‘It’s more than just irritability’ : perspectives and experiences of irritability among people affected by Huntington’s disease

Tindall, Tierney and Dale, Maria and Simpson, Jane and Gunn, Sarah (2025) ‘It’s more than just irritability’ : perspectives and experiences of irritability among people affected by Huntington’s disease. Psychology and Health. ISSN 0887-0446

Abstract

Objective Irritability has been reported as a common psychological co-occurrence with Huntington’s disease (HD). Irritability associated with HD is variously attributed to neurological changes, an understandable response to increasing difficulties with cognition and communication, or a multifactorial combination of the two or more causes. To improve our understanding, we aimed to explore perspectives and lived experiences of irritability among individuals affected by HD. Methods and measures Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (50% female) who were gene-positive for HD. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the resultant transcripts. Results Three themes were generated: ‘Navigating the complex multifactorial causes of irritability’, which reflected participants’ perceptions of causes and amplifiers of irritability; ‘The tyranny of irritability’, which explored how irritability was perceived as powerful and oppressive; and ‘Ongoing efforts to resist irritability’, which described how participants endeavoured to address irritability. Conclusion Participants appeared to make sense of irritability as a biopsychosocial experience with multifactorial origins, suggesting the role of attribution theory in understanding their search for meanings and attempts at resistance. Our findings indicate the need to develop meaningful psychological interventions and educational materials to support individuals and their loved ones to understand and address feelings of irritability.