How to manage irritability and mood swings in adolescent girls
Nov 17, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Zhou Xiaofeng
Introduction
Irritability and mood swings in adolescent girls can generally be addressed through healthy emotional release, regular physical exercise to regulate mood, communicating and confiding in trusted individuals, developing hobbies to shift focus, and learning emotion management techniques. It is important to choose safe ways to vent emotions, such as writing down feelings in a journal, talking to a pillow, or softly shouting in an open area.
Teenage girls experiencing irritability and emotional fluctuations can generally manage these feelings through healthy emotional release, regular exercise to regulate mood, talking with trusted individuals, cultivating hobbies to shift focus, and learning emotional management techniques. The details are as follows:
1. Healthy emotional release: Choose safe ways to vent emotions, such as writing in a journal to record feelings, speaking aloud to a pillow, or softly shouting in an open space. Avoid suppressing emotions or releasing them through harmful behaviors like arguing or throwing objects, which may hurt others or damage property. Allowing emotions to flow naturally helps reduce built-up irritability.
2. Regular exercise to regulate mood: Schedule about 30 minutes of daily physical activity, such as running, jumping rope, yoga, or dancing. Exercise promotes the body's secretion of endorphins, which help alleviate anxiety and irritability. It also improves sleep quality, leading to greater emotional and physical stability and reducing mood swings caused by hormonal fluctuations.
3. Communicate and confide in trusted individuals: Proactively talk with family members, close friends, or teachers about inner irritability and confusion, for example, saying, "Lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and have no patience for anything." Receiving understanding and support through listening and dialogue helps prevent bearing emotional stress alone and may provide new perspectives and solutions from others.
4. Cultivate interests to redirect attention: Engage in enjoyable activities such as drawing, reading, crafting, or playing a musical instrument. Focusing on these hobbies allows temporary detachment from situations or thoughts that cause irritation, shifting attention from negative emotions to positive experiences and gradually easing inner restlessness.
5. Learn emotional management skills: Use books or educational videos to understand the emotional characteristics of adolescence and learn simple emotion-regulation methods, such as deep breathing relaxation or progressive muscle relaxation. When feelings of irritability arise, practice these techniques to calm the mind and gradually enhance the ability to manage emotions independently.
If a girl’s irritability lasts longer than two weeks and is accompanied by symptoms such as insomnia, decreased appetite, or self-criticism, it is important to pay attention and seek professional psychological support. Family members should offer understanding and patience, avoiding blame or neglect of emotional issues, to help the girl navigate adolescence smoothly.
