Overcoming Confusion

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), confusion is the inability to think as clearly or quickly as you normally do.  You may feel disoriented and have difficulty paying attention, remembering and making decisions.  Do you suffer from sudden attacks of confusion?  Do negative feelings suddenly surround you?  Are there days when everything seems to go wrong?  Some of this is just a test of life: we have positive days and we have negative days.  But there are times when bad things happen because we are unknowingly under the influence of frustration.  These feelings often manifest itself that there is something wrong but an inability to put one’s finger on just exactly what it is.

 Confusion may come quickly or slowly over time, depending on the cause. One of the battles I fought in my journey of disillusionment was that of confusion.  Often this perception did not make sense to me and I would try to sort things out but my mind honestly could not sort through the issues and come to a place of peace.  Sometimes individuals thought I was causing these issues by not having trust in others but confusion is a valid condition that we can suffer from which keeps us from thinking, hearing and receiving clearly.

We all have times when our peace is suddenly attacked and we experience frustration in return.  Poorly managed frustration is toxic to relationships. It causes a build-up of resentment that, even when over only small things, can ultimately overwhelm any desire to relate in a positive manner.  Besides no one likes living in a perpetual state of annoyance or irritation.

Although, confusion can often take on a life of its own in daily interactions with individuals, we all possess causes from outside influences that can pull at us without our being able to stop them.  Frustration can bring to life parts of ourselves from whom we would rather not hear, but who we often have no apparent power to silence.

Trying to suppress or ignore frustration seems only to make it worse; often causing us to magnify the import of whatever complaint we have against whoever frustrated us. Instead the best antidote upon which I have stumbled involves the use of gratitude.  Still it is precisely at these times that gratitude becomes most valuable, as a distraction. By focusing our attention instead on something we appreciate about an individual who has frustrated us will work better than trying to outright suppress or ignore it.

Confusion is a debilitating condition.  It locks onto darkness, frustration and despair.  An alternative of obtaining control over our frustrated outbursts is often far harder than we think. However, if we can cultivate an attitude of gratitude in general, reminding ourselves on a daily basis of different things for which we are grateful, about the people who inhabit the most intimate parts of our lives, we may find ourselves better prepared to call upon gratitude to help us control our confusion and frustration at crucial moments. And even more importantly, enjoy not just our relationships more, but also ourselves.