Have you ever found yourself feeling frustrated or negative about a situation, but struggled to tell the difference between the two? It’s common for these emotions to be mistaken for one another, but it’s important to understand that they are NOT the same thing. While both can be unpleasant, there are some key differences between frustration and negativity.
A quick definition
Frustration is an emotional response to something outside of us that we feel displeased with or unable to control, while negativity focuses on HOW we feel about ourselves and our abilities in certain situations.
The way that the two emotions manifest can differ greatly.
The signs of frustration
Frustration often manifests in physical symptoms such as clenched fists, raised voices, and stomping feet; these behaviour patterns indicate an underlying sense of helplessness in a given situation.
The signs of negativity
Negative feelings will typically be expressed internally through rumination and self-criticism.
Negative thoughts may also be outwardly projected onto others as blame or criticism for not succeeding at a particular task or achieving a desired outcome.
How you handle your emotions
Though both emotions typically start off as unpleasant states of mind, they can lead you down VERY different paths depending on how you handle them.
If someone allows frustration to take over their emotions completely, it can lead to outbursts of anger which might damage relationships and cause lasting harm…..
On the other hand, if someone takes time to observe their initial feeling of frustration and express it in an appropriate manner(s), they may be able to find a resolution quicker by working through the problem RATHER than fighting against it uncontrollably.
Negativity is another story entirely—the same basic principle applies when dealing with this emotion: observe it objectively without letting it take hold completely lest it becomes destructive over time (or worse yet spiral into depression).
You should have honest conversations with yourself about why you’re feeling these negative emotions so that you can start taking proactive steps towards addressing whatever issues exist inside yourself that are causing them in the first place.
What you can do
Though frustration and negativity have some similarities at face value; they’re both uncomfortable emotions…….Their root causes tend to be very different and thus require different approaches for successful resolution/coping strategies once they arise within us emotionally speaking.
Knowing the difference between the two can help us better understand our own emotional responses so we may better address them going forward in order to create healthier mental states for ourselves overall.
If you feel like you struggle with these types of emotions or want to learn how to combat them….
Book A FREE Breakthrough Session with me.
April Cummins