As the saying goes, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” But for many of us, this may be easier said than done.

It’s not uncommon to be upset over the little things sometimes, especially after the past few years we’ve all been through together, where the uncertainty and grief experiences may leave you more nervous than before.

We all have moments of frustration and emotional outbursts, but be aware of how often these events occur. You may start to feel like you’re always grumpy.

If someone finds themselves repeatedly upset over seemingly small things, this may be an indicator of underlying stress. Everyone has a “break” sometimes, and even the smallest problems can seem irritating, but if there’s a big reaction to a relatively small incident, it could be a red flag that something deeper is causing this. irritable.

So what should you do when faced with this situation? Some experts share their advice for anyone who finds themselves fretting over the little things more often than their health.

Track your responses.

Be curious about what you are going through, sometimes it is fueled by the fear of something going “wrong.”

It is recommended that you pay attention to the intensity, frequency and duration of negative emotions.

What do you notice when you feel like your emotional responses are more in tune with the situation ? Is there something about those moments that you could recreate or do more of ?

On the other hand, think about where your thoughts go when you get frustrated easily and overreact. Ask yourself if you immediately feel red or feel the need to protect or defend yourself.

By tracking your reactions, you can begin to address the real causes of your reactions. Chances are, what’s happening in real time isn’t the real problem and there are other factors contributing to the problem.

Give yourself some space.

You should try to pay attention to your instinctive reactions when you start to feel easily frustrated, but also try to avoid getting out of control.

You can start giving yourself opportunities to delay overreactions, and a first step might be to separate yourself from the thing that triggers you.

This may mean leaving the room and going to a private and quiet place to breathe and process your reactions.

The goal is to take some time to consciously and consciously make the choice to respond differently, no matter how you feel.

Try self-soothing techniques.

For people who often feel irritable, mindfulness and deep breathing exercises can help calm the nervous system. Focusing on sensory activities like what we hear, smell, taste, and feel in the present can help reduce agitation by reducing the time spent worrying about past or future events.

From meditation and yoga to painting and gardening, there are countless sensory activities for adults to try.Even dancing and listening to music can become mindfulness practices.

Pay attention to your five senses simultaneously as a way to self-soothe during stressful moments. For example, you might touch something soft, tap your fingers, take a deep breath, smell a scent, or focus on a piece of art on the wall.

Be aware of your environment through your five senses or those that are open to you.

Take stock of big areas of your life.

If you find yourself frequently having angry reactions that are out of proportion to the source, it may be helpful to take stock of the major areas of your life and consider which needs may be going unmet. Are there past traumatic events that are being stored away but not adequately addressed or processed? Are there past losses that have gone unacknowledged? Are there tensions in the relationship that need to be eased and resolved?

Ask yourself if financial or work-related issues are affecting your overall stress levels, or if you feel isolated and lonely in your life.

Recognize that your ’emotional bucket’ can fill up quickly, and take some time to think about why this is the case. Even if everything looks fine on the surface, you may be operating just below your threshold and not have enough of a cushion to deal with temporary setbacks. The day needs to have some space to unfold and allow you to approach it in a way that doesn’t derail you

Simply keeping things “under control” and expecting everything to go according to plan is not a sustainable approach, as unexpected changes and problems will inevitably arise. Addressing the larger issues bubbling beneath the surface will give you the bandwidth to respond to those unexpected moments in a healthy way.

Reach out to loved ones.

Feeling upset is very different than having an explosion. When anger and frustration are accompanied by outbursts or other difficult behavior, it can be helpful to have support in finding ways to manage it.、

Even just talking about your experience with a friend can provide a helpful sense of support. This is true in general situations as well as in moments of overreaction.

Call someone you trust to vent or process your feelings

.If you feel like your emotions have become overwhelming and are causing changes in behavior, reach out to a loved one. You may even realize that your reaction is related to a communication issue you need to address.

Two common themes that can lead to chronic irritability are resentment toward others and difficulty communicating to meet one’s own emotional needs, and these factors are often related. It’s common for people to have difficulty expressing their feelings and therefore have difficulty internalizing their feelings. This can lead to a build-up of resentment, and instead of asking for what they need, they continue to feel dissatisfied and have high baseline levels of anger and irritability.

Talk to a professional.

There are individual differences in how much frustration each of us can tolerate from daily troubles. However, depression, anxiety, or unresolved past trauma can severely impact our ability to handle these frustrations, often producing strong emotional reactions that seem disproportionate to the circumstances.

That’s why it’s important to seek professional help to manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other problems.

If someone is getting feedback from multiple people that their irritability seems out of proportion to the flare-up, this is an ideal time to seek support from a mental health professional to help further examine deeper issues and address unmet needs.

Even if you don’t think you’re experiencing any serious mental health issues, talking to a therapist can help you discover why your emotional reactions are out of proportion to your triggers.

Engaging in therapy can help establish patterns of behavior that allow you to “let off steam” in healthy and productive ways so you can maintain that buffer.Therapy can also help cope with life changes.