Who to consult or what to do to avoid getting easily irritated at the slightest annoyance or stressor?

Question

At home, I get angry or nervous very easily. I am often rendered, rarely calm and composed. I am sensitive to stress: the smallest stressor can make me angry. This has a negative impact on my family dynamics, having young children. Without yelling, my tone and words are not appropriate. I know I need to model the right behaviors in front of my children. I have less of this problem at work. But I am at risk of reacting strongly in certain situations, or expressing myself too strongly or with too much intensity. Notes: I feel like I am living well, that my life is going well. I have been taking escitalopram since 2018. I was followed by a psychologist for a few months (also in 2018). While I appreciated being able to talk regularly about my emotions, managing my emotions, and my family relationships, I don't feel like it helped me be more in control of my emotions and reactions Thank you.

Jici Lord-Gauthier · Accepted Answer

Hello, Thank you for your question, I hope I can answer some of your questions. Before I begin, you should know that a psychologist would be in the best position to answer your needs and help you understand what the problems are and to develop tools to better regulate your stress response. That being said, here are a few things that may help. It is important to recognize and normalize that stress is a natural part of modern life. However, when stress becomes chronic and pervasive, and when it negatively and significantly affects day-to-day functioning, it becomes important to find ways to reduce stress levels In the short term, certain activities or techniques have the effect of calming our stress response almost immediately: breathing deeply or practicing specific breathing techniques , doing a refocusing or grounding exercise , doing progressive muscle relaxation , doing intense physical exercise, "losing oneself" in a pleasant activity, doing a meditation session, or other relaxation techniques . While nothing will reduce stress in the moment, sometimes the best thing to do is to accept the fact that you are stressed: stress is a normal response to a stressful situation and should not be blamed or judged. There is no magic solution, and sometimes our personal strategies are overwhelmed and we need the help and patience of others. In the medium or longer term, it may be necessary to reconsider certain lifestyle habits that can have a negative and insidious impact on the basic level of stress, and thus make it even more difficult to tolerate and be patient with life's little and big irritants, for example: the number of hours of sleep, the amount of caffeine, the amount of physical activity, eating habits, having an interesting and resourcing social life, etc Also, it can be helpful to communicate more about your emotions in a preventive way, that is, before they become too great and manifest themselves as irritability or impatience. It remains crucial to have a caring attitude towards oneself, i.e. to give oneself the right to make mistakes, to not be completely clear in one's authentic communication, to do one's best, to be good enough, etc. That being said, a consultation with a mental health professional could be beneficial in order to understand the deeper reasons for stress and to obtain more personalized advice based on your personal history. In this regard, it may be appropriate to mention your past experiences with psychotherapy to ensure that your needs are best met today. Finally, I hope you find some use for this information. Sincerely, Dr. Jici Lord-Gauthier Clinical Psychologist