How I Stopped Letting Annoyance and Irritation Hurt My Marriage

Hannah Brooks
4 days ago
2 min read

Ever feel easily irritated or annoyed with your partner and wonder what it means about your relationship? Ever thought, “Why is everything that my partner’s doing bothering me lately?” or, “Does this mean something is wrong with us?” If so, I've been there too, and this episode is for you.

woman frustrated with spouse sitting on couch on cover of the Highly Sensitive, Happily Married podcast

In it, we explore why feeling irritated in your relationship doesn’t mean anything is wrong, how chronic stress and dysregulation fuel annoyance, how I stopped letting annoyance and irritation hurt my marriage, and what you can do to shift out of irritability and reactivity and back into connection.

Drawing from my own experience in my marriage – and nervous system science – I share how I learned to stop letting irritation and reactivity damage my relationship, and how you can do the same.

In this episode, you’ll hear 5 tips to shift out of irritation, aggravation, or annoyance, as well as:

Why annoyance is a normal part of healthy relationships
How to stop making irritation mean something is wrong
The connection between stress, your nervous system, and relationship tension
Simple ways to regulate yourself and soften reactivity
How to rebuild warmth and appreciation with your partner

This episode is especially for highly sensitive people and anyone who feels overwhelmed, reactive, or disconnected in their relationship.

It will help you use any annoyance, irritation, and reactivity that comes up as the spark that can actually guide you back to your most connected, loving place in your relationship.

Tune in and subscribe via Apple Podcasts (and I'd love for you to leave a review!), or Stitcher, PlayerFM, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, or Pandora -- or below.