Anguish: symptoms, causes and possible treatments

Anguish is an affective state that causes discomfort, feeling of suffocation, mental suffering and even sadness. It is related to fear (irrational fear), despair and, in many cases, uncertainty. Fear of separation, bullying at school or work, or irrational and intrusive thoughts, among other situations, can cause distress.

The term anxiety is often confused with anxiety. In this article we will talk about the differences between both concepts and we will delve into causes, symptoms, and possible treatments of anguish.

• Related article: "Fighting anxiety: 5 guidelines to reduce tension"

Differences between distress and anxiety

It is not easy to understand the difference between anguish and anxiety, as they are terms that are often used as synonyms on many occasions. There are authors who consider that the difference is that while anxiety is used in the clinically, anxiety has a rather philosophical origin, and is especially important in the existentialism. For example, Heidegger and Kierkegaard already used the term, and the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre spoke about anguish in his book "L'Être et le Néant" (1943).

Now in psychology (or psychiatry) Sigmund Freud He also spoke of "realistic anxiety" and "neurotic anxiety" referring to the latter as a pathological state. Today, for many, the line between anxiety and distress remains blurry.

There is no consensus as to the difference

And it is that despite the attempts to distinguish these concepts by philosophers, doctors and psychologists, today these terms continue to be confused and are used as synonyms in many cases. Some authors have considered that physical symptoms prevail in anxiety, while in anxiety the psychological ones prevail (although this distinction between symptoms is even more confusing).

Anxiety has also been considered to have a paralyzing effect on the individual, while anxiety activates a startle motor reaction. However, nowadays, when talking about anxiety, both physical and psychological symptoms are also taken into account.

A clear example of how these concepts are used interchangeably is when panic disorder is mentioned, as it is also called an anxiety crisis or panic disorder. As stated by Manuel Suárez Richards in his book Introduction to Psychiatry (1995): “Both terms are currently used as synonyms, since it is taken into account that they are unpleasant psychological states presenting physiological symptoms in a habitual way, and they are characterized by painful expectation in the face of an imprecise danger ”.

Therefore, in this article we will refer to anguish as a synonym of anxiety, which causes great discomfort in the person who suffers it and in whom there is not only a physiological and physical reaction, but also psychological.

• You may be interested: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

What is anguish?

While anxiety and anguish stand out for resembling fear, are different from the latter in the sense that fear manifests itself before present stimuli, and anxiety or anguish in anticipation of future dangers, indefinable, unforeseeable and even irrational.

Anguish can be adaptive and helpful, in the sense that it is a normal reaction in our day-to-day lives, and it even becomes beneficial in certain contexts. For example, when crossing a road with a red light, it keeps us alert so that we are not run over.

But if we think of an anxiety attack or a panic disorder, the person has a disproportionate distress reaction, which paralyzes the individual, and in which they charge presence of psychic symptoms such as the sensation of suffocation and imminent danger, which have nothing to do with the reality. That is why it can be considered a psychopathology.

Its causes

This distressing situation not only appears acutely as in the case of panic disorder, but there are other factors that can lead to suffer it. For example, when we are not clear about our future and we enter an existential crisis that leaves us sleeping thinking about how we will solve the problem. For distress to occur, biological, psychological (and existential), and environmental factors come into play. That is why philosophers, poets, psychologists and psychiatrists have been interested in this phenomenon throughout history.

Usually the anguish appears in situations where the person faces difficult situations, where there is a threatening element (physical or psychological), but also in those situations in which the person does not see clear the way forward and, therefore, lives a situation of uncertainty.

At the biological level, there are also studies that affirm that genetic predisposition is present in this condition, and that some neurochemicals play an important role in distress.

For example, an increase in adrenaline or a reduction in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Finally, some environmental causes such as difficulties in social relationships or bad daily habits, among others, can precipitate the appearance of anguish.

Symptoms

Anguish presents a series of characteristic symptoms. They are as follows:

• Excessive worries and fears.
• Imagination of catastrophic scenarios.
• Despair.
• Shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, muscle tension, dry mouth or fatigue.
• Chest tightness.
• Suffocation.
• Avoidance of feared situations.
• Difficulty sleeping.

Possible treatments

Anxiety problems are very frequent in our days and, without a doubt, the most effective treatment to solve them is to go to psychological therapy.

Psychologists are professionals prepared to treat these types of problems, which can help patients discover the underlying causes of their worries and fears; and they can provide them with certain tools to help them relax and look at situations from a new perspective. They can also help children develop better coping and problem-solving skills.

Psychological therapy for anxiety problems it is usually short, as patients improve in 8 or 10 therapeutic sessions. The cognitive behavioral therapy It has been shown to be very effective as a therapeutic model in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but other types of psychotherapy are also effective, such as Acceptance and commitment therapy wave mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).

In extreme cases, the use of drugs can be a good help as a complement to psychological treatment, especially in those situations where symptoms need to be reduced rapidly, such as to treat an alcohol disorder. anguish. However, the administration of drugs should never be the only therapeutic option chosen, and it is always started by medical indication.

• If you want to delve into the treatment of anxiety, you can read this article: "6 effective treatments against anxiety”.