I’m fighting a cloud of maudlin today. Maybe it’s that school starts again after a whole glorious week off in which I was both lazy and productive and enjoyed both immensely. Maybe it’s other annoying news I can’t really discuss here, but will soon, I promise.
But I actually think it’s hormones. The thing is, I don’t get down or depressed easily without something concrete bothering me. But from about 9:30 last night to now, I’ve felt fragile and tense and irritated with everything. I’ve taken to moving very slowly and deliberately through the apartment because one tiny bump or misplaced glass or scrape on my shin will test my patience, to the point where I think, “I should just start crying and get it over with”.
Even pulling on a sweatshirt and getting my head stuck in the arm hole made me cranky. And there’s no good reason! It must be hormones. I must be hormonal. And it’s exactly the right time of the month, too, which is weird since I rarely get affected by that. But I’m hormonal! And tetchy! Going for a run, making a cup of tea, trying to get some writing done, even cleaning the bathroom counter (shuttup) didn’t help. I didn’t write enough, nearly enough, because the craptacular mood kept getting irritated to the point of frazzled by all the construction going on in a one-block radius to the apartment (THREE! THREE DIG SITES!).
I mean, maybe I do have a bee in my bonnet that I haven’t placed my finger on yet. But maybe I’m just hormonal. I feel like I have to give myself permission for this dark cranky mood, justify it somehow, absolve myself from not snapping right the f! out of it. Is that good, because it means I’m usually functioning at a much higher happiness level? Or is it bad that I can’t just let myself be in a funk?
Who knows. Now I’m going to class and that means trying not to take it out on seven year olds.
Tried-and-true funk-lifting methods, feel free to share.




This post resonates so strongly with me. I get all annoyed and then something silly happens, like my purse falls off my shoulder while I’m carrying a bunch of stuff (AGAIN!) and I want to roar, but I feel like an idiot because I was bothered so easily. Bah.
Sometimes I think it’s okay to just let the funk stew for a little while, but the daily grind usually drags me out of it, kicking and screaming. What can you do? At least I can hide behind a computer all day; I commend you for being conscious of your effect on your kids.
My funk-lifting methods are usually sleep, comfort foods (extra cheese, please), and husband-hugs, but not necessarily in that order. Good luck!
I think the hormones get worse as you get older. I never was bothered until I hit my mid-twenties, and now, at the ripe old age of 28, it’s pretty regular. You just have to know, cognitively, what’s happening and why you feel so sensitive, so that you can both give yourself some grace in dealing with the mood and choose to do things that make you feel better. It doesn’t make the mood go away, but it does help you feel a little less like you’ve been dropped down a dark hole without explanation.
Hang in there!
It sounds stupid but I like to put on bright red lipstick. It also makes housecleaning more fun.
I find the funk goes away faster if I just let it happen. The more I resist, the more I get annoyed that I’m feeling to cranky and sensitive and then I am further irriated by the fact that I can’t just snap out of it. Embrace your bad mood with open arms. When it realises that no one is paying attention, it will go away. Kind an irritating child in that way.
Gretchen is right, the hormones do get worse although I’m not conviced if it is a chemical thing or just me becoming more aware of my body and it’s workings.
I hate it when I’m in a bad mood and then I realize it’s just hormones and then I feel so proud for having figured it out because now the mood will lift, right? and then it doesn’t, and that just makes me SO MAD.
I hate those funk-y hormonal days. The only thing I can suggest is finding something that takes your mind off yourself. Once I recognize that I’m having a crappy day, I tend to dwell on it. But if you can find something to laugh at that distracts you from how crappy your day is, it helps. Laughter is good medicine!
sorry about the crud, I do hope you give yerself permission to experience it. The only thing worse than feeling bad is feeling bad about feeling bad, or something like that. RECOMMENDATION: Get a copy of Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories and try to put it down after 50 (fast) pages. (caveat: if you hated Phantom Tollbooth, the Narnia series, and all forms of fantasy-for-children stories, ignore my advice and just go with your favorite spiritous liquor.) (Speaking for myself alone, the red lipstick didn’t help till I used it to draw a nipple-eyed, navel-mouthed face on my torso. but that truly is just me.)
Here’s something for that laughter I prescribed:
http://joshreads.com/
it’s called magnolia. bakery. righ? right. i know you like them and what better way to feed the blues. i’ve been in nyc for 4 days now and have already been there twice. hurrah. and feel better.
Dan, I just adore you, man. And yes, I love me some Haroun.
Leah, you crack my shit right up. SO MAD! I KNOW! It’s retarded.
You guys are all right, it’s all about letting it be there and recognizing it might affect me. I was okay with the kids, very restrained, and just buried my nose in a book on the commute. Then while I prepped dinner and Stuart did the dishes next to me and we chatted about stuff, I felt it visibly lift and now I think it’s sulking in a dark corner in the hallway. Let it stay there!
HA! Oh, yes, it DOES get worse as you get older. I never had such problems with hormones… now at the REALLY ripe old age of 31, I’m a raging monster once a month. I posted about this awhile ago and someone recommended a daily dose of B12. So we’ll see how next month goes…
What do you MEAN, Grey’s Anatomy is a CLIPS SHOW tonigh?
Also I just found out it’s a clip show hosted by DENNY. DENNY. !!!!!
You can not go wrong with hot cocoa. Even if it doesn’t make you feel better, it tastes good.
marijuana.
I watch cartoons, and not those badly-drawn, poorly-written abominations that Cartoon Network is throwing at us these days. And before anyone feels compelled to defend Aqua Teen, shut it.
Back to your mood, which seems to have passed. If it returns — you know, maybe next month or something like that — have a stock of Warner Bros. classics laid in, and watch the three little hepcat pigs. The rhythm of the 1950s bop music the three little pigs play will take over your mind and drive you crazy.
But at least you won’t be in a bad mood.
Simn=on
Wine… the tried-and-true-best-funk-lifter. Preferably when consumed in a hot, ridiculously luxurious bubble bath.
Any Chris Farley movie.
A box of ferrero rochers, a bottle of wine, and a dvd of The Office!