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New Choices in Natural Healing: Irritability

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Irritability

Sometimes life just piles up on you. Nothing’s falling your way, nobody’s giving you a break, your patience is completely shot, and Groucho Marx himself couldn’t make you crack a smile.

Call it what you want. Cranky. Moody. Irritable. But when you’re feeling this way, three words pretty much sum up how you feel: Leave.......me.......alone. The natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor’s approval, may help prevent or relieve irritability, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

Your irritability starts affecting your job performance and personal relationships.
You have frequent or persistent headaches.
Your irritability lasts for more than a week.
You feel under constant pressure.

Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy

For those who are easily annoyed and who quickly lose patience with others, the flower remedy Impatiens can be helpful, says Leslie J. Kaslof, an herbalist and author of The Traditional Flower Remedies of Dr. Edward Bach. Those who are irritated by and critical and judgmental of the idiosyncrasies of others can be helped by using the flower remedy Beech, he says.

Flower remedies are available in some health food stores and through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 635). For information on preparing and administering flower remedies, see page 37.

Food Therapy

Fruits and vegetables are rich in complex carbohydrates, which increase serotonin, a brain chemical that produces an overall calming effect, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. While it’s always a good idea to eat plenty of produce, “when you’re feeling irritable, it’s especially important to eat more fruits and vegetables,” he says.

Homeopathy

If you demand attention and need to be comforted and your irritability worsens with noise and when you’re spoken to, try Chamomile 30C in the morning and evening until symptoms lessen, says Chris Meletis, N.D., a naturopathic physician and medicinary director at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Bryonia 30C twice a day may help, according to Dr. Meletis, if you have a tendency toward dry, parched lips and you are worse in the morning and when being touched. Nux Vomica 30C in a similar dose can lessen your irritation if you also feel tense, have backaches and indigestion and feel worse when questioned, he says. If you have lots of anger and resentment, with vengeful tendencies, he suggests a similar dose of Staphysagria 30C.

You can find all of these remedies in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

The neutral bath has a balancing effect on anxious or irritable people, according to Charles Thomas, Ph.D., co-author of Hydrotherapy: Simple Treatments for Common Ailments and a physical therapist at Desert Springs Therapy Center in Desert Hot Springs, California. Fill your bathtub with water slightly cooler than body temperature, around 94° to 97°F, according to Dr. Thomas. Submerging as much of your body as possible, he says, stay in the bath for at least 30 minutes, adding water as needed to maintain the temperature of the bath. Dr. Thomas suggests trying this remedy whenever you feel irritable.

Imagery

Close your eyes and hear a silent cry from within. Feel this cry going out of you, says Elizabeth Ann Barrett, R.N., Ph.D., professor and coordinator of the Center for Nursing Research at Hunter College of the City University of New York in New York City.

“The idea behind this imagery is that there is an agony or crying inside you that isn’t being expressed and that’s why you’re irritable. This can help you let go of that pain,” Dr. Barrett says. She suggests doing this imagery once a day in the morning as needed. It might take practice, she says, so if you don’t feel the cry the first time, try again the next day.

As an alternative, imagine that your nerves are a series of stretched rubber bands throughout your body. One by one, release the rubber bands. Envision yourself relaxing more and more as each rubber band is released, says Dr. Barrett. She recommends that you do this imagery twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, and let it continue until you feel relaxed. If needed, she adds, you can repeat this imagery at any time during the day.

Relaxation and Meditation

Meditation may help soothe irritability, says Sundar Ramaswami, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the F. S. Dubois Community Mental Health Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Meditation helps you become more aware of physical cues, such as increased muscle tension, that occur as you become irritable, according to Dr. Ramaswami. He says that learning to control those physical responses is the key to alleviating irritability.

To experiment with meditation, try the simple technique on page 117. Begin meditating for 20 minutes twice a day, suggests Dr. Ramaswami. As you become more proficient and more aware of your body’s sensations and needs, he says, you may find you can meditate less and still get the same effect.

Sound Therapy

Think and hear green when you’re feeling mean, says color-music therapist Mary Bassano in her book Healing with Music and Color. Bassano suggests taking a few minutes to imagine yourself swimming in a bubble of green light. While you do this, listen to one of these pieces of classical music, which Bassano says will help you calm down: Melody in F by Arthur Rubinstein, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy or Violin Concerto in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn. Or try these New Age recordings: Fairy Ring by Mike Rowland or Pan Flute by Za Mir. You should be able to find these recordings in music stores.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

A daily dose of an amino acid called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, can increase levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which has a calming effect and can help ease irritability, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and director of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. You can buy GABA in supplement form in most health food stores. Follow the manufacturer’s suggested dosage on the label.

Yoga

Take a rest break during the day, says Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. She suggests scheduling a 10- to 15-minute break right on your calendar, then spending that time meditating. This will slow you down a little, she says, and help you deal with one of the root causes of irritability: the feeling that you can’t produce fast enough to satisfy yourself. For more information about meditation, see page 153.

See also Anger; Type A Personality

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