Last Updated on August 29, 2022
Bumping into minor inconveniences isn’t a big deal for other people. So an average Joe accidentally spilled their tea on your new jacket. It’s a bummer, but they’ll carry on with their lives.
If it happened to you, though? That average Joe can expect a lawsuit their way. Plus, your day just got ruined.
By the looks of it, you get frustrated easily. What does it mean if you get frustrated easily, though?
In this article, let’s learn more about the subject. Let’s explore why you get frustrated easily so you can do something about it.
What does it mean if you get frustrated easily?
An anxiety disorder may be the reason you get frustrated easily. You may suffer from disorders like social anxiety and borderline personality.
And regardless of the specific mental health disorder, you’re troubled with, your frustration may be getting the better of you. You may not think straight — and immediately, you can dismiss things without careful consideration.
If diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you can take measures to keep your condition from exacerbating.
Does no diagnosis yet feel as if you may have an anxiety disorder? Then talk to a doctor and tell them about your situation.
Table of Contents
Actions that show you get frustrated easily
As mentioned in the introduction, you dislike bumping into minor inconveniences. You want things to unfold exactly how you want. If things go even a bit sideways, you don’t want anything to do with them anymore.
Say you planned to meet a colleague for coffee. You arrive at the meeting place on time. Meanwhile, your colleague was 15 minutes late. And although they had a practical reason (held up by their boss and asked to keep working), you get mad and walk away.
If put in your shoes, other people will just call it tough luck and carry on with their lives. What a person who doesn’t get frustrated easily would do is still have that coffee date.
So your colleague was late. It doesn’t mean important conversations need not take place anymore, does it?
Giving up easily
Do you always play by the rules? Don’t want to proceed with an objective anymore after a quick detour from the rules?
If so, you won’t bother with an affair anymore the moment it goes differently than expected. This is a negative character trait.
It lets you see things with a skewed perspective. And it lets you believe that the only goals worth pursuing are small — and often meaningless — ones.
Irrational reactions and responses
As mentioned earlier (when a colleague came late for a coffee date), you respond to situations with no flexibility. You don’t listen to reasons, despite any sound logic behind them.
You’re so set on the ways you freak out at the slightest obstacle.
You need to understand having irrational responses is problematic. Here are the reasons:
- “Change is inevitable” – Things and people change. While you can’t control change, you can adapt to its effects.
- Nothing wrong with unconventional situations – Encountered something unfamiliar or strange? Open your mind.
- Good solutions come with a calm mind – Most problems are fixable. The calmer and less stressed you are, the quicker you’ll know this.
Wanting to achieve multiple goals
Setting your heart and mind into too many things at once is a sign you get frustrated easily.
The tricky part? Your frustration isn’t obvious.
All you know is you want to achieve a new goal. What you don’t know, though, is you want to turn away permanently from the previous goal.
Pushing people away
It’s understandable to purge your life of particular people. It’s frustrating to deal with those who don’t bring meaning, happiness, and positivity to your world. And if they don’t add quality to your life, you’re better off.
The issue with this, though, is some people are an exception. You need to cut some slack to these folks because they’re investing effort in coming to your life.
Here are reasons you shouldn’t push some people away:
- People change – Give them time and expose them to the right circumstances for them to come through.
- The matter of forgiveness – Letting go of past mistakes is therapeutic. Forgive and move on.
- A fundamental good – All people are born with good hearts. However, because of their actions, it’s challenging to see them.
Indecisiveness
Changing your mind suggests frustration over one task — you now want to take your shot at something else. And going back and forth over two things too often is an unmistakable sign you’re frustrated easily.
The odds are, you’re frustrated because you can’t choose between two wonderful decisions. Either that or you don’t see any merits in deciding. For you, whatever choice you end up making will be a bad one.
Excessive apologies
A person who gets frustrated easily apologizes too often and unnecessarily.
The person on the other end of these excessive apologies may also get frustrated. That’s because you’re wasting their time.
According to a study featured on the Harvard Business Review, some apologies are ineffective¹. They’re not helping your case. Nor are they relaying any useful message.
Here are things you shouldn’t apologize for and excessively:
- Doing things your way – It’s okay to do things your way — however differently it may be. If it gets the job done, it shouldn’t be a problem.
- Failure – So you’ve done a terrible job. Apologize, learn from it, and do better.
- Other people’s behavior – They can issue their own apologies. You don’t have to speak for them.
Refusing to accept apologies and/or excuses
Given at the right time, and in the right amount, apologies and/or excuses are important. They can justify a mistake.
So if you refuse an apology, it’s a sign you’re frustrated. The subject of your frustration? The one apologizing.
Chances are, you refuse to accept their apologies because of anger. From them, you’ve already heard these are ridiculous apologies. If not unrealistic, their apologies are lame.
You need to fix this attitude, though. It’s understandable how some people say sorry for the lamest reasons. However, it doesn’t mean those reasons are non-existent.
If you’re tired of hearing out apologies from the same person, take a break. And once you have a new perspective, consider hearing them out again.
Always on the defense
Defensive behavior is an act of someone frustrated with what they deal with regularly.
They feel the need to defend themselves because they feel what they’re doing is wrong. They see their actions as a mistake. So before anyone can point out their wrongdoings to them, they’ll rush to advocate for them.
If you’re on the defense, know that nothing’s wrong with defending yourself. However, why should you be on the defense if nobody’s attacking you?
Here are reasons you need to axe defensive behavior:
- Resentment is pointless – Holding on to ill feelings makes you feel bad. It accomplishes nothing, too, doesn’t it?
- Must accept criticism – Criticisms, constructive or otherwise, can help improve situations. If not, just hear them out.
- Defensive behavior isn’t honesty – Being on the defense means you want to win arguments — not primarily to express how you feel.
What does it mean if you get frustrated easily? 7 possibilities
The reasons people get frustrated easily are subjective.
Here are the most common ones:
Under your control
1. Financial worries
True, worrying if you can afford to eat a full meal in the upcoming days is frustrating. And that’s just one sample scenario.
Odds are, you also need to think about where to get payment for monthly dues. You need to pay for utility services, house, transportation, food, and more.
If these worries are part of your life, they’re causing your frustration.
The bright side to financial worries? They’re solvable — increase your profitability, sell used items, or apply for financial assistance.
2. Sleepless nights
Tossing and turning hours after you hit the sack suggests you’re deprived of sleep.
Most experts recommend about eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. So if you get only half that, you have a problem — and you need to remedy it.
You can wake up early and avoid taking naps during the afternoons. You can also stop drinking coffee.
3. Health issues
Dealing with anxiety, ADHD, depression, or any mental health issue? Or are you suffering from physical injuries like a sprained ankle or broken rib?
Whatever health issue you have is why you’re frustrated.
The good thing about having health issues means you can fix this cause. For starters, visit a doctor and let them help you plan a course of treatment.
4. Personal goals
Many people dream of raising a family in an ideal time — have amazing kids, a partner, and a comfortable financial situation. Others want to live in a foreign place and focus on their career for the remaining years of their lives.
Which one do you want for yourself?
Regardless of your answer, you need to chase your personal goals. A failure to achieve what you want introduces you to a crippling emotion. And to experience that crippling emotion is frustrating.
Out of your control
5. Politics
Talking about politics with people you disagree with is frustrating. It’ll also make you angry and feel the urge to curse at someone and throw rocks at them. Sometimes, the subject is why friendships end.
Everybody doesn’t see eye to eye — it’s a universal truth. As much as you believe your argument is firm and convincing, you can’t expect anyone to always find it agreeable.
It’s frustrating and it’ll continue to frustrate you if you want others to always agree with you. The only way out is to accept it. Another way is to distance yourself from anything relevant to politics.
6. People
Running into your family, friends, and other loved ones can make you jump for joy. Running into other people, though, tells a different story.
Some people are the bane of your existence. They’re inconsiderate, loud, and insensible talkers — the reasons are endless!
And while you can’t control fate or who you run into, you can control your reaction. Just chill and carry on with your business.
7. Traffic
Picture this: You’re already an hour late to your destination and you find yourself stuck in traffic. Frustrating, right?
You might want to tell yourself that if only you left your house early, you could’ve avoided the jam-packed situation.
The thing is, it’s not your fault. Indeed, it’s possible you could’ve avoided traffic if you left your home earlier. Do you know what else is possible, though?
Getting stuck in a worse traffic situation. You need to come to terms with the fact that this possibility isn’t something you can control. Insisting otherwise will frustrate you.
Final thoughts
That’s it — we’re done exploring the possibilities of why you get frustrated easily. You now have the answer to your question: “What does it mean if you get frustrated easily?”
Ponder on each possibility so you can understand and hopefully resolve your problem.
Remember, getting frustrated easily can intervene with a long-term mindset. If you don’t want it to impede your pursuit of a long-term goal, do something about it.
Links:
¹ https://hbr.org/2016/11/the-4-types-of-ineffective-apologies
She freelances as a web content writer from home. And she lives with the prettiest dog in the world.
