I am with your friend, that peri-menopause is the culprit. It can start as early as 30. Your hormones are fluctuating, sometimes wildly now. Talk to your GYN Dr. Let that Dr. what is going on.
I am peri-menopausal. Some days, I want to scream so everyone can hear, "I want drugs!!!" It is challenging.
Do a search on peri-menopause.
Valarian root, can help relax you. You can find it in grocery and healthfood stores. I take one capsule for concentration and focus, two caps for relaxation during the day, and three caps to get me to sleep, which only works for about 4 hours, and then I am awake again.
There are days when I, aged 46, am perfectly relaxed and happy, and suddenly a tension sneaks up on me, with no cause, my arms get tight, my back tenses, my jaw locks, and I am uncomfortable, irritable.
You are in a nursing home. Those ladies would maybe like to help you thru this. They all know about it, and it may increase bonding between you and those glorious ladies. They need to be needed, and you need them now.
Might make a good book, how each lady you come across tells a story of how she dealt with peri-menopause (sometimes 15 years before menopause) and menopause. Feel like writing anything?
I suggest you make some money of this common horror we all go thru.
I read this book. Nice to have the information but it doesn't make it go away.
http://www.yourmenopausetype.com/
One used to have more access to the site than one does today.
After reading the other posts, I do think you should have your blood sugar checked. You may well have low blood sugar. Note how you feel when you eat versus when you know you should eat and have not for a while.
Lay off the caffeine, because it wires you and makes your female hormones go more crazy than they already are.
I bought an blood sugar monitor, because they are so cheap, because they are so handy at preventing blood sugar problems, because I have diabetes in the family.
You might assess your family's history on this issue as well. Most moms and aunts want to be helpful on this issue.