Have you ever felt like frustration consumes you? Do you ever have trouble focusing when you feel irritated? Do you wish you’d know what to do to help you refocus when you feel frustrated?
Being frustrated is one of the worst states of mind someone can be in. Especially in today’s society, with people working more and more, it can be hard to avoid getting frustrated. The more responsibilities a person has, the more likely it is that something goes wrong. And, because time is precious, people need to know how to calm themselves down quickly when they feel irritated. So, here are ten things you can do to refocus when you feel frustrated.
Why Do People Get Frustrated?
Frustration often arises as an emotional response to stress. When people feel unable to achieve something, they get irritable and angry. Frustration can often become overwhelming and can stop you from thinking clearly. When you’re overwhelmed, and you’re pressured to figure out the solution to a problem, frustration can be your biggest obstacle. Besides irritability and anger, frustration can lead to loss of confidence and even depression.
Depending on the person, frustration can be triggered by many stressors. Some of the more common stressors are: work, pursuing an unattainable goal, and not finding a solution to a problem. The main problem associated with frustration is the inability to focus.
10 Things to Help You Refocus When You Feel Frustrated
Whenever you feel overwhelmed and frustrated, here are ten things you can do to refocus.
1.   Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are one of the first things you should try when you start feeling frustrated. To calm down, you need to get more oxygen to the brain. This will allow you to clear your head. Besides that, breathing exercises are simple and easy to concentrate on. They can help you shut all distractions out, that way allowing you to refocus.
One of the better techniques is the 4-7-8 breathing. You should breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and breathe out for eight. If this technique doesn’t work for you, there are many other techniques you can look up online. Even if you don’t want to follow a particular process, the simple act of breathing will call me down and give you a fresh perspective.
2.   Meditate When You Start To Feel Frustrated
Another thing you can try when you’re feeling frustrated is meditation. Research has shown that meditation helps tame stress reactions. This calm happens because the part of the brain responsible for stress reactions, the amygdala, becomes quieter during meditation. Meditation allows you to bounce back from distractions and focus on the present. It calms you down and helps you pinpoint what thoughts you should hone in on. It clears your mind from all irrelevant thoughts and allows you to reflect on just that problem that’s bothering you.
The brain isn’t wired to multitask. It can’t do many things at a time. Instead, when you think you’re multitasking, your brain is just jumping from one thought to the other. So, when you’re frustrated about something, you should try to let go of the tasks there are not time-sensitive. By meditating, you have time to figure out what the most pressing matter is. You also give yourself a quiet environment to think about the solution to your problem.
3.   Write About Your Problems
Often it’s hard to keep track of everything that’s going on inside your brain. When you have a lot of thoughts swirling through your brain, it’s easy to get lost in the madness. One thing that can help you organize everything is writing about your feelings. The words you write on the paper act as an anchor to focus on the matter at hand.
Journaling helps you keep your thoughts in order and acts to get some things off your chest. Having an accurate copy of your thoughts is also helpful in keeping track of your progress. Seeing where you started and how far you’ve come can help you calm down when you feel like you’ve achieved nothing. The physical proof that you didn’t work in vain is enough to get you back on track and help you refocus.
4.   Feel Frustrated? Vent, Then Let Go
When you feel irritated and impatient, one of the best things you can do is get some things off your chest. Venting can be the best tool to help you calm down and focus the mind. Talking to people you trust can help you feel less alone. You don’t feel like you’re trapped in your head with your problems anymore. Instead, you get your feelings out into the world. That can make you feel heard.
Talking to other people also brings along the benefit of getting a second opinion. When you try to solve something yourself and get frustrated, you risk going around in circles and not making any progress. So, a fresh perspective from people might be just what you need to figure out a solution.
If you don’t have anyone to talk to at that moment, even talking to yourself can help. This way, you avoid bottling up your feelings and getting overwhelmed. You can focus on your words, calm yourself down, and after you vent, you can get back to work.
5.   Exercise
Exercise is not only good for your physical health, but it also offers many benefits to your mental health. It proves to improve concentration and focus. Exercise is a mood booster, and it helps you regulate stress and adrenaline. It is considered the healthiest way to release pent-up anger.
For people who struggle with feeling frustrated, some of the best forms of exercise are walking, running, and yoga. Running and walking are especially beneficial because of their repetitive nature. They allow you to focus on the same activity over and over again until you calm yourself down.
6.   Listen To Music When You Feel Frustrated
Everyone loves listening to music. But music is not only fun; it can also be helpful when you’re trying to concentrate.
Music helps people concentrate by blocking out distracting noises. It is also the stimulus that engages the brain and helps keep you alert. Because of its rhythm, it keeps you moving. Depending on what type of music you listen to, your mood can change drastically. If you listen to alert and happy music, your mood will shift to match it. It can make your tasks seem more attractive, thus allowing you to focus better.
7.   Organize Your Surroundings
Sometimes, when you’re feeling frustrated and irritated, having messy and cluttered surroundings can add to the stress you’re feeling. When you feel like you can get anything done, the last thing you need is to Be surrounded by mess. Not only does clutter negatively affect your mood, but it also makes trying to find the tools you need a more challenging task.
Some find that the simple task of organizing and cleaning up can be calming. The action forces you to clear your head, thus allowing you to focus better. And, an organized environment means you can find whatever you need quickly. If you require specific papers, you can find them in no time. This way, you will have one last thing to worry about when you’re trying to deal with an issue.
8.   Distract Yourself
In some cases, no matter how much you want to get things done, you need to take a break. When you’ve been working on a project for hours on end, and you feel like it’s getting worse, that’s your sign to pause for a little. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to distract yourself.
When you allocate for the break, you can watch a movie, play some games, hang out with people, or do whatever relaxes you. Doing things that you enjoy will calm you down and clear your head. After getting your mind off that issue for a few hours, you can start again, re-energized, and with a fresh perspective.
9.   Switch Your Attention To A New Issue
Try switching your attention to a different problem instead of taking a break if you don’t want to feel like you’re slacking. Finding an easy task can help you clear your head. Routine tasks are things you often do that they’re muscle memory. It allows your brain to concentrate on something it knows.
When you can’t solve a particular issue, you might lose confidence. So, finishing a different task can give you the boost you need to get back to work and adequately concentrate. Find a job that you can finish. That will improve your mood and help you refocus.
10. Understand The Stressors That Cause You To Feel Frustrated
If you want to make sure you deal with your frustration issues in the long term, it might be helpful to understand what triggers you. As soon as you understand what your stressors are, you can start fixing the core problem. That way, you can make sure you don’t get frustrated in the future, rather than trying to force yourself to get over it.
While using tricks to calm yourself down temporarily is good, that’s not a good solution. If, for example, you find that team projects stress you out, you can start working on your social skills. You can start connecting with your team so that you feel comfortable in the future rather than forcing yourself through the motions. Reflect on the core issue and try to solve that if possible.
Final Thoughts On Some Things to Help You Refocus When You Feel Frustrated
Not being able to do something that you want to do can be the most irritating thing ever. It is the leading cause of frustration, and it causes people to feel overwhelmed and angry. There are many things you can do to refocus in these situations. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to calm yourself down and distract yourself if possible.
Depending on your needs as a person, there are several things you can try. There is something for everyone, from meditating to breathing exercises to venting and even listening to music. And, if you want to solve things long term, you need to understand what your stresses are and work on avoiding them.
