Fear, Sadness And Frustration, The Most Common Emotions

Fear, sadness and frustration. We would be very wrong if we said that these three emotions are the ones that now cover many of our hours at this time when we have more difficulties than necessary. They are three completely normal states of mind that curiously are uniting us as humanity. Somehow, much of us are feeling them.

Experts used to say that the vast amount of happiness-based self-help literature had somehow made us intolerant of negative emotions. They have taught us to be happy, they said, and they have forgotten to tell us what to do when the veil of anguish rises.

Now, in reality, human beings have always known very well what those most adverse emotional states are like and what they know. And each one has been managing them in their own way. Better or worse.

Suffering is not new to us, but this time it has come in a different way and has caught us unexpectedly. Each person is living it in a particular way.

There are those who feel more fortunate to experience fewer changes, to have certainty in their work project, to see hope for the future. Others, on the other hand, are going through that more adverse scenario in which losses and the abyss of uncertainties towards the future are present.

Fear, sadness and frustration, those companions in difficult times

Life has reached a chapter in which the narrative has taken on a somewhat surreal tinge. Health crises, social crises, changes that we did not expect … It seems that this part of our life cycle is written by a bad writer, but actually thinking this adds to the idea that we have no control over anything that is happening.

You have to understand something. We cannot control the circumstances that surround us, but we can control our reactions and behaviors.

The way we do it will determine a more appropriate coping with those days that lie ahead. The keywords that we should integrate these days would be: acceptance, transformation and resilience.

As Abraham Maslow, renowned humanistic psychologist, said, life is a continuous process of growth and that task is often painful. But there are times when that suffering is more intense and more is demanded of us. We must be prepared.

A first step is to face and understand that internal emotional universe. Let us remember once again that our brain does not speak English, Spanish or Chinese. The brain speaks the language of emotions and we must understand them.

Thus, during this time of difficulties and challenges, our travel companions will be them: fear, sadness and frustration.

Stand guard at the gate of fear

Stand guard at the door of your fears. Assume that it is normal to have them, that it is permissible to feel fear of what we cannot control, what we see, what surrounds us … But yes, do not make that door bigger than it is to give way to irrational thoughts that feed the panic, don’t give way to what hasn’t happened yet.

In psychology there is a mechanism called disposition bias that is interesting to be aware of. Often, when people live situations full of uncertainty and fear, we give truth and power to what is closest to us: to that false news that we have read, to that unfortunate message that they have sent us, to that thought that we have just had and which is completely unfounded.

Remember that your brain when it experiences fear stops reasoning in a logical and balanced way. It is permeated by the most dangerous emotion, fear. Take control.

Sadness, the attic of reflection

Fear, sadness and frustration… These emotions have meaning and purpose in themselves; also during these difficult times. The strategy is to accept them, but avoid giving them excessive power so that they control us completely.

In this case, the sadness acts as a mental attic to which it is convenient to climb from time to time. This emotion is full of meanings, it is a chest that must be opened to discover what it wants to tell us. In these circumstances we are going through it is normal and advisable to spend some time with her.

We feel nostalgic for certain things that we had and could do before. We also suffer for others. It fills us with regret to think what might happen tomorrow. We are disturbed by many things but assuming and accepting all these internal realities is something necessary. Because it is normal given the context of these difficult times.

Let’s not get obsessed with the idea of ​​“always being 100%” because it is completely impossible. Let us allow ourselves these moments of sadness.

The frustration, the fire that you have to know how to channel

Between fear, sadness and frustration, it is this last emotion that has a more dynamic component. To understand it better, it is necessary to understand the relief of this dimension.

It’s perfectly normal to feel frustrated these days. Our lifestyle has changed, personal, work and economic uncertainty is present in these difficult times.

There are many things that worry us and others that annoy us. But be careful, because frustration is also a trigger for anger. It is she who will bring us a bad mood at certain times of the day and also she, who will fill us with dissatisfaction and nervousness.

To make good use of these you have to understand a detail. Both anger and frustration are emotions that invite action (the opposite of sadness, much more introspective).

The key is to use them to channel them properly. Frustration asks you for changes, it demands ingenuity and creativity to respond to what worries you.

Use your imagination. If your future job distresses you, come up with a plan, think of options without falling into fatalism. Make your mind a stage of ideas where open, flexible and positive thinking flows. Only then will you channel fear, sadness and frustration.

Get going, learn to be a good manager of your emotions and don’t forget to take care of yourself, and also take the temperature of your emotional health.