Q: My 60 years old wife has a behaviour problem. She is fearful, edgy, tense, irritable, indecisive, pessimistic, over-concerned on small issues, repetitive and argumentative. She tends to be a perfectionist. She gets very upset even if I speak or look at another female and can react very aggressively upto even physically injuring me. She has a large family and some of her sisters have had huge emotional issues including schizophrenia. She has history of hypothyroidism for which she is being treated for 7 years. Please advise.

A:The description, which you have presented, could be because of many factors. As age progresses some individuals do become inflexible, wanting things to be done in their own way, poorly able to control emotions, burn out because of ongoing stress, difficulty to deal with problems, medical problems, and a setting of hopelessness in the context of children moving away, loss of various things including relationships etc. So, the behaviour may have to best be considered keeping the context in mind including keeping the possibility of onset of any mental health issues. Depression in certain individuals may present with irritability and agitation too. It would also be worthwhile to have the current thyroid status evaluated as ongoing abnormalities may have an impact on the mood state. If things are getting difficult, it may do good to visit a psychiatrist for a friendly chat.