The term frustration is used to describe an unpleasant and therefore unpleasant state and aversive-tinted condition that most often occurs as a result of conflict and failure.
What is frustration?
Frustration is an emotional state that arises when a person’s desires or expectations are not met or set goals are not achieved or not achieved quickly enough. The term goes back to the Latin language, “frusta” meaning “in vain.” Another Latin term is “frustratio” and is translated as “deception of an expectation.” Frustration arises in most people whenever a set goal and the satisfaction and sense of achievement expected with it fail to materialize. It is the failure to satisfy motivations, drives, and needs, most often imposed by external circumstances. However, frustration states can also result from one’s own behavior that deviates from the expectations of the social environment and is sanctioned accordingly. The frustration-aggression hypothesis states that aggression most often occurs as a result of frustration states.
Function and task
Frustration is an emotional state that arises when a person’s desires or expectations are not met or set goals are not achieved or not achieved quickly enough. If a person does not achieve the goals he or she has set and with which he or she associates certain expectations of success, this failure is often interpreted as failure. The person concerned may have misjudged himself and his abilities. He may also have misjudged his social environment and his fellow human beings and attached false expectations to them that are not fulfilled. Some people make the mistake of expecting too much of themselves and set goals that are too high from the start and are difficult or impossible to achieve. The frustration-aggression hypothesis assumes a close causality between frustration and aggression, according to which a state of frustration can (not must) regularly result in aggressive behavior. Conversely, states of aggression are attributed to a state of frustration. Apart from this hypothesis, the term “frustration” cannot be defined conclusively, because each person experiences a frustration state differently. Frustration tolerance is a personal character trait that determines how quickly a person is frustrated or not due to certain experiences that are perceived as negative. Depending on how high or low this threshold is, frustrated people react angrily, bitterly, disappointedly or aggressively. They are demotivated, depressed, or depressed. Frustration is divided into two states, internal and external frustration. External frustration occurs whenever a person finds the constellations of the external world, which includes the immediate social environment, inadequate and unsatisfactory. A strong deviation from one’s own perception takes place. The inner frustration is controlled by the subconscious. The affected person constructs different connections between cause and effect. He trivializes the situation (impunitive frustration reaction), sees himself as the cause (intropunitive frustration reaction) or blames his social environment (extrapunitive frustration reaction).
Illnesses and complaints
If a person regularly or frequently suffers perceived or actual disadvantages, if experiences of success fail to materialize or if expectations are not met, states of frustration set in that can lead to burn-out and depression in the long term. The affected people are quickly tired, exhausted and listless, they lack the motivation to take their lives into their own hands again and to face the challenges and tasks set before them. Psychosomatic-related complaints, which can include stomach, head and heart complaints, can also occur. Frustration eating can also be a frustration syndrome. The treating physician must first check whether there may be a physical cause. If this is ruled out, psychotherapy is helpful so that the affected person can find out the causes of his state of frustration and take countermeasures. Psychophysiology deals with the connections between basic physical functions and psychological processes.Frustration states often have a close connection of behaviors, changes in consciousness and emotions on the one hand, and circulation, brain activity, respiration, heart activity, hormone release and motor activity on the other. If a person encounters a real or perceived injustice, this situation is associated with stress and causes a specific defensive reaction. The heart beats faster, blood pressure rises and the body is better supplied with oxygen. Due to the perceived anger, the messenger substance adrenaline is released. The muscles tense up because in this state they can react better to the stressful situation. This unconscious bodily process is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system acts as the counterpart, becoming active in positively perceived situations when the person is at peace with himself and his environment. It regulates important bodily processes such as sleep, digestion and the orderly functioning of the organs and psyche. Ideally, the frustrating situation lasts only for a short period of time, so that the parasympathetic nervous system can calm the body again after the stress sensation. A high frustration tolerance prevents a distorted perception of objective factors and stress-related physiological complaints despite the psychological and physical tension. In order to better endure this unpleasant emotional state, psychologists advise their patients to also gain something positive from their failure and thus free themselves from the frustration and anger. Furthermore, they recommend setting only those goals that, when viewed realistically, can actually be achieved and not to focus on unachievable wishes. They steer their patients in a positive direction by pointing out that this undesirable state can also be a motivational tool to look for new possibilities and ways to ultimately achieve a positive outcome after all, or perhaps to look in a whole new direction.
