Low Frustration Tolerance

Ever met someone who becomes frustrated at issues that seem rather insignificant to you? Low frustration tolerance occurs when we have rigid and unrealistic beliefs about how others and the world should be. An example of these kinds of beliefs include, "I shouldn't have to put up with anyone else's incompetence." Such beliefs then lead to us feeling frustrated, and increasingly stressed, when events and other people don't conform to how we want them to be. 

The good news is that we can increase our frustration tolerance through changing how we think. Practising identifying our thoughts when we're feeling frustrated, and then trying to temper them is good place to start. Take the belief above, and then consider this alternative: "I don't want to put up with anyone else's incompetence, but everyone makes mistakes sometimes." There are multiple coping statements we can use when things don't go our way, and developing a list of these can be helpful in reducing frustration. For example, "Most people don't intend to inconvenience me", "This isn't going to matter in a month's time," and "I can cope with this."