Patience is the state of tolerating frustrating or difficult circumstances, and is often thought of as a personality trait. The quality of this enables people to endure frustration or difficulties frequently. As the saying goes: "Patience is the mother of science."
What is patience?
Patience is a common theme in self-help literature, religion, and new age books, but it can mean very different things to different people. It generally means tolerating something unpleasant for a long period of time.
For example, a person who waits for a friend who is late without getting angry is being patient. A child who looks forward to Christmas without getting anxious or upset also shows patience.
Patience is not only limited to waiting in time, it can also occur in relation to someone else's behavior or a challenging circumstance. A person who is an alcoholic and endures the stress of withdrawal has this quality, and a parent who doesn't lose his temper with an angry, misbehaving child is being just as patient.
Patience and mental health
Patient people are not free from frustration; rather, they are able to tolerate frustration without feeling extreme negative emotions or exhibiting common signs of frustration.
Many people seek help to be more patient, especially when their lives are extremely stressful or fast-paced. There is some evidence that the distraction-ridden nature of most workplaces can make it more difficult to be patient. Overwhelming demands can also make patience difficult.
Therapists trying to help their clients be more patient can try a number of strategies. Meditation, mindfulness, and reframing frustrated thoughts can help. People with anxiety often struggle with patience because waiting can make them feel more anxious. When there are patience difficulties with another mental health problem, psychotherapy and, in some cases, medicine can help.
Why are people patient?
Evolutionary psychologists are increasingly interested in patience, and they often frame it as a form of decision-making. Patient people and nonhuman animals can delay a smaller reward for a larger one, and this reward gratification seems to involve some degree of calculation. Patience has been shown through reward gratification in some apes.
Patience in relationships
Patience is essential for any relationship between people. It also means having tolerance and above all, being able to enjoy quality interpersonal relationships. But having it does not have to mean putting up with everything from other people, when things happen in a relationship that are not right or that make you feel bad, the best thing is to separate yourself from that relationship in order to have a relationship of dignity.
Remember that if a relationship does not make you feel good, you will have to think about what to do to be better yourself, even if it is away from that person. But lose your patience, it better not be an option.