Thursday, May 19, 2011

It's like a lack-of-sugar rage

I just read that there's a connection between hypoglycemia and anger. It made me call the shrink and leave her a message asking if she knew about this. She left me a voicemail back saying yes, and we can talk about it more next week.

I wonder if I had this when I was little. If my mom knew about it. I wonder if you can develop hypoglycemia from stress. Maybe she did know and she just kept me well-fed all the time. But how didn't Aunt Elaine know? How come the times I went to the doctor when we lived with her they didn't notice it? I see the potential to get very angry about this.

5 comments:

Kizz said...

That mind-body connection isn't something that is traditionally paid any attention by doctors. It's real, though, and anyone who's ever spent any time with toddlers knows it. But it's not exclusive to toddlers, adults (sometimes) just learn to control it.

So, yeah, go on, get angry about it! But first, have a banana. :)

Anonymous said...

It's more than a mere "mind-body connection." When glucose is low, not enough energy is going to the brain to function properly. (Low enough, blacking out can even occur.) When there's not enough fuel, the brain isn't able to be at full power. It's like "not firing on all cylinders." The part of your brain that feels anger might remain intact while the other parts of your brain that keep the anger in check have shut down, and that may be on top of both a feeling of exhaustion and a sense of confusion from the general low battery.

So it's a very physical explanation.

The "mind-body connection" aspect does explain further, though. You aren't getting what you need, both physically (sugar) and emotionally (the issue prompting the anger).

But then we're back to the physical; you are angry or frustrated or upset but because you are running out of gas, just like when you haven't gotten any sleep you don't have the ability to think clearly about what to do to remedy the situation. That's in fact why you need to train yourself to react to certain cues by getting some sugar into yourself; in that state, you will be less able to intellectually reason out that perhaps you need a snack, so you need to make it automatic so you don't even have to think, so that you will just go get a glass of juice when you feel a certain way.

Ask Doug about a glucometer?

Anyway, yes, the more this happens, this roller coaster, these swings between holding steady and running on empty, the more stress!

Then of course there's the anger at not having received proper health care. Very upsetting.

Is the shrink lady an MD?

Anonymous said...

Physical issues are important (ie not getting enough sleep, food, low serotonin, etc)but so are the psychological ones. People are complex and issues are often a combination of both.
gmg

Anonymous said...

When I read this sometime last year it was like a lightbulb went on for me, too. I have PCOS so the insulin-sugar-hypoglycemia thing is also a factor. When I haven't eaten in too long or if my blood sugar crashes I experience irrational anger and will often snap at my husband without meaning to or knowing why. I also feel weak/dizzy and then ravenous. Realizing that it was something physical I could control and prevent helped me a lot; now I make sure to have small snacks frequently and include protein (a tbsp of peanut butter on celery sticks, a cheese stick and an apple, etc.) It's helped me tremendously (and my husband probably agrees).

I hope your shrink can help look into how much of your anger might be related to this, too!

Yankee, Transferred said...

I bet it's all part of it. And as for why Elaine couldn't figure it out or ask about it...she flat-out doesn't have it in her.