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Severe mental or physical pain or suffering. distress. misery. pain. agony. torment. woe. sorrow. grief. suffering. torture. affliction. despair. unhappiness. wretchedness. heartache. anxiety. tribulation. desolation. heartbreak. dolefulness. hurt. angst. dolor. travail. dolour. excruciation.
- Overview
- What Does Anguish Feel Like?
- What Causes Us to Feel Anguish?
- How Anguish Can Impact Our Lives
- How to Deal and Cope With Anguish
- Additional Resources on Anguish
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Anguish is an intense and complex emotional state caused by mental or physical suffering. When people experience anguish, they often feel extreme distress, sadness, torment, turmoil, and inner pain. While such feelings are often associated with losses or trauma, other overwhelming life challenges can also trigger this emotional state.
tl;dr
Anguish feels like deep sorrow and pain and it can lead to emotional distress. Life can throw many obstacles our way (think grief, trauma, and loss) and we've all fallen victim to this kind of pain. None of us are alone in that.
"Anguish can feel like angst and/or deep, complex suffering or sorrow, typically regarding something profound and valuable to us," says Rainier Wells, LMHC, a partner provider at Grow Therapy.
Such feelings can manifest both physically and emotionally. Physically, this can create bodily sensations, including pain, soreness, heaviness, tearfulness, and slowed movement and momentum, Wells explains.
In addition to the physical experience of anguish, it can also result in examining aspects of identity, belief, and other existential questions.
Anguish may elicit thoughts and feelings about one’s belief systems, status, mortality, legacy, and other existential systems.
Grief and Loss
The death of a loved one can cause deep anguish, but the end of an important relationship or the loss of other important things in your life can also result in intense turmoil and despair. Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone or something that can produce a range of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Losing a meaningful attachment can create profound sadness, anger, and uncertainty. It can also lead people to experience changes in their identity and question their life's purpose and meaning.
Trauma
Natural disasters, accidents, violence, and other traumatic events can also lead to significant feelings of anguish. In addition to the initial disruption and distress that these events create, they can also lead to longer-lasting feelings of anxiety. Other trauma symptoms include distressing memories, hyperarousal, hypervigilance, overwhelming emotions, emotional numbing, avoidance, guilt, and shame. Trauma can also interfere with a person's feelings of trust and safety, which can heighten a person's feelings of anguish and create a pervasive sense of anxiety and vulnerability.
Relationships
Relationships can be a source of connection, joy, and support, but they can also lead to pain and emotional suffering when they end or when they are marked by conflict. Breakups, infidelity, and discord can lead to feelings of anguish and emotional pain.
Anguish has powerful physiological and psychological effects. Such feelings are agonizing in the short term, but the stress they create can also contribute to long-term health problems.
"Living with anguish can result in disrupted sleep, poor or markedly increased appetite, difficulty concentrating, exhaustion, isolation, worry, and avoidance,” Wells says. "The event that the anguish is responsible for may be recalled through intrusive memories, thoughts, pictures, or emotional flashes."
•Physical effects: The physical feelings of anguish can be overwhelming and even excruciating and can include racing heartbeat, chest pressure, sweating, trembling, muscle tension, nausea, and a feeling of being suffocated.
•Health problems: Anguish is an intensely stressful experience. If this becomes chronic, this stress can take a significant toll on a person's physical well-being, putting them at a greater risk of illness and health problems.
•Reduced functioning: Experiencing anguish can make it difficult for people to function in their normal daily life. They may struggle to go to work or school, maintain social relationships, and perform daily household tasks.
•Cognitive effects: It is also common for people to have trouble concentrating and paying attention. This can contribute to poor decisions and difficulty remembering important information.
Seek Help From a Professional
"It is important to monitor the impact on one’s life and seek out peer and professional support to work through processing emotions of anguish and the issue that brought on the emotion," Wells says. It can be helpful to talk to a mental health professional. A therapist can help you deal with the effects of emotional pain. You can also develop coping skills that can decrease distress and improve resilience.
Utilize Stress Relief Techniques
You can ease some heavy emotions you are feeling by limiting your exposure to stress and practicing effective relaxation techniques. Instead of pressuring yourself to return to normal, give yourself the space to process your feelings by setting boundaries or limiting your commitments. Stress management tactics such as mindfulness, meditation, and deep breathing can also help you better cope with feelings of stress. Mindfulness, in particular, may help you better regulate your emotions and reduce the intensity of the anguish you are experiencing.
Find Ways to Express Your Emotions
Anguish can become even more painful if you try to bottle up your emotions. While you might be tempted to hide your pain, suppressing or disguising your feeling can backfire, leading to problems with mental, social, and physical health. It's important to find healthy ways to process and express what you are feeling. This might involve talking about what you are feeling with a trusted friend, or creative endeavors like drawing, painting, music, movement, or journaling might provide a useful outlet.
Anguish can lead to feelings of fear, hopelessness, and anxiety that overwhelm our ability to cope. If you are dealing with emotional suffering, there are resources available that can help:
•National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: If you are experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide, call 988 anytime, day or night, to talk to a trained professional who can provide confidential support and direct you to other local resources that can help.
•SAMHSA Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) to speak with someone about mental health issues or substance use problems. They can direct you to resources in your area, including treatment facilities and support.
•LGBT National Hotline: Call 1-888-843-4564 to receive safe, confidential peer support and to talk about issues including sexuality, coming out, gender identity, relationships, self-harm, and bullying. The hotline is available Monday through Saturday.
APA: Classic Thesaurus. (1970). Broader terms for Emotional anguish.Retrieved May 4, 2024, from https://www.classicthesaurus.com/emotional_anguish/broader
Another way to say Deep Emotional Anguish? Synonyms for Deep Emotional Anguish (other words and phrases for Deep Emotional Anguish).
May 22, 2024 · (æŋgwɪʃ ) uncountable noun. Anguish is great mental suffering or physical pain. [...] [written] See full entry for 'anguish' Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers. Definition of 'emotional' emotional. (ɪmoʊʃənəl ) adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun] Emotional means concerned with emotions and feelings.
Top synonyms. heartache. noun. Sorrow; anguish of mind; mental pang. Words. emotional. adjective. Determined or actuated by emotion rather than reason. anguish. noun. Extreme mental distress. Emotional anguish definition based on common meanings and most popular ways to define words related to emotional anguish.
noun. These are words and phrases related to anguish. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or, go to the definition of anguish. The mother waited in anguish for news of her missing child. Synonyms. distress. pain. agony. suffering. torment. despair. misery. anxiety. heartache. grief. woe. remorse. sorrow. Antonyms. comfort. ease
