People often encounter and use the word ‘frustration. ’ However some of them do not fully understand the essence of the word. Thus, they tend to use the term inappropriately. Frustration is also often interchangeably used with stress. Hence, there is a need to expound the meaning of frustration to clarify its definition and avoid misuse of the concepts. Frustration encompasses a wide array of elements. It is also adopted in specialized fields to describe some situation and scenario.
Frustration could best be defined through its legal definition, personal experience, how the term is utilized and through comparing it with other key concepts related to it. Frustration is associated with the field of psychology. Frustration is one of the key concepts in psychology related to personality and behavior disorders. Frustration is an emotion felt by a person whenever when he encounters a seemingly unconquerable situation which impedes his way toward satisfaction or the attainment of his goal (Hunt, 2007). Frustration can be distinguished as a primary or secondary frustration.
Primary frustration refers to the sheer existence of an active need. It is characterized by tension and relative discouragement and dissatisfaction. On the other hand, secondary frustration is the type of frustration that stresses the definition aforementioned. It is the obstructions that get in the way of obtaining a particular goal (Hunt, 2007). Frustration was adopted by other fields to describe a certain situation or phenomenon. These fields include business and economics, which have developed a jargon—commercial frustration.
Commercial frustration refers to voiding a contract by one of the parties involved due to an unforeseen and uncontrollable event (“Commercial Frustration,” 2008). Frustration is sometimes confused with the term ‘stress’, which is different. Stress is a particular situation that may happen to a person or be triggered by something that a person does. Stress is a certain circumstance that induces a particular emotion of dissatisfaction. Stress could be brought by a highly strained job, time pressured situations, hurried events, and matters that will be criticized, judged, or evaluated.
Frustration, on the other hand, is the emotion that an individual may feel when he or she is stressed. However, not all stressful events can cause frustration. Frustration comes in when a person’s plans and means to handle a particular situation do not work. Therefore, he or she feels frustrated when his or her attempts to set things straight do not work out. Frustration is a reaction to stress. It is a reaction that is difficult to control, as it is hard to manage one’s feelings when stress induces feelings of anxiety as well as failure (Williams, 2008).