Cranky: Why do you get it and how do you stop?

Everyone has a down day from time to time, but what if you find yourself increasingly walking around looking like the Grinch? Being grumpy is no fun for anyone, so how do you get into this state and how do you stop being grumpy? In this blog, we'll take a closer look and give you tips on how to deal with someone who is grumpy.

Being cranky

Grumpy is actually a corrupted French word that refers to grumpiness and sadness. People who are seen as grumpy often see things negatively and don't like anything. When you are grumpy you have a bad mood which also causes you to make rotten remarks. You can then keep your bad mood to yourself badly[1].

So you are quickly irritated then.

Moreover, you're not the only one who suffers from this. About three percent of all people frequently suffer from crankiness[2].

It is a very awkward mood to have, because you make enemies rather than friends when you are cranky. Therefore, if you live with other people, it can be important to do something about your grumpiness because it also affects those around you. You don't just have yourself with it. In fact, you can also become very angry and aggressive because of crankiness.

Grumpiness: Where does it come from?

Grumpiness is also called the age blues; the older you get, the more likely you are to suffer from grumpiness[3].

Hostility and anger have even been found to be linked to cardiovascular disease[4].

There is also a link between anxiety and feelings of depression and crankiness.

It is also a symptom of ODD (opposition defiant disorder) you then always have rebellious behavior.

It is also hereditary to some degree. So if one of your parents suffered from crankiness, there is a small chance that you could suffer from it because of the genes you have.

If your mother suffered from depression, you are more likely to suffer more from crankiness. In addition, parents' poor responsiveness to children's care needs is also a factor that may come into play. A hostile way of parenting or parenting does not help either (source 2).

Grumpiness affects the brain. In the brains of young people who are often cranky, it can be seen that the amygdala, striatum and frontal region look different from the brains of young people who do not suffer from crankiness[5].

A cranky mood is often caused by having a violent reaction, something that triggers a negative emotion in you. This causes you to become angry and aggressive. More angry and aggressive than makes sense for the situation. This can be about a comment someone makes to you or something you disagree with someone else about, but it is not a very important thing to agree on.

That anger is a negative emotion that simultaneously motivates you to take action (because you want to get rid of that feeling).

Frustration is often also something that arises because you do something for a reward and don't get it, or because you don't do something because of a possible punishment and still get that punishment. This can then also trigger crankiness.

Reduce crankiness

Reducing crankiness can be done with hypnosis by applying a number of strategies. On the one hand, you can look at beliefs about rewards and the like to see why you get irritated when a certain response in your environment fails to materialize.

For example, you can look at the moment when a particular event first made you super cranky. This is often the moment when a belief that causes the crankiness was created. Next, you can do something with that moment that disconnects that feeling from the event.

Another technique is to actually practice mentally reacting in certain situations differently than by getting cranky. Anchoring a good feeling can also be important for this, so that if you notice you are getting cranky, you can quickly transform it to a more positive feeling with a movement.

Then there can be very obvious reasons why someone is cranky and for which there are other solutions.

Cranky after quitting smoking

Quitting smoking is definitely one of the healthiest decisions you can make, only you don't notice those effects right away. So you do something for a reward, namely your health, but this is not immediately noticeable.

What is noticeable are the withdrawal symptoms when you quit smoking, and this includes crankiness. These withdrawal symptoms decrease tremendously after the first week of quitting smoking and slightly in the period after that.

If you quit smoking without the help of hypnosis, you can consider the following withdrawal symptoms:

1. Grumpiness
2. Sleepiness
3. Dizziness
4. Kuchen
5. Tense feeling in the chest
6. Feeling that you really want to smoke after all[6].

Fortunately, you can also quit smoking with the help of hypnosis, and during such a session you can receive suggestions that will help you suffer less from withdrawal symptoms such as crankiness[7].

Crankiness and menstruation

There is an idea among many people that women are grumpier before or during menstruation than usual. This has been studied and this research shows that men think this mostly about their mothers and the influence of menstruation on their behavior, but women do not recognize this in their mothers. At most, puffiness[8].

So this is more in general, but there are women who suffer from PMS, pre-menstrual syndrome) and then crankiness is one of the symptoms that women can suffer from before the actual period.

Other symptoms include:

1. Anger
2. Depressive feelings
3. Crying a lot or being weepy
4. Anxiety
5. Tension
6. Mood swings
7. Not being able to concentrate well
8. Confusion
9. Forgetfulness
10. Restlessness
11. Loneliness
12. Lower self-confidence

One way to suffer less from PMS and its associated crankiness are dietary adjustments, taking less salt and caffeine, exercising more, keeping a diary, and reducing stress[9].

In addition, research shows that hypnotherapy can be incredibly helpful in reducing PMS symptoms. This may be because hypnosis can change your beliefs, making it easier, for example, to change your lifestyle and to just be less likely to have a reason to get cranky, despite your hormones[10].

How do you deal with someone who is cranky?

Are you living with someone who is often cranky, or is it a colleague of yours? If so, there are a number of ways to deal with this grumpiness.

Initially, you can indicate that you would like a call. During this conversation, you may note that the person has been suffering from crankiness for quite a long time. He/she may not even realize it himself/herself. Indicate that you are worried about how long he/she has been cranky and that he/she constantly reacts to you as if you are super irritating.

Also indicate how the crankiness affects you. For example, if you ask a very normal question, such as "How was your day?" a snarl in response doesn't really make sense.

You can also do some exercises together and then help the person be less grumpy.

Doing a gratitude exercise, for example, often creates a better mood. For example, list six things from your day that you are grateful for and have the grumpy person do the same.

You can also help the person with mindfulness meditation. If you have had a little training in that, you can be a sort of "voice" during the meditation to help the person relax and release thoughts. A little training in hypnosis can be enough for this.

You can also make a game of negative thoughts and how to reframe, or rethink, them. This can also help people think just a little less negatively. A problem can suddenly become an opportunity through rethinking and that already gives a much lighter feeling.

Getting someone to follow along with this type of exercise is not always easy. Especially if someone has never done this before, it can feel quite difficult. Changing your mindset, because that is what you are doing, is still something that is also hard work for the brain.

If you have knowledge of hypnosis and certain hypnotherapy techniques, you can help yourself and other people feel better and suffer less from crankiness.

Want to learn more about hypnosis and how it works? Then come to the free online master class.

Or register directly for one of our seminars or trainings. Then you will immediately learn hypnosis techniques that you can use for yourself and others. At least when you come back from the seminar you can make someone else feel good.

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Also, pin this infographic as a reminder:

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