Anger vs. Frustration

As much as I try to be calm and regulate my emotions, there are moments where I get a surge of what I would call 'red'. I would say either anger or frustration, but in hindsight it is far more frustration than anger. I think it's very important for your own mental health and for your own logical framework, to be able to distinguish between the two as both are, in my opinion, quite different.

I'd say it is important to be able to tell the difference because when you see 'red' and feel that wave of seemingly uncontrollable rage and practice the PAUSE, you would be able to slowly (over time and practice) be able to differentiate and identify why you are feeling the way you feel. While many situations of 'red' can be situational, there are many, many, many instances where you would feel 'anger' or 'frustration' over the course of suppression. I feel these times are more dangerous as it may be unpredictable and involve completely irrelevant people.

Anger is often the feeling you would get at a new or relatively new situation which crosses your beliefs/values/morales whether the circumstance be at you or anyone/anything you see. I believe anger, despite being almost lightning fast, is more 'controlled' than frustration in the sense that the novelty of situation/the feeling of opposition is relatively new and thus, you have the time to compile your beliefs and reasonings as to why you feel angry. Of course, this is not always true.

Frustration on the other hand, is more over repetition. You have thought and felt of the perpetrator numerous times and the inability/paralysis to act is what is creating this feeling. Although in the heat of the moment, both can seem quite similar as to how you feel. I believe frustration is harder to practice the pause over a long period of time, as repeated feelings of frustration shows there has been no results/slow results (or maybe you are an impatient person as I can be).

Nonetheless, I believe the baseline is being able to distinguish between the two and to be able to identify the cause and potential solutions as to why you feel anger or frustration. Finding solutions or applying the solutions to hopefully overcome the problem can be extremely difficult (hence the frustration). I feel like sustainability is an overarching theme here, in that staying true to yourself, to others, to the TRUTH and being consistent with your actions and beliefs will give you the answers/clarity you are seeking. At times, the answer may be to detach yourself from the environment/cause of your frustration. Regardless, practicing the pause to be able to see if that is the best plan of action is important. Burning bridges is easier than creating new ones, but if that is what is needed to be done, it must be done. But recreating the same bridge with the scaffold of the old one (at some point in the future perhaps) can potentially be far stronger.