Tag Archives: frustration

Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed

Almost everyone has probably heard that expression before. You feel grumpy or are having a bad day and someone says, “What’s wrong with you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Although it doesn’t really matter which side of bed we crawl out of in the morning, you can always tell when it’s going to be one of those days. Is it simply our mindset or a sixth sense when we awaken and can almost feel that gray cloud hovering above our heads, warning us that today will not be a good day? As you stumble … Continue reading →

Frustration

Frustration is one of those kinds of things that build up and up. The more you try and keep it inside and press it down, the more it tends to want to spill out. The results are that it starts to affect all your thoughts, reactions and actions. The other week I watched a guy become frustrated while playing a sport. He initially muffed a couple of shots. In the end, he became so frustrated that he couldn’t do a thing right. He was messing up even simple shots. It happens to me too. When I let frustration take over, … Continue reading →

Living With an Invisible Illness

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There are many different invisible illnesses out there — diseases that don’t necessarily come with an outward sign that says “hey, I’m sick” to the world. For some people with an invisible illness, the hardest part is friends and family members who say things like “But you don’t look sick!” or “You look fine!” or “Tough it out!” It can lead to feelings of anger or isolation or both — and more. It may be hard to convince friends and family that while you may LOOK fine, you don’t feel fine. For some people with an invisible illness, the hardest … Continue reading →

Facing a Marriage Crisis

In a previous article I wrote about how alone I’ve felt lately. It’s to the point where I’m asking, “What’s the point of this relationship? Mostly he’s good to me, yes –when he’s available. And once in a while he does incredibly thoughtful things like how he did when he welcomed my mom. But the job is all-consuming anymore and he rarely has time for me. Not even when it’s serious stuff like it has been with my mom. And I don’t know if it really has to be that way, or if he’s using work as an excuse to … Continue reading →

Facing Down Frustration

I do not mean to imply that frustration is the sole challenge of the single parent, but I do think it can be a frequent occurrence in our harried lives. How we learn to deal with frustration can help us to grow and develop as an individual and become a stronger and more competent parent… Frustration can feel like extreme disappointment–we are unhappy with the results or our efforts or how things are going; we really wanted it to go differently and we are frustrated by the reality. Frustration can also feel like a big roadblock–there is something or someone … Continue reading →

What Do You Do With Anger and Frustration?

Parenthood and family life are not nonstop bliss—even the sweetest, most angelic children can cause a parent a bit of frustration. The important thing is that we find healthy or reasonable ways of coping when we feel angry or frustrated. I tend to be a “cleaner”—I clean, organize, dredge out closets, wash rugs, etc. when I am dealing with family frustrations. What do you do? I have a friend who exercises away her parental stress. I know if I call and she is on the treadmill that there are likely family frustrations going down in her neck of the woods. … Continue reading →

Are You Upset About a Small Issue…or is it Something Larger?

I have been known to overreact. There, I’ve said it. I find that when I catch myself getting incredibly upset at a pile of muddy shoes or a sink full of dirty dishes, chances are there is something much larger than the little infraction that is bothering me. The trick, however, is to figure it out, get things straight, and not take it out on my children. So, what is really going on? When we parents find ourselves flying off the handle over little things (“Do you always have to slam the door?!!!!”) it can often be just a symptom … Continue reading →

What Can We do With Disappointment?

I’ve written before about guilt and what an unproductive thing this can be for parents and families. But saying NOT to put guilt trips on our kids and use guilt as a motivator in our families is much easier to say than it is to do. In reality, sometimes we feel disappointed as parents. We might be disappointed in a choice our child has made, behaviors, or in the way things have turned out. What can we do with that disappointment to keep from dumping it all onto our child? I’ve had friends tell me that the most painful thing … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Healing & Frustration

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One of the things I despise about taking medications is how those medications can make you feel. When you are taking muscle relaxants, it can affect your performance of physical exercise. But worse yet, when you’re taking muscle relaxants and pain medication – even in the barest minimums – it can leave you dreaming so vividly that when you wake up, you are actually disoriented and out of sorts. That’s the problem that confronted my workout today. I had a muscle spasm last night, late and the pain medication was the only thing to get through the fact that my … Continue reading →

Expressing Frustration

Here’s the thing—I have three high-school aged teenagers, each of them is one year apart in school and a little more than one year apart in age. I love them, I adore them, I am often inspired by them—but they have a regular tendency to frustrate the living daylights out of me! I would like to go on record that I think it is perfectly appropriate and healthy for a parent to be able to express her frustration at her charges and offspring now and again… According to all the experts, in all in the HOW we express ourselves to … Continue reading →