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Handle Hard Times: How To Calm Frustration



 

When you are hit with difficult or trying times, the last thing you want to hear is that you need to remain calm. But when dealing with challenges, being frustrated will only make your problems worse instead of better, so it’s essential to learn to calm down.


Take A Deep Breath


When you are faced with an especially infuriating situation it may seem weird to stop what you are doing and take a deep breath, but it works, so give it a try. According to Scott Behorty, a behavioral health doctor, breathing is actually the number one way to calm frustration as well as reduce anger and anxiety. If you are especially prone to anger, it may benefit you to learn a specific breathing technique which has been especially proven to help lower your stress.


Confront Your Feelings


Ignoring your frustration and anger isn’t the way to go either, as then it will only continue to fester beneath the surface. Instead you need to confront your feelings, admit you are feeling angry or frustrated, and then look for the root of the problem. Once you discover why you are angry, only then can you take steps to solving it.


Confront Your Thoughts


Besides just confronting your feelings, you also need to face your thoughts, especially if you are experiencing negative thought processes like catastrophizing or constantly thinking negative thoughts. Next time you feel yourself starting to spiral downwards, stop your thinking in its tracks and turn your thoughts around. It may help you to develop a positive mantra about yourself and repeat it in your mind when you find yourself struggling with negative thoughts.


Find A Stress Relieving Activity


It’s critical that you learn to manage your frustration by finding a stress relieving activity. Now this will look different for everyone. Some people find exercise is the best stress release, while others find that some rest and a spa day does wonders. Whichever path you choose, work meditation into your schedule, as it has shown in numerous studies to be monumental in helping lower frustration and anxiety.


Visualization


One of the most powerful tools in your life is your own mind. When you find yourself about to explode from frustration, take a deep breath, as mentioned above, then visualize yourself in your happy place. Visualize yourself being calm, happy, and overcoming whatever obstacle is in your way. Whatever you want to visualize that will calm your down, do it, you’ll feel worlds better afterwards.


Write It Down


Another tactic which works wonders to calm frustration is to keep a journal and use it to express your feelings. You can write down however many angry thoughts you want to here, this is just for you. And writing down your emotions not only helps you release them, but it also helps you to overcome them, so you’ll be feeling less frustrated in no time at all.


You should generally aim to journal at least once a day, perhaps when you wake up or before you go to bed. But if you are having an especially stressful day, don’t be afraid to journal whenever you need to.


Conclusion


Calming frustration can be especially difficult when you are facing tough times, but it is necessary if you are going to overcome challenges. To help calm your frustration start by taking a deep breath, and evaluating your thoughts and feelings. Then you need to work on some stress relieving tactics such as visualization and journaling. Combine all of these tactics together and you’ll be feeling less frustrated in no time at all.

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