F076 ‘It’s more than just irritability’: perspectives and experiences of irritability among people affected by Huntington’s disease

<h3>Background</h3> Irritability has been reported as a common psychological co-occurrence with Huntington’s disease (HD). Some approaches define it as a symptom related to brain changes, while others frame it as an understandable response to increasing difficulties with cognition and communication as HD progresses. To improve our understanding of the construct of irritability, this is the first study to explore lived experiences of irritability as perceived by individuals affected by HD. <h3>Aim</h3> To interview people gene-positive for HD to explore their perceptions and experiences of irritability. <h3>Methods</h3> Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (50% female) who were gene-positive for HD, with or without a diagnosis of manifest HD. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the resultant transcripts. <h3>Results</h3> 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 and its associated feelings of frustration, shame, and guilt. <h3>Conclusions</h3> 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 to resist it. Future research is indicated, including the development of meaningful psychological interventions to scaffold self-compassion and participation in valued activities, and educational materials to support individuals and their loved ones to understand and address feelings of irritability.