Are there certain little things in life that just… ANNOY THE EVER-LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU?

I have — well, had — two:
1. The cheap ass Mr. Coffee coffee maker that dripped EVERYWHERE when filling up the basin and during the brew process.
2. The silverware drawer organizer that had moveable parts and knives and spoons would slip underneath partitions… and get stuck.

These two things have been on my annoyance and Must Replace lists for quite some time… because, well, see the first line of this post. It kind of reminds me of relationships: you love everything about something (err, someone in this analogy) and then one day, all the little quirks make you recoil in disgust. That coffee pot had an amazing stainless carafe that held the perfect two-cup amount. That drawer organizer was easy to clean because of its removable pieces. Then one day, everything changed.

Look, sometimes life’s little annoyances are just that: little. Usually that feeling dissipates. If something so minute bothers to an extent of rage, however, it’s sometimes masking something MUCH larger (perhaps you need more sleep, Mel, or your boyfriend REALLY needs to fix that dripping faucet). But let’s be honest, a LOT of times, these events can multiply beyond the boiling point — building up to an eventual epic meltdown that you can no longer ignore. Day-after-day-after-day of being frustrated, the annoyed feelings transitions to anger. And then you break up. The end! Maybe that’s me and my tolerance for frustrating life moments (like, waiting for people who are habitually late… or, traffic). I’m terrible at managing or channeling that irritable energy. If you flare up just at the thought of walking into the kitchen maybe you need a coping strategy.

How to restore the calm:

Option 1: Accept the triggers; just don’t ignore the triggers. The latter will just come back with a vengeance. Either figure out how to cope with the annoyance, take a time out, or learn how to increase your tolerance of the situation.

Option 2: If Step 1 doesn’t work, remove the triggers or remove yourself from the hostile situations. Like how much did I have to deal with these annoyances? I’m a daily coffee drinker, and I eat at some point in my home every day. So I was attempting to cope every. single. day. Therefore getting frustrated every. single. day. I had to change the situation (which, in this case meant purchasing new items for my kitchen).

Option 3: Kick something. Kidding. Sort of. Physical activity is a known stress release — use its advantages on days when you’re feeling a spike of irritation in one-off events. As for other types of negative coping skills, like causing harm to yourself or others, these not only do NOT solve the problem, but creates additional problems. Don’t do that.

Group Therapy: Tell me your biggest annoyance in the comments and how you deal with the situation.