The concept of “Hangry” (though certainly not the sensation…) entered my vocabulary a few weeks ago. Imagine my simultaneous delight (and disappointment) when it turned up among this week’s New Yorker cartoons: so much for breaking news.

That said, I decided ‘hangry’ deserved its blog post, as it’s possible it impacts us all.

In my case, there is the surface level of ‘hangry’: the one where I’ve forgotten to eat lunch and my ability to nit-pick and assign blame is at an all-time high. (How to wow!)

Is it possible some of you are familiar with this?

I’m thrilled to have shorthand for it (and I’m guessing my dearly beloved, endlessly patient husband is, too.)

Taking it a step further, I took a look at the H.A.L.T. acronym as it’s discussed in recovery literature; where the recommendation is, if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.—H.A.L.T.

Here, they discuss hungers that aren’t rooted in the physical—hunger for recognition, companionship, attention… Hungers that might also lead to dubious decision making.

Smart, yes?

To follow that up, I spent some time thinking about anger….an emotion I take a lot of flack for considering under-rated.

Why do I think it’s under-rated? Because—to me—there’s nothing wrong with being angry. It’s what you do with being angry you need to careful about. Anger as fuel for change works for me. Anger that hurts others, not so much.

In every case, then, the key to the useful manifestation of hunger or anger appears to be mindfulness of their early warning signals: be they a growling stomach or a predisposition to pitch into someone.

To have the wherewithal to stop and ask yourself, “Am I hangry??”