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

“Chagrijnig” is actually a corrupted French word that refers to grumpiness and sadness. People who are seen as grumpy often view things negatively and don’t enjoy anything. If you’re grumpy, you’re in a bad mood, which causes you to make snide remarks. It’s hard to hide your bad mood in that case[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’s a very unhelpful mood to have, because you’re more likely to make enemies than friends when you’re grumpy. If you live with other people, it can therefore be important to do something about your grumpiness, because it also affects the people around you. It’s not just you who suffers. In fact, your grumpiness can also make you very angry and aggressive.

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].

A link has even been found between hostility and anger and cardiovascular disease[4].

In addition, there is a link between anxiety, depressive feelings, and irritability.

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’re more likely to experience increased irritability. In addition, parents’ poor response to their children’s care needs is also a factor that can play a role. A hostile parenting style or upbringing doesn’t 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 bad mood is often caused by having a strong reaction to something that triggers a negative emotion in you. This makes you angry and aggressive. More angry and aggressive than the situation would logically warrant. This could be about a comment someone makes to you or something you disagree with someone else about, but it’s not something important enough to argue over.

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

You can reduce irritability with hypnosis by applying a number of strategies. For one thing, you can examine your beliefs about rewards and similar concepts to understand why you become irritated when a certain response from your environment doesn’t 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 involves mentally practicing to respond differently in certain situations rather than becoming grumpy. To this end, it can also be helpful to anchor a positive feeling, so that when you notice yourself getting grumpy, you can quickly transform that feeling into a more positive one with a simple 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

Many people believe that women are grumpier than usual before or during their periods . This has been studied, and the research shows that men primarily associate this with their mothers and the impact of menstruation on their behavior, but that women do not recognize this in their own mothers. At most, they notice bloating[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?

Do you live 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.

For example, simply doing a gratitude exercise can often improve your mood. Try listing six things from your day that you’re grateful for, and encourage the grumpy person to 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 turn negative thoughts into a game and learn how to reframe them—or change your perspective. This can help people think just a little less negatively. By reframing a problem, it can suddenly become an opportunity, and that alone makes you feel much lighter.

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.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis and how it works? Then join the free online masterclass.

Or sign up right away for one of our seminars or training courses. You ’ll immediately learn hypnosis techniques that you can use for yourself and others. When you return from the seminar, you’ll at least be able to make someone else feel good.

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Also, pin this infographic as a reminder:

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