Are anger and frustration the same?

            Thank you for the interesting question, reader! The words that we use to describe emotions, and in this case different levels or intensities of emotions can get confusing. One person might use the word “frustrated” to describe how they feel when another person might describe the same sensation as “anger”. This has to do with the fact that although people feel emotions universally, emotions are personal and subjective. Two people can feel different emotions in response to the same event, and we are likely to describe how we feel differently too. Like I said, confusing!

            To add to this complexity, some people can feel emotions more intensely than others. Where one person may feel “frustrated”, or mildly irritated, by someone cutting them off in traffic, another person might feel intense anger or even get enraged. It might help to think of a basic emotion such as anger as having different levels of intensity of feeling within us all. It might help to picture the feeling of anger as being experienced on a continuum.

This picture shows the theory that the level of anger that you might feel in response to a situation will increase over time the longer the situation goes without an action to resolve or improve the situation. Picture yourself in an airplane seat that is getting kicked from behind. Your feeling of quick anger might go away quickly if you address the person behind you, they apologize, and then the rest of your ride is peaceful and kick-less. Now imagine letting the situation go and continuing to get kicked and bumped for the next three hours. What would happen to your level of anger? If you are like most people, your annoyance might move to anger and maybe even furious!

            Using this theory, we can say that the sooner you address the situation, event, or thought that is provoking a negative reaction like frustration, the better chance you have of resolving or decreasing that emotion. This is one of the practices that can help people keep anger “in check” before it could lead to an inappropriate outburst.

            If you are having significant difficulties managing anger or other negative emotions, or if you would just like to understand your own emotions better, it could help to speak to a mental health professional.