FRUSTRATION

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines frustration as:

-a feeling of anger or annoyance caused by being unable to do something : the state of being frustrated
-something that causes feelings of anger and annoyance : something that frustrates someone

-the act of preventing the success of something : the act of frustrating something

Frustration is a source of stress.  The best description for frustration is the inability to do something that one wants to do.  For example, someone who has lost a limb, and must now retrain to walk is no doubt experiencing extreme frustration.  Or a caregiver who tries his or her best to accommodate and help an elderly parent who insists on retaining control, who refuses to listen to reason, indeed, who may no longer be capable of appreciating reason, experiences frustration as well.  Or the writer who is under a deadline to produce work, and yet is constantly interrupted by conflicting demands. 

In its purest form, frustration is an interruption of flow.  It is the emotional response to opposition. 

How do you overcome frustration? I'm not sure it's possible, any more than overcoming fear or hunger: Emotion is centered in the amygdala and is a throwback to our reptilian days, when we evolved various responses to deal with our environment. 

To claim that we are no longer chased by saber-toothed tigers, and therefore, no longer need this particular emotional response (frustration) is to miss the point.  We feel frustration because we are hard wired to do so.

A more accurate question might be, what situations do we allow ourselves to react to?  Are all of them worthy of this innate response? That is what needs to be answered, and perhaps with self-understanding, we might discover better, more appropriate responses to our life stresses.