THE’anguish it is an intense state of psychic suffering that can be characterized mental states of anxiety, fear And depression And physical symptoms.
Etymology is linked to the Latin verb to angere, “tightening” and in fact the term outlines a very painful and oppressive emotional state from whose causes the person who suffers from it, does not seem to be always aware of it.
Is often approached to the concept of anxietyin which we still find affinities, a sense of alarm and perception of danger that creates discomfort. However, the sense of anguish can differentiate itself for the markedly more intense or serious degree of subjective suffering and the somatic side most involved in this condition.
In the Anglossassone (Anxiety) or German (Angst) language, there is no clear distinction between the two terms. The same word is used in a comparable way for both conditions.
Experiment anguish It can be linked to a temporary situation interpreted as a threat that evades its resources and can run out with the resolution of the imminent danger itself. Or it can be related to an internal psychic condition not necessarily linked to something specific, as a sort of “terrifyingless fearless fear” and guided by a catastrophic interpretation of reality or internal events and a sense of imminent misfortune.
In psychology the term anguish has been widely deepened in the psychoanalysis As implicated in the mobilization of the ego defenses to face the situation or as the basis of psychopathological disorders. This emotional state finds itself today studied as a psychic condition often experienced also at the somatic level and present in various mental disorders (e.g. generalized anxiety disorder or other anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders and personality disorders).
THEanguish experienced on an emotional level ends up being paralyzing. It can make us feel anxious, frightened, and threatened without reason. It can be characterized by a sense of existential void, or make us feel a weight that makes it difficult to breathe.
It can manifest itself in the face of states of uncertainty against something that we perceive that we cannot control or predict. When this uncertainty arises, concern intensifies. Intrust and catastrophic thoughts and recurring worries can intervene. Apparently harmless situations how to face an exam, make choices, wait for an answer, or even compare ourselves with something that we believe we are unable to face it can generate anguish.
It is not only a mental condition, but manifests itself in the body in various ways. Physical symptoms can be characterized by dizziness, digestive problems, chest pressure, psychic and muscle tension, tremors and insomnia. In addition, the experience of anguish can limit in addition to personal objectives, intimate and social relationships.
Each of us may have experienced at a certain point in our life as languish It can take over and hold power over it, leaving a feeling of agitation that never disappears and makes it impossible to carry out certain tasks. Anguish is an emotion that can make us sink into a deep sadnesscan attack us hard and make us feel “sick”, depressed and immersed in a feeling of discouragement, regret and unhappiness.
This feeling can feed negativity and pessimism and to filter reality as without hope and immerse ourselves in a vicious circle of fear and anger from which it seems impossible to escape.
Even the internal dialogue is possible that it becomes more negative and full of words and maladative phrases on oneself and on others, or on the reality of the type “nobody can really understand me”, “we are all alone”; “I don’t apply to anyone.”
It is therefore important to recognize this negative spiral and request help when this feeling and emotion strikes us and pushes us into the corner of impotence or takes on a more complex value at clinical level.
There feeling of anguish It can be so intense sometimes that it acts as a trigger for a panic attack or give rise to more complex paintings. For example, when we find ourselves facing personal crisis situations and we have the feeling of not being able to manage them correctly, this emotional state can extend and become chronic or associate with depressive states.
Some situations can act as a “trigger” for the manifestation of this state of suffering. For example, feel incapable of managing certain situations, such as working dynamics, or unemployment, moments of rupture or crisis in the normal daily routine, imminent changes such as diseases or mourning can trigger this type of sensation. In the same way, problems in relationships such as separations, betrayals or family disagreements, etc. they can constitute a trigger factor.
There are also studies that show that there are subjects who are more susceptible to predisposed to experiment Experiences of anguish. In this sense, even the genetic factor could in some cases have its responsibility. This is because neurochemical responses are produced by hormones and neurotransmitters and therefore an increase in adrenaline or a reduction in the gamma-aminobutirrico acid (GABA) in those who are more predisposed to these neurochemical changes could make more inclined to experience this state.
Cure anguish
Faced with experiences of anguish that give shape to real emotional disorders, thinking of finding a quick and immediate solution is perhaps not the best way, but it can be useful to rely on psychotherapy.
Sometimes it can be useful to learn to better manage the unpredictable and face things away from our control. The possibility therefore to face the problem from a perspective and with a different approach. There cognitive-behavioral therapy It can help manage and evaluate our negative thoughts and emotions in a different way and third generation therapies such as theAct or the MCBT They can help acquire a non -judgmental awareness and present towards our suffering. While in serious cases it can be useful to support a pharmacological treatment.
Existential anguish
In the literature we then find the concept of existential anguishor a prolonged painful psychic condition over time directly connected to the deepest and conflicting reflections of existence.
The existentialist philosophy has often put existential anguish at the center of its investigation thanks to philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre. They dealt with anguish experienced by man who confronts his existence as mere possibility and with his loss in front of the indeterminacy and uncertainty of existence itself, with despair in the face of the awareness of the finiteness of man or infinity achievable through faith; With themes related to annihilation and death, finally to freedom and choice and solitude in front of it.
The concept of existential anguish (EA) However, it has also been deepened by numerous psychologists and psychiatrists. In addition, cognitive psychologists have shown interest in existential anguish, through example the terror management Theory (TMT, Koole, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2006) with which they have started an experimental tradition in recent decades conducted on existential anguish and in particular on the anguish of death.
The available literature indicates that in normal circumstances, most people are able to manage these problems. However, there are moments (for example stress, adversity, trauma and loss experiences) in which people fall into a state of deep existential disturbance with the feeling of being unable to get out of it (Fuchs, 2013).
The concept of existential anguish assumes importance in many respects and in particular to deepen from a social point of view as the society seeks to face the fundamental anxieties of existence. Existential anguish It helps to understand the dynamics inherent in psychopathology. People with psychic suffering or psychopathological disorders can be more susceptible to the fundamental concerns of life, sometimes for having confronted themselves directly with them due to experienced traumatic experiences (Fuchs, 2013).
For example, research on death anguish has shown how it is related to neuroticism, state anxiety and sudden and different diagnostic categories such as depression or generalized anxiety, although further research is needed (Neimeyer, Wittkowski and Moser, 2004). For other authors existential anguish It could be an important trans-diagnostic factor useful in understanding mental disorders and that paying attention to this aspect contributes to a perspective centered on the person, on his health and on the treatment methods (Bruggen, Vos, Bohlmeijer, & Glas, 2013).
In a recent article (Bruggen et al., 2014) existential anguish It is described as characterized by being engaged in maximum concerns about life itself and on related issues such as death and lack of meaning, the inevitability of the fact that as human being is fundamentally alone, uncertainty, fault and definition of identity.
From existential anguish Finally, poets, writers and painters who managed to express it in their art also dealt with. For example, Edvard Munch has managed to impress his pain in his works both in relation to the traumatic events lived and the psychic suffering experienced, and in relation to the interpretation of a surrounding reality that annihilates and represses its instinctuality.
In its most famous work “the scream” we trace despair and terror, which arose precisely by the experience of existential anguish experienced internally.
Bibliography
- Brugen, VV, Vos, J., Bohlmeijer, et, & Glas, G. (2013). Over de plats van existentële thema’s in cognitieve gedragstherapie. (About the place of existential themes in Cognitive Behavoral Therapy) Tijdschrift voor gedragstherapie en cognitieve therapie, 2119-134.
- Brugen, VV, Vos, J., Westerhof, G., Bohlmeijer, E., & Glas G. (2014). Systematic Review of EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY INSTRUMENTS. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 55173 -201.
- Fuchs, T. (2013). EXISTENTIAL VULNERABILITY: TOWARD A PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF LIMIT SITUATIONS. Psychopathology, 46301-308.
- Koole, SL, Greenberg, J., & pyszczynski, T. (2006). Introducing Science to the Psychology of the Soul: Experimental Existential Psychology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15212-216.
- Neimeyer, Ra, Wittkowski, J., & Moser, RP (2004). Psychological Research on Death Attitudes: an ovserview and evaluation. Death Studies, 28309-340.
