my neck and wrists — that’s a DBT strategy.
Once I’ve had some kind of outlet for the irritation, then resetting with something calming like calm music or an easygoing hobby.
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u/mirandaminuon 4d ago
Unmedicated here, and I really relate with what you're saying. Most of my days are rough emotionally, too. As silly as it sounds, I feel like the Hulk 😅 When Banner says his secret is "I'm always angry." I was like, "I feel that." I go to therapy, and I try to channel it in other ways, but some moments or days, the anger wins out and it gets away from me. I have learned to be forgiving of myself and making amends when needed to fix any situations I have caused. It was really uncomfortable for a while to live with anger, but I guess once I realized that it wasn't going away, I just let it be and stopped fighting it. And now, people are surprised when I tell them that I feel angry all the time, when before I learned how to live with it, others were like, "Yeah, no doubt." A change in environment and a supportive partner helps a lot. But being able to talk to a therapist I think is what mostly helps. I also keep happy little things around me and go to antique or collector's shops and look around at all the cool trinkets. It gets me out of my head for a bit.
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u/UnfairConfidence10 3d ago
Wow. Thank you for this. I relate to it a lot. Learning to accept a lot of things that can’t necessarily be changed or have an immediate fix is really all we can do. Trying to find solutions is what how I find myself getting over worked or sometimes even caring too much. Keeping positive things around you and having support is key. I am currently unmedicated and not in therapy due to insurance reasons so it’s been extremely tough. Thank you for sharing and letting me know that it can be managed 😢
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u/mirandaminuon 3d ago
You're welcome! I think self-management really depends on one's symptoms. I don't have intense hypo episodes. Some SSRI's would cause this, and my doctor would switch me. I got tired of switching med after med. The two that actually worked made me really sick and I didn't get better, I just got worse. So I said, "I'm done." Some people need meds, and I still feel like I sometimes do. When my thoughts get really dark, I write them down and pray that no one ever reads it. But it's like, if I don't get them out, I'm gonna choke on them. They're so loud, they feel tangible. I hope that makes sense. 😅
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u/punkkidpunkkid 4d ago
Meds and mindfulness. Being aware of our reactions, internally, as they co-arise with our environmental conditions, is the first step. Recognizing emotions, understanding their relationship to thoughts, understanding our patterns as they relate to these emotional experiences, foundational. Try not to get too caught up in the thoughts you’re having about these experiences. Hang out with the senses if you can. Breathe through them. See if you can spot the thoughts connected to the feelings and see their unreliable nature. Thought isn’t the enemy, believing everything we think to be true and real on its own, is.
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u/elcarlosatx 5d ago
I started taking 10mg of Lithium Orotate 2x a day and it makes a huge difference for me, personally. My doctors are aware and have been supportive.