Frustration. It’s a complex cocktail of being annoyed, angry, disappointed, and powerless. It’s an emotional reaction to stress and in many cases rather short-lived. However, continuously being exposed to stress can take a long-lasting and serious toll on your health and well-being.

During this disruptive time of load shedding, it’s natural to be frustrated, disillusioned, and outraged at the enormous impact the power outages have on our day-to-day living. Our days without load shedding are already filled with daily hassles and stressors, and adding on an additional load (pun intended!) could lead to a sense of hopelessness, and powerlessness, and even contribute to the development of symptoms of depression.

We are forced to build our day around Eskom’s schedule, not our own. We are constantly faced with the dilemma of preparing meals, caring for children or the elderly in the dark, juggling having enough hot water to shower, keeping devices charged, and coping with patchy connectivity which compromises the ability to work, earn an income, and meet deadlines – all of this is driving our stress levels and anxiety into the red.

WATCH: HOW TO DEAL WITH FRUSTRATION

Why is this so stressful? Research have shown that situations that affect our status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness, can trigger a response in our brain which are similar to pain. With loadshedding, we have no say (not even do we have free will in terms of utilising alternative sources of energy), we are constantly living with the uncertainty of “what next”, we battle to feel “connected” with state-owned enterprises and to which we contribute our taxes, and our sense of unfairness are sky-rocketing! Why should we struggle with power cuts when we are paying our taxes? Why do the VIPs not experience power cuts? Why can some people illegally tap power?

Stress can make you feel more emotionally reactive to events that normally wouldn’t bother you, and it can reduce your tolerance for frustration. Chronic stress can literally “burn out” the good neurotransmitters in your brain and can make you feel as if you are not in control of your life, anxious, and even depressed.

Chronic frustration and stress have many faces but these are the most common:

  • Feeling on edge
  • Defensiveness
  • Hostility
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Substance abuse in order to cope
  • Losing your temper
  • Difficulty sleeping or staying a sleep
  • Irritability
  • Aggression

Frustration tolerance

We are all in this together and I think that the important thing is to recognise that our emotional state is in imbalance currently and that it’s OK to feel frustrated or angry. But anger and frustration are not productive emotions. We need to find a level of tolerance where we, although we cannot control the situation, focus on our reaction to the feelings we are experiencing.

  • Control what you can. There is no point in contributing to negative conversations around load shedding. Rather focus on the things you can control. Make sure you have a reliable app (such as EskomSePush) that will update you on the latest schedules. This way you will at least feel somewhat prepared for the day ahead and decrease your anxiety.
  • Adapt. We all feel uncertain when our daily routines are disrupted. But learn to work around change. For example, if you are used to having a bath at 6pm every night, but find that there is no hot water, rather go for an evening stroll, and have your bath just before going to bed. We need to learn to swap things around, be more flexible and let go of rigid structures.
  • Plan. You need to be able to plan for the unpredictable. The uncertainty of load shedding with schedules changing and moving at a minute’s notice can keep you constantly on edge. Have a contingency plan in place such as using a flask to keep water warm to prepare coffee when the power is out, moving online meetings to face-to-face if you are all in the same area, washing your hair the night before if the power will be out during your usual morning routine.
  • Repurpose your time – if you can’t work due to your laptop being without power, start writing a new strategy for your department on paper, run errands where you know the power will be on or where they have generators, and connect with your family through board games or take the dog for a walk.
  • Try and keep it light. South Africans are known for using humour to make light of serious situations affecting us as a nation. Try to keep your sense of humour during this trying time.

So…although your frustration barometer might be at boiling point, and the room dark – aim to keep your cool, and your mood light.