Toocrazy!! Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I am grumpy. Have been for several months. I just wake up that way. I have no reason to be this grumpy- my life is good! I'm a very lucky girl. I'm usually fine once I get in a group or going with what I need to do, but I'm having a hard time turning my frown upside down:) What do you do to get yourself out of a grump rut? I get good self care. I'm a strong introvert, so sometimes people help, but in general my mood right now is a fine line between bored and overwhelmed. Can't seem to find my happy place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I use self control to not show my grumpiness to others. Also, sometimes a walk or singing aloud helps me. But that may be because I enjoy walks and singing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Have you checked your vitamin D levels? Have you tried yoga? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 are you in perimenopause? moodiness is a symptom. work out - kickboxing, martial arts, or something that gets aggression out. I found yoga very helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Hard exercise first thing in the morning will get your endorphins up. Keeping a gratitude journal will help your attitude. Finding someone to help can help your attitude. Getting a checkup at the doctor to make sure there's no biological cause can help. After that, treat your bad attitude like a character flaw and tell yourself to stop it. Decide to be happy and smile until you are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 50 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said: are you in perimenopause? moodiness is a symptom. Also, food intolerances can make a person grumpy or anxious. Some meds. If you are waking up this way, could you have apnea or some other thing causing you to not sleep well? Is someone making noise first thing in the AM that almost wakes you up, but not quite? At one point, I was "sleeping" through my DH's snoring and waking up just after he would stop--I would wake up very suddenly and be super angry but have no idea why until eventually I started waking up during the snoring, which was stunningly loud. I was often dreaming about something frustrating that I couldn't get to stop, lol! I also get grumpy if I'm discontent with my own progress--then, I need to make different plans for how to be productive. I've had to shift a LOT in this area in the last couple of years, and there have been times when my schedule is, quite frankly, not only not my own, but totally opposite of what generally helps me be productive. It's gotten better, but I still have some days where instead of being proactive, I behave more like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop (as a result of the previous chaos), and then I'm upset that I didn't use the time I had. Vitamin or mineral deficiencies don't help. If the weather is nice, I play in the dirt. I mean, I work on my landscaping. ? If it's hot, I am lost--I am super intolerant of heat. Swimming (indoors so I don't have to deal with sunscreen and burns) helps if the perimenopause doesn't overcomplicate that massively as well. Time in the woods is good too, but there isn't much opportunity here for that--lots of poison ivy and tons of allergy stuff. I soak this up when I visit my hometown--more woods (and more dense woods that are actually cool), little to no ragweed, and little to no poison ivy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Low dose birth control pills helped me. It was hormonal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 We decided to cut out (non essential) commitments that we no longer enjoyed or had stopped bringing us joy. Selling horses and my sheep did it. Presto. No more grumpies. I also dumped a commitment for my kids that freed up a whole afternoon during the school year. There is more to the story but thats the synopsis. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I found that exercise and time outside in nature help my mood. Go for a hike. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Sunshine every day, out in it, skin to sun Iron if needed. I took prenatal vitamins all through peri, and I could tell if I ran out for a few days--I'd get deeply tired and lethargic. Thyroid ditto. Actual irritability during peri was definitely hormonal--I started to notice that it peaked (crescendoed really) on the 2-3 days before Day One. I took borage oil for that and it worked like a charm. Gratitude. Really upbeat, positive, exuberant, joyful, intense music. Teena Marie. The Spinners. Eddie Money. Journey. Earth Wind and Fire, Chicago. Bach chorales. Lutheran hymns. Going to church--a strong liturgical Lutheran service to me is like a big fat reset button. Like turning the computer off and then on again. Prayer. Getting plenty of rest. Accomplishing things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Are you on meds that could be affecting your mood? I was super cranky on Valium (used for back pain). I also agree that hard, sweaty work outs will help a lot. Alley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toocrazy!! Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 I do think it is hormonal. I am perimenopausal. Perimenopause has been going on a LONG time - like almost 10 years. It started out with horrific anxiety, then I felt mostly good in the last few years and I have only had a cycle every 9-10 months. But the last few months I've been grumpy, irritable, not sleeping well and I've had hot flashes. I know exercise would help, but I'm in a terrible rut right now of eating like crap and sitting around too much. I need a swift kick to get me moving and maybe then I would feel better! I think I do need to treat it as a character flaw and get over myself :) A gratitude journal would help too. I know not eating right is only making it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I feel so much better mentally when I eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Sunshine is important for my mood, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Lots of good ideas here. Set goals for yourself and see if you can turn things around. Like Saturday’s goal could be to buy a bag of oranges to eat during the week and Monday’s goal could be to call the doctor’s office and set up bloodwork to see if you are deficient in any vitamins. Then set up gentle daily goals: eat an orange a day for a week. Walk somewhere for 10 minutes a day (around the yard, down the street, up and down the staircase, etc.). Adjust or increase the goals as you go. I find that if I have general goals without due dates (like call the Doc on Monday), I can live in Nothing Ever Gets Done land for a long time. But if I assign myself due dates, and spread all the goals out over a bit of time, I can knock them out one by one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 44 minutes ago, Toocrazy!! said: I do think it is hormonal. I am perimenopausal. Perimenopause has been going on a LONG time - like almost 10 years. It started out with horrific anxiety, then I felt mostly good in the last few years and I have only had a cycle every 9-10 months. But the last few months I've been grumpy, irritable, not sleeping well and I've had hot flashes. I know exercise would help, but I'm in a terrible rut right now of eating like crap and sitting around too much. I need a swift kick to get me moving and maybe then I would feel better! I think I do need to treat it as a character flaw and get over myself ? A gratitude journal would help too. I know not eating right is only making it worse. Hormonal issues are not a character flaw, and you shouldn’t be able to expect to “correct” them as such. I agree with others - big difference when eating right, exercising, etc. However, I was doing all of those things, and still having issues - moodiness, hot flashes, not sleeping well, etc. I went on HRT and haven’t looked back. I also find that some Jack Daniels helps me when I am grumpy.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 8 hours ago, Toocrazy!! said: I do think it is hormonal. I am perimenopausal. Perimenopause has been going on a LONG time - like almost 10 years. It started out with horrific anxiety, then I felt mostly good in the last few years and I have only had a cycle every 9-10 months. But the last few months I've been grumpy, irritable, not sleeping well and I've had hot flashes. I know exercise would help, but I'm in a terrible rut right now of eating like crap and sitting around too much. I need a swift kick to get me moving and maybe then I would feel better! I think I do need to treat it as a character flaw and get over myself ? A gratitude journal would help too. I know not eating right is only making it worse. Oh honey it’s gotta be hormones. Can you reward yourself each day? Like no wtm till you take a 10 minute walk? Also, if I don’t eat protein at breakfast, I eat like crap all day. So try to start your day off well. I’m sorry you’re feeling bad. Sleep problems kill my motivation too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toocrazy!! Posted August 11, 2018 Author Share Posted August 11, 2018 Thank you all for the advice and thoughts. Today I had my super healthy breakfast choice instead of the bagel at the drive through. So that's a start. I will go get my blood tested next week. I do that through mymedlab anyway so I'll get that done. DS is in public school and will be starting this week. The routine should help with lots of things, but hopefully exercise for sure, which I know will help my mood. Thanks for getting my momentum going. I was on quite a roll with exercise, eating well and weight loss until February and then my routine went off the rails when my mom broke her hip. She's getting better and back to her routine, so I need to do the same. Maybe it will be enough to counter the grumpies! If not, I'll keep trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Do you have a physical outlet? I’m a person who needs regular physical activity to feel great, but I’m BAD at exercising by myself. I have to be in a regular class to really do it on a schedule and it’s really regular exercise that counts. My love is dancing, so I do those classes, but there are a lot of choices out there if that doesn’t speak to you. Don’t worry about being an introvert. In a class you are focused on yourself and the teacher does the talking. Being in the honeymoon phase with a new interest is also a mood lifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Very timely thread! I really struggle this time of year because our summer routine is over, but our new school year routine is not quite going yet and I get grumpy about all the things I feel like I haven't done, am not getting done, but the lack of solid routine makes even the easy stuff harder for me. Lots of positive ideas here. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 This is a very interesting thread to me, because "grumpy" is a mood I never experience. I wonder why that is? Oh, I have my moods, for sure! But they usually bounce between happiness and melancholy, not grumpiness. It must be a brain chemistry thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 49 minutes ago, Another Lynn said: Very timely thread! I really struggle this time of year because our summer routine is over, but our new school year routine is not quite going yet and I get grumpy about all the things I feel like I haven't done, am not getting done, but the lack of solid routine makes even the easy stuff harder for me. Lots of positive ideas here. ? Me too. Summer, in general, is when I’m at my crankiest. Loss of routine but expectations of GOODTIMES plus insanely hot weather. I don’t hop out of bed with excitement to face the day. I rather sigh. Once I get going I’m fine and my mood usually improves...but it takes time. It stinks to chronically wake up in a grumpy mood and not be certain why. I have no answers. LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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