Constant irritability

I'm trying to pin down the source of my constant irritability, so my question is: Are any of you constantly irritable? When I say "constantly", I mean you're irritable regardless of what mood state you're in.

I'm trying to figure out if this is a bipolar thing or not. My pdoc insists that bipolar disorder can make you irritable all the time, but I don't know about that... (He talks out of his @ss sometimes.)

Personally, I think my baseline mood is "irritable". When I'm depressed or (hypo)manic, the irritability worsens, but it's always there regardless of what mood state I'm in.

I want to figure out the cause of this irritability so that I can take the appropriate steps to make it go away.

Before I started Trileptal I was always mad or irritated about something. I was "that person" you didn't want to be around. Not to say that it is the answer to your prayers, but it seriously was for me. I hardly get mad and my irritability has gone down drastically.

My pdoc insists that Lamictal will make the irritability go away, but I'm at 200mg and no luck so far. I'm still a bit pissy.

Trileptal sounds interesting. I'll do some research on it and maybe mention it to my pdoc if increasing my Lamictal dosage doesn't work. Thanks

I had this problem for years. Only Lithium has made it go away when not in an episode.

I am irritability off and on but more on than anything.
I almost took a bat to the a$$hole driving beside me today
When I was on Lamictal, I did not have this problem, but it gave me such
bad tremors I had to stop taking it.

Yup I was at the point where every little thing would irritate me

I've been put on Epical (Depakote) and I am ready to smash windows...it is not working

Before I started taking Adderall, I was always short-triggered and irritable. Treating my ADD has pretty much erased the irritability. A further help was getting on the right mood stabilizer, which for me is Geodon.

You know... my pdoc is a real a-hole. He refuses to treat my ADHD because he thinks that my IQ "allows me to compensate", even though my IQ isn't extremely high. It's 132.

I wonder if Adderall or some other ADHD medication will fix it -- but, of course, I need to find a new pdoc first...

I'm not chronically irritable, but I think BP can cause this. If you rapid cycle for instance, you may always be sorta dealing with what happens during the different phases. If you don't trust your doctors opinion, perhaps you could get a second or third? I have "stuff" which sticks around during stable periods and I'm not sure if it's related to BP. I plan to ask my doctor about it and get his take. If I don't agree, I will ask for a second opinion.

I'm sorry you are irritable. That must be very difficult for you. (((Hugs)))

If it's any consolation, my doc said the same thing. My way of describing it is that I am edgy and want to jump out of my skin. It's not like I'm hallucinating or psychotic, but it's a mental crawling in my skin. (Pretty sure I had that thought before Linkin Park.) That is in addition to the short fuse. He has me as Bipolar I, mixed type. He told me that the irritability, even when I'm depressed is mania. Of course he's a bit of an a-hole too, but it made sense at the time.

I don't feel irritable all the time. But when more or less manic and when depressed I can be. Mostly when (more or less) depressed.

The irritability of depression has nothing/little to do with the irritability of mania.

Irritability when manic is caused by people not understanding that I'm right, opposing me or not listening carefully enough (mostly due to the speed of talking and lack of focus, rather tangential speech).

The irritability when depressed is because I don't understand myself, the reasons for my problems, and because I feel I can't express myself and be myself.

As I re-read what I wrote I see it didn't exactly come out right.

Typically, irritability is a symptom of mania. So when I'm having a mixed episode, I'm exhibiting symptoms of both. The irascibility of mania plus the worthlessness/hopelessness of depression.

In any event, not a fun combination.

It's wonderful that you can "explain" your personality and self by medically-acceptable (diagnosed) terms, such as "Mania", "Depression" "ADHD", etc.

But I would like to know, genuinely, compassionately and caringly,
HOW DO YOU REALLY FEEL?

Are you happy, joyful, content OR
(I hope so),
Or are more concerned about how others (perceive) or want to (diagnose) you.
I'm sorry (apparently, it seems) you are struggling with "mental illness" -

I don't believe there's a single person in this world, that does not have some personality characteristic,
that could NOT be described by a medical term.
E.G. We all experience "ADHD", even before there was such a medical term.
(ADHD was called an expected response to (what we perceive as being) stressful...
Sadness aka "depression" is an expected response when life doesn't go the way we want it to, etc.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask (how you feel), and I'm hoping
(praying, if I'm allowed to use that term here),
that you feel some peace and joy today...
because that's all that really matters.

Btw, I often feel, so many of the symptoms you describe,
but I also know, all of those symptoms are "normal",
based on life events,
until they cause you to do things that are unhealthy
or that you did not want to do.

Said another way,
Do you have reason(s) to feel irritable? Is something(s) in your life wrong, that you can fix?
Or is the irritability, just a symptom of something very wrong (chemical imbalance, etc.) of your physical body (not emotions),
and in no way appropriately related to the situation?

Btw, I'm always "irritable" when I'm tired (lacking sleep) or in physical pain, but symptom goes away when those things are corrected.
I've been lacking sleep for a very long time, therefore I guess you can say, I too, am always irritable...
But I really am not,
my inner personality "used to be" very patient (not irritable).
I'm sure any doctor, would love to treat MY irritability, but I would rather treat the cause(s).

You sound like a very intelligent & educated person (compliment),
but I still want to know HOW YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW?

Probably "annoyed" by my long post- LOL (just kidding).

Yeh I have a baseline irritability about myself, depressed or hypomanic it becomes worse, dysphoric hypomania is when it's at its worse but if I'm correct in thinking I may have had euphoric hypomania in the past it completely disappears with that, perhaps not disappears but maybe I notice it less, others might disagree lol.

Similar to what ElsaMars said above, I also cycle in an ultra rapid kind of fashion between sub threshold sx's much of the time & I think that causes a lot of irritation during the switching phases of that's what it is.

Starting sertraline seems to have decreased my dysphoria, & the klonipin defiantly helps. Although my other experiences with ADs have not always been so good.

Hope you find some peace soon.

I am irritable almost all the time. It's exponentially worse when I am manic, and he slightest things can set me off.

Sorry bluebicycle. I'd like to respond to your genuine concern and question, but atm, can't, having been derailed. ( I'm kind of known for being zealously protective of those I care for, but that is a separate issue from irritability.)
But in the calming down meanwhile,

I am very irritable at the minute, I think it's because my mood is not baseline. I have recently started lamictal 25mg pdoc should increase it monday. I also take risperdal. I am really p***ed today, maybe irritability comes when mood is not right. I am hoping the lamictal will help to get my out of the depression. I had a few good days and was pleased but today is just horrible.

I'm like that look into a different AP.

The latuda (AP) helped me with this.

Wow, this thread has been amazing for me. Irritability is something that I definitely need to add into my treatment, because all of the comments here define me more often than not. And, the little things can really be annoying. The problem is, my team, I say it like this because I'm still being treated at a mental health facility, so I see a different doctor each time, but anyway, they don't seem to want to go any further with me. However, I feel that I owe some loyalty to this place because they have been a tremendous help. I wouldn't be here if not for them. Sure, I won't become President tomorrow, but at least they know that I'm still alive by continuing treatment with them. Even though I'm sensing that they want and need me to move on to open room for them to accept other clients, as the therapist said, I'm just not ready to.

I'm sorry I always go on tangents.

Lately I've been irritable, but mostly it turns into rage, and I've been snappy and a downright nasty person to be around. (Well... not ALL of the time, but a lot of the time.) But I'll work through it.

Yes I feel this way often and get dysphoric. Usually it's when I'm put on the wrong med. lamictal and wellbutrin make me very bad. I have risperdal as a PRN for when I'm feeling like this. Sometimes taking a few benzos and a nice nap helps.

Today is not a good day to ask this question lol. How I feel TODAY has been all over the map and for good reason, but that's not always the case.

I know everyone has these feelings but I'm going to stick by the criteria the DSM uses which is, "causes significant impairment."

Being at work and having no reason to feel so anxious that I need to leave, PETRIFIED to communicate that to my boss who would need to know so that I ask a co-worker to come to the bathroom and BEG her to talk to our boss while I'm having a crying fit for NO REASON - I figure that qualifies as "not normal."

The fact that I make enemies of people who love me and are trying to help me because I perceive them as belittling me, is not normal.

The fact that I can choke back tears for stuff I can't even consciously identify with, is not normal. Maybe, like autism, I'm at the more "normal" end of the normal spectrum, but that's not saying much. Without medication I could never function to my potential plus my relationships would likely implode.

I'm just hoping to be able to make headway in therapy but I am not going to have the money for it soon.

Sometimes I go back and forth as to whether I'm mentally ill or if it's just some character defect. I'll let you know if I sort it out.

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I understand the irritability that you're describing. Don't worry so much about categorizing yourself as "bipolar" or some other label. The same brain neurotransmitters are involved in many different mood disorders. I used to be irritable all the time, get angry easily, anxious, etc. I was that way for so long that I didn't realize that most people don't feel that way.

I was very resistant to medication and tried to manage my feelings on my own thru healthy diet, exercise, stress management techniques. My lifestyle is very healthy, yet I still felt irritable. But I finally came to realize that my irritable mood had a true chemical basis, so I gave in to Lexapro 10mg. My doc had me cut the pills at first (5mg). So I took 5mg for approximately 3 weeks until I was able to take 10mg each day. I'm still on 10mg and my old irritability/anger/anxiety is gone. I'll likely need to increase my dose as time goes on, but it's worth it to have a peaceful mind and not get upset with others for no good reason. I'm 33 years old and just wish I had been open-minded to medication sooner. Lexapro won't work for everyone, but there are many other SSRIs and other meds out there that can help. Healthy diet, exercise, and stress reduction are all still staples of my life as well.