How to Make an Annoyed Girlfriend Happy

Just take a moment to lend an ear.
... Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images

Whether you're the cause of her annoyance or something else ruined her mood, cheering your girlfriend up could be a tough job. If you take the wrong approach, you risk adding to her frustrations. Fortunately, several strategies can help you carefully navigate her annoyed mindset and begin to lighten her mood.

1 Watch Your Attitude

You need to approach your girlfriend with a calm and friendly attitude, suggests Margarita Tartakovsky, associate editor for PsychCentral, in the article "How to Defuse Anger in Ourselves and Others." So, before you can begin to cheer her up, you must ensure that her annoyed mood doesn't become contagious. Take a few deep, slow breaths from the abdominal area. She might initially stonewall you or come off as uncooperative. Be prepared to endure any attitude that is sent your way.

2 Show an Interest

You don't have to start things off by telling jokes or preaching to her about the benefits of a good mood. Instead, just offer to lend an ear. If you show an interest in her problem, you create trust and show you are on her side, suggests Margarita. Ask her to elaborate on the issue, and when it's your turn to talk, briefly relate to her situation. For example, if she's annoyed with the sluggish Internet connection, describe a time when the same problem interrupted your work flow.

3 Offer Help

You might not be able to completely solve her problems, but do what you can, suggests psychologist Irene S. Levine in the Psychology Today article, "Guest Post: 7 Ways to Cheer Up a Girlfriend." For example, offer to call your Internet provider and handle all the phone chit-chat as you try to restore the Internet connection. If the problem seems to be exclusively with her computer, allow her time to use yours.

4 Toss in a Joke

Once you've established that you're on her side, you can offer in a few jokes. Laughter can relieve stress, shift her perspective, and enhance your teamwork, suggests HelpGuide's article, "Laughter is the Best Medicine." Now isn't the time to tease her. Instead, make fun of the problem, or the people that caused it, which will go an extra step in showing that you are united with her against the issue and that the issue isn't as big as it originally seemed.

Mitch Reid has been a writer since 2006. He holds a fine arts degree in creative writing, but has a persistent interest in social psychology. He loves train travel, writing fiction, and leaping out of planes. His written work has appeared on sites such as Synonym.com and GlobalPost, and he has served as an editor for ebook publisher Crescent Moon Press, as well as academic literary journals.

×