collaborative post // A quick Google search showed me that everyone feels frustrated. I have been feeling frustrated in the past, and I thought I was the only person feeling that way. I thought frustrations only came to people who were bored and unsatisfied with their lives. But it turns out, a lot of people want to know how to cope with frustrations.
It turns out feeling frustrated is as natural as breathing. But that doesn’t mean that frustration should be part of anyone’s daily life. So if you have been feeling this way for quite some time now, you should do something about it.
What is frustration?
Based on Merriam-Webster, frustration is a state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs. The feeling can be short-term or long-term, depending on the circumstances.
Dealing with frustration isn’t easy, especially when things are out of your control, and most of the time, they are. Being cooped at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic had me feeling frustrated most of the time. Limited interaction and not enjoying the outdoors for long annoyed me. Gaining weight made me disappointed in myself.
It didn’t help that I exposed myself to social media. Seeing others travelling, achieving their goals, or living their dream life made me compare my life to theirs and belittle myself. I saw my life through the lens of dissatisfaction. Constantly looking at social media conditioned my brain to be a ‘negatron.’
Types of Frustration
It turns out these experiences show the different types of frustrations. By examining the sources of frustration, I can quickly pinpoint the source and learn how to deal with it effectively. There are four types of frustration:
- Personal frustration: This type of frustration starts with personal expectations like wanting things to be perfect.
- Conflicting frustration: Conflicts arise every day, leading to negative emotions of anger and frustration, placing immense pressure on us and making our personal and work life the reason for frustration.
- Pressure frustration: This type of frustration appears when there are lots of things to be done in a short period and when one chooses to procrastinate.
- Environment frustration: Our environment can dictate our state of mind. Living in a harsh and hostile environment leads to feelings of anger and frustration.
Signs of Frustration
Now that we know the different types of frustration, it’s time to learn how to spot frustration in ourselves and others before we learn how to cope with frustrations. Frustration manifests differently in people. Their responses may be physical or mental.
Physical Signs of Frustration:
- Insomnia
- Turning to alcohol and other drugs
- Intentional starvation and other forms of bodily abuse
- Headache
- Migraine
- Fatigue
- Incessant movement, such as tapping fingers constantly and perpetual sighing
Mental Signs of Frustration:
- Giving up
- Low self-esteem
- Feeling anxious
- Aggression
- Depression
23 Ways for How To Cope With Frustrations:
Fortunately, there are several ways to feel less frustrated. Here are 23 tips on coping with frustration, as suggested by experts.
1. Get moving: Exercise reduces stress and fatigue and releases hormones called endorphins, our body’s natural pain reliever.
2. Practice deep breathing: This practice enables more air to flow into your body, calming your nerves and reducing stress and anxiety.
3. Wash your face: Putting cold water on your face is a refreshing way to interrupt your brain’s feedback loop and reduce emotional frustration.
4. Meditate: Applying mindfulness in the heat of the moment gives us an opportunity to work with anger.
5. Try grounding exercises: Being in the moment can help you pull away from what you’re experiencing and refocus on what’s happening in the present.
6. Focus on today – Taking it one day at a time means actively choosing to make sense of your experiences.
7. Make failure a lesson: Instead of seeing mistakes as a burden weighing you down, look at them as a stepping stone toward your goals.
8. Stop comparing yourself to others: Your self-esteem will improve when you stop overlooking or hiding your strengths and talents.
9. Try new things: New experiences improves brain function, allow you to have fun and give you confidence as fear takes the backseat.
10. Practice gratitude: Being thankful for the little things helps you feel more positive emotions.
11. Acknowledge old pain or trauma: Acknowledgement is the first step to healing.
12. Face your fear: Rising above a challenge improves our inner strength and mental stamina.
13. Vent : Sharing your frustrations, even for just 15 minutes, alleviates tension and stress.
14. Keep a journal: Writing your thoughts and feelings on paper allows you to draw solutions and patterns from your mind.
15. Go outside: Being in nature increases pleasant feelings, contributing to improved physical well-being.
16. Manage your expectations: Healthy expectations can give a sense of motivation and direction to help meet specific standards.
17. Treat yourself: Rewards makes you feel energized, cared for and content, boosting your self-control.
18. Spend time with animals: Time with furry pets decreases loneliness and pain, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and increases happiness, peace and calm.
19. Take a nap: Naps can turn a sour mood around, help ease stress, and make you less impulsive.
20. Limit time on social media: Less time on social media means fewer negative experiences such as FOMO, cyberbullying and isolation.
21. Unleash your creativity: Creative acts can help focus the mind and put it at ease.
22. Turn on some music: Listening to music increases the amount of dopamine in the brain.
23. Get organised: Being organised allows you to concentrate on what needs to be done while alleviating stress and making you more productive.
I am glad I recognised the signs before things got out of hand again. As a result, I feel less frustrated and able to manage stress more effectively and improve my well-being. I hope this article serves as a reminder to watch out for the signs of frustration and take care of your mental health, as well as giving you some handy tips for how to cope with frustrations.
About the Author: Marianick Villegas is a writer for BloomLocal. She secretly adores flowers and loves any reason to send flowers.
Awesome post!!! 🙂 This was such an inspiring post on dealing with frustration. We cannot avoid frustrating situations, but we can learn coping skills. All the ideas you presented here do just that…they give us a means to move forward and get ‘unstuck’.
Why do we get frustrated? (Thinking of how upset my 10 year old granddaughter got yesterday when her school bus broke down and she got transferred to another one that was totally chaotic and unnerved her)!