Many Causes for Agitation and Irritability
Are you restless, pacing back and forth, hand wringing, can’t sit still, feel like you want to jump out of your skin? And this is going on without reason, nothing you can put your finger on. Inexplicable agitation!
Agitation, that unwholesome status of extreme arousal, tension and irritability. A feeling of inner unrest, uneasiness or apprehension.
Agitation may come over you suddenly or build up over time, lasting just a few minutes, a day, perhaps weeks, or even months.
Your agitated feeling may be a symptom of a disease, drug withdrawal, adverse drug reaction, diet related or associated with a mental disorder. Some causes of agitation include:
- rabies
- caffeine
- anxiety
- depression
- menopause
- theophylline
- lack of sleep
- schizophrenia
- antidepressants
- bipolar disorder
- hyperthyroidism
- vitamin B6 deficiency
- dementia ~ Alzheimer’s disease
- withdrawal ~ alcohol, cocaine, opiate, nicotine
Things you can do to help reduce agitation:
- exercise
- plenty of sleep
- calm environment
- consume a healthy diet
- stress reduction measures
Pain, stress or fever may increase agitation.
Irritability, that abnormal sensitivity or excessive response to stimuli. Irritable children are fussy and whiny.
Irritability can be an early sign of a serious problem. Causes of irritability may be:
- colic
- cancer
- headache
- pinworms
- meningitis
- menopause
- encephalitis
- chicken pox
- malnutrition
- ear infection
- viral infection
- drug reaction
- hypoglycemia
- lead poisoning
- sleep disorders
- bacterial infection
- lactose intolerance
- intestinal obstruction
- iron deficiency anemia
- drug, alcohol withdrawal
- diabetes, metabolic disease
- intracranial bleeding, abscess
Because a child’s cause for irritability is sometimes challenging to discover, these irritability causes give you somewhere to start.
Associated Health Blurbs:
- Iodine Deficiency Causes Anxiety
- When Anxiety and Stress Cause Panic Attack(s)
- Why Menopause Causes Hot Flashes During Change of Life
- Causes of Overeating, Polyphagia, Hyperphagia, Always Hungry, Increased Appetite, Excessive Hunger
