He Said, She Said – what to do when your partner gets ‘hangry’

*The most exciting thing about He Said, She Said is wondering if we’ll still be married by the end of each post! We both write on the same topic but only get to read the other’s work after it’s published.*

He said:

There’s nothing more terrifying than when Mrs Romance is hungry or thirsty.

She said:

Prevention is the only cure for hangry. Unless you learn Mr Romance’s early detection system.

Hangry cushion from My Bearded Pigeon on Etsy

What’s more, he says:

For years, I would be in a state of complete bewilderment as Mrs R exploded into a rage that seemed to come from nowhere.

We’d be having a nice time on holiday or at the beach or even at the shops and suddenly we’d be arguing. It really did take me that long to realise all I needed to do was to ask Mrs R how she was.

More specifically, the question I needed to ask was:

‘Are you hungry, thirsty or tired?’

It has an amusing effect. Right in the middle of a rant equally a Marvel Magazine nemesis’ monologue, Mrs R will stop mid-sentence.

‘Umm… hungry,’ she’ll answer. Or thirsty. Sometimes, she’ll be tired. But my money’s usually on hungry. Once we’ve worked that out, it’s easy to get back on track and enjoy the rest of our day.

My early-warning system – what to watch out for

Apart from keeping a fun-size Snickers on hand, looking out for the warning signs allows me to relax with my lovely wife. They’re simple signs, but worth keeping an eye out for.

I watch for bouts of silence in the midst of happy conversation, general grumpiness when previously quite happy, being very distracted. Anything that goes against normal, happy behaviour really.

Even if I’m not 100% sure, I’ll still ask. It’s better to ask the question and be wrong than not ask and bear the brunt of a bout of hangry!

And another thing, she says:

If you catch a migraine early you can ease it with aspirin. If you wait too long, it takes over and nothing can stop it.

Hangry is a similar affliction. If you can spot the early warning signs, you can ease it before the hunger haze takes over.

Do you suffer from hangry? I do.

It’s is a strange condition. There’s a moment where I’m blinded by hunger and there’s no going back. I can turn from a sweet, gentle, happy person into a crazed, single-minded maniac. I become completely unreasonable and my only focus is food.

Hangry seems like it comes without warning but Jim (Mr Romance) has worked out an early warning system.

Still, I like to take responsibility for my condition and take steps to prevent full-on Hangry.

My tips to avoid feeling hangry

• Don’t wait too long between meals.
• Always keep snacks in your bag for emergencies.
• When meeting friends for lunch who are always late, make sure you eat something before you get there. This will prevent you starting a fight with them when they arrive. Instead, you will feel calm and relaxed.

Do you ever feel hangry? How do you cope with a hangry person?