Hey! Got A Minute? Can we talk about frustration? I think it’s probably the number one thing a lot of us are going through right now. Lockdown after lockdown, stay at home orders right when things are seeming to improve here at home and craft supplies being deemed non-essential days before the kids go on ‘March’ Break…I don’t get that one either. Whoever decided some of these things was NOT paying attention to what they did the week before, that’s for sure. I get it. I’m frustrated too. My kids are getting incredibly frustrated as well. They want to see their friends, they want to play…and in my kids’ case, they want to go shopping with me (and spend my money for me). It’s obviously understandable because adults are having a hard time coping and we understand the ramifications of not following the rules: we could get really sick or possibly die. Well…some of us understand it.
Since the Stay At Home Order came down on Wednesday, I’ve noticed a HUGE uptick of frustration on social media, and that’s also pretty understandable, because that’s where we vent, right? The only thing is, we’re feeding each other’s frustration constantly this way. I vent my frustration and then I read your frustration and several relative strangers’ frustration and suddenly I’m a big ball of frustration and rage. I know I’m not the only one feeling this because I’m hearing it from my friends and co-workers, I’m seeing it in posts from listeners and strangers…we’re burning each other out. Fast. On top of that, our kids are feeling the frustration coming from us which might be the worst part. I’ve seen a lot of posts from parents feeling disappointed in themselves for snapping at their kids. We’re human, it’s not surprising that we’re frustrated and losing our patience at this point.
Although it is nice to see the numbers in Thunder Bay declining, we’re not out of the woods yet, even with vaccines coming. The reality is that 1: The numbers in the province are skyrocketing again, 2: We’re seeing variants now showing up everywhere and 3: I hate to say it, but it’s going to be another week before we see the results of what happened over Easter weekend. It was beautiful out and I saw a LOT of people who were not careful and having large gatherings. I’m not judging, but I’m just saying we may see a jump in cases by the end of next week, beginning of the following week. So yeah, the frustrations are continuing. What do we do though?
I’m no expert, but I CAN tell you what I’ve started doing and maybe it will help you too. First off, I’ve been limiting my phone time. I LOVE scrolling through Instagram and Facebook but it’s become taxing, so I have been setting a timer on my phone (there’s apps for this as well) and then putting the phone down for at least an hour so that I’m not seeing multiple frustration inducing posts. Secondly, I’ve started allowing myself a ‘vent time’ every day. I post something, or I write something or talk to someone about what is frustrating me, and then I am done. I try to think and talk about more positive things like, getting outside this weekend despite the rain, the amazing cup of (local) coffee that I just drank…I have to consciously change the subject when I find myself starting to think or talk about frustration, it’s work, but it seems to be working. This weekend I’m going to try it with the kids, trying to get them to vent in the morning, and then spending the rest of the day consciously talking about things OTHER than Covid Frustrations.
It might not work every time but honestly I don’t think it’s going to do any more harm than the harm we’re doing to each other by constantly feeding into the frustrations.
