There are two consonant concepts - irritability and irritation. These are terms related to one science, but differing in meaning. Although they are directly related. However, about everything - in order.
Terminology
So irritation is an action. Which turns out to be various forms and manifestations on the body, its cells, tissues and organs. Those, in turn, are called irritants. They differ in their classification and characteristics, but more on that later.
Irritability, in turn, is the body's ability to respond to certain influences coming from the environment. It is expressed in a change in physicochemical parameters. That is, irritability is the result of irritation. And this is a universal manifestation of the life of each biological system, without exception. Its presence is the norm. It is according to him that the living is different from the inanimate. And, by the way, the phenomena of irritability in animals and plants are similar. Let the forms of manifestation be different.
Excitability
This term is directly related to the topic under discussion, so it is impossible not to mention its attention. Excitability is the ability of a living organism to respond to irritation. This, in fact, is the process of generating a nerve impulse. And excitation is a complex of processes of reaction to the action exerted by the stimulus. All of them are manifested in a change in metabolism and membrane potential.
Tissues that are excitable (muscle, nerve and glandular) are distinguished by their ability to conduct excitation. It is most pronounced in nerves, which is logical. And also in skeletal muscles.
The cause of all reactions
As mentioned earlier, irritation is an action. Which is constantly on us, albeit imperceptibly. These lines, read by a person, cause visual irritation on him. And accordingly, they are irritants.
This term refers to any factor in the internal or external environment that affects living tissue. But there is a classification, moreover detailed.
Irritants are primarily divided by nature. They can be like this:
- Physical. This is what surrounds us everywhere: sound, light, electricity, etc.
- Chemical. Acids, salts, hormones, alkalis ... even substances that enter the body along with food. In order for them to assimilate, they undergo complex metabolic and splitting processes. Accordingly, the notorious substances have a certain irritation on the body, since it does.
- Physicochemical. This is a bit more complicated. The osmotic and partial pressure of gases belongs to this class.
- Biological. In short, this category includes everything that we take inwardly (water, food) and the people around us (parents, friends, beloved ones).
- Social. Yes, conversations, speech, words, communications - all this is also annoying.
Impact power
We can not say about such a thing as a threshold of irritation. This is physiology, and every aspect is interconnected. The above mentioned classification of effects by nature of origin. So, there is also a division of the stimuli by force. But in order to understand what it is about, you need to know about the notorious threshold of exposure. In simple terms, this is the minimum force exerted on the body by an irritant, which is enough to cause excitement. Of course, fresh bread, located directly under the nose of a person, has a pronounced aroma, but even the delicate smell that stretches from the bakery from the next street is enough to activate the olfactory analyzers .
So, stimuli can be subthreshold. That is, do not cause any response. Their strength is too weak for this. Threshold is the golden mean. Irritants of minimal strength (as is the case with a bakery), causing arousal. And the third category is over-threshold effects. Those whose strength is above the threshold (shown in the example with bread).
How does it work?
Well, irritation is physiology, and everything that concerns it proceeds in accordance with certain laws. And this case is no exception.
There is such a thing as reobase. It denotes the minimum strength possessed by the stimulus, causing excitement over a long time period. Which is not limited.
This implies the concept of good time. This is the minimum period during which an irritant having the strength of one reobase has an effect on the body. In simple terms, the time is enough for the occurrence of arousal.
And the last, third component is chronaxy. This term is used to denote the minimum time period during which an irritant having the power of two reobases has an effect on the body. The conclusion follows: the shorter the chronaxy or the good time, the higher the excitability. On the contrary, this principle also works.
Turning to Psychology
Well, it was described above what physiological severe irritation is. This is a more or less clear topic. Now you can pay attention to the psychological aspect.
Everyone knows that irritation is a feeling. Which a person experiences when he is affected by an unpleasant personality, action or phenomenon. In general, anything. But most importantly, it is necessarily associated with a person’s personal perception. Suppose a man is not going to marry. He wants to do business, because he sees himself in the business sphere, this brings him pleasure and joy. But his whole large family is firmly convinced that he needs to find a lover, marry and "twist the nest." And no one is shy about it regularly reminding him in an obsessive way. Accordingly, an emotion of irritation arises in his soul. It `s naturally. Which entails, as a rule, a sharp response. Which is quite understandable.
Special cases
It is worth noting the attention of another nuance. Irritation is a concept in psychology that has another meaning. By it is often meant a tendency to inadequate reactions to completely ordinary processes and phenomena. True, it is more correct to call it irritability. Which is explained by psychologists as curtailed aggression.
People deal with this in different ways. And it is necessary to deal with this, since irritability spoils life. How can a person be happy who is “brought to a boil” by the aroma of a colleague’s perfume, a minute delay of a friend to a meeting and the laughter of other people? But this happens. In people with increased irritability, the world, as a rule, exists in black tones.
Well, in this case, you must try to take everything under control and begin to resolve the problem. Since the accumulating irritation does not bode well.