Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia y repaso una lección más fácil. - When I am frustrated, I change my strategy and review an easier lesson.

Estoy frustrado. = I am (feeling) frustrated right now / in this situation.
Soy frustrado. – sounds wrong or very odd in Spanish. With ser, it would mean something like I am a frustrated person by nature, which is not how people normally express that idea.

So, for moods, emotions, and changeable conditions, use estar:
estoy triste, estoy cansado, estoy feliz, estoy frustrado, etc.

Does frustrado change if the speaker is female, or if there are several people?

Yes. Frustrado is an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject:

One male: Estoy frustrado.
One female: Estoy frustrada.
Several males / mixed group: Estamos frustrados.
Several females: Estamos frustradas.

Everything else in the sentence stays the same; only the adjective ending changes (‑o / ‑a / ‑os / ‑as).

Could I also say Cuando me frustro instead of Cuando estoy frustrado? What is the difference?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia…
Focuses on your state: whenever you are in a frustrated state, you change strategy.
Cuando me frustro, cambio de estrategia…
Focuses more on the moment you get frustrated, the process of becoming frustrated.

In practice, for a general habit, many speakers would use either. Cuando estoy frustrado sounds slightly more neutral and common for describing a repeated situation. Cuando me frustro emphasizes the trigger moment a bit more.

Why are the verbs after cuando in the present tense (estoy, cambio, repaso)? Could I use another tense or the subjunctive?

Here, the sentence describes a general habit:

Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia y repaso una lección más fácil.
= Whenever I am frustrated, I change strategy and review an easier lesson.

For habits and general truths, Spanish uses the present indicative in both clauses, just like English does here.

Compare:

Habitual: Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia.
Specific future event (not habitual): Cuando esté frustrado, cambiaré de estrategia.
(Here esté is present subjunctive, used because it refers to a specific future situation.)

So in your sentence, present indicative (estoy, cambio, repaso) is exactly what you want.

Why is there a comma after Cuando estoy frustrado? Is it necessary?

In standard Spanish punctuation, when a dependent clause like Cuando estoy frustrado comes first, you normally put a comma before the main clause:

Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia… ✅
Cambio de estrategia cuando estoy frustrado. ✅ (no comma needed here)

So the comma in your sentence is correct and expected in careful writing. In casual online writing, some people might omit it, but the recommended form includes it.

Why is there no yo in the sentence? Could I say Cuando yo estoy frustrado…?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is:

estoy = I am
cambio = I change
repaso = I review

So Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia already clearly means When I am frustrated, I change strategy.

You can add yo:

Cuando yo estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia…

but that usually adds emphasis, like contrasting with someone else:

Cuando yo estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia; él sigue con lo mismo.

In your neutral, stand‑alone sentence, leaving out yo is more natural.

Why is it cambio de estrategia and not cambio mi estrategia or cambio la estrategia?

Spanish uses two slightly different patterns with cambiar:

cambiar de + noun
= to switch from one thing to another of the same type
Examples:
- cambiar de ropa – to change clothes (switch clothes)
- cambiar de trabajo – to change jobs
- cambiar de opinión – to change one’s mind
- cambiar de estrategia – to change strategy (switch strategies)
This is the most natural here, because you’re switching from one strategy to another.
cambiar + direct object (cambiar la estrategia / mi estrategia)
- cambiar la estrategia – to change the strategy (modify or replace it)
- cambiar mi estrategia – to change my strategy

These are also grammatically correct and understandable, but in everyday speech cambiar de estrategia is very common and idiomatic for the idea “I switch strategies.”

What exactly does repasar mean here? How is it different from estudiar or revisar?

In a study context:

repasar = to go over / review material you already learned
- repaso una lección – I go back over a lesson I have already seen.
estudiar = to study, more general
- estudio una lección nueva – I study a new lesson.
revisar can mean:
- to check / go over something (text, work) for errors,
- or in some countries (esp. Spain) also “review” in a study sense.

In much of Latin America:

repasar la lección is the clearest way to say review the lesson you already studied.
revisar is more strongly associated with checking or inspecting something (homework, a document, a plan).

So in your sentence, repaso una lección más fácil very naturally means you go back over an easier lesson that you already did before.

Why is it una lección más fácil and not una más fácil lección?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives (like fácil, difícil, interesante) usually come after the noun:

una lección fácil – an easy lesson
una lección difícil – a difficult lesson

Comparatives with más also normally go after the noun:

una lección más fácil – an easier lesson
un problema más complicado – a more complicated problem

The order una más fácil lección sounds very unnatural and is basically not used in normal speech.

Does fácil change form in the plural or feminine, like other adjectives?

Yes, but differently from ‑o / ‑a adjectives:

Singular: fácil (for masculine or feminine)
- una lección fácil
- un ejercicio fácil
Plural: fáciles (add ‑es)
- lecciones fáciles
- ejercicios fáciles

It does not change for gender, only for number. So:

una lección más fácil – one easier lesson
unas lecciones más fáciles – some easier lessons

Is this sentence natural in Latin American Spanish? Are there other common ways to say it?

Yes, the original sentence is natural and clear in Latin American Spanish:

Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia y repaso una lección más fácil.

Some equally natural variations you might hear:

Cuando estoy frustrado, cambio de estrategia y vuelvo a una lección más fácil.
(I go back to an easier lesson.)
Cuando me siento frustrado, cambio de estrategia y repaso una lección más fácil.
(I feel frustrated – slightly more emotional.)
Cuando me frustro, cambio de estrategia y repaso una lección más fácil.
(Focusing on the moment you get frustrated.)

All of these sound fine across Latin America; the original version is already very good and idiomatic.