Life anxiety, also known as neurotic anxiety, is considered one of the most disabling phobias. It consists of a constant fear of being attacked at any moment. Furthermore, this fear is reflected in the body in some way: headache, difficulty breathing, lack of balance, desire to vomit or sweating, among others.
It is a vital instinct that has become obsolete. In the past, this fear was essential for our survival, but today it is a sensation that does not provide benefits but does bring discomfort. Many people suffer from it and there are different ways to overcome it. In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you What is life anguish and how to overcome it.
What is life anguish?
The meaning of life anguish is associated with emotions that cause us discomfort and consists of a constant fear of being attacked at any moment. These emotions limit the person who feels them, causing anxiety, depression or other feelings that lead to unpleasant sensations. Life anguish has psychological and physical effects.
Now you know what life anguish is and, below, we give you 5 guidelines on how to overcome it.
Do a self-analysis
What to do to calm vital anguish? The first step to resolving the symptoms of life distress is to find out what exactly is causing the problem. It can vary for each person. Maybe what makes you set off the alerts is walking alone at night or going through a certain area of the neighborhood.
Write down what situations you fear and also what thoughts are going through your mind at that moment. Your problem is in these thoughts and, therefore, so is the solution. In this article, we tell you what a .
Work with these thoughts
To overcome existential anguish, calculate percentages of the probability that what you fear will happen to you and consider other possible options. In short, refute yourself/your thoughts. In this way you will be able to realize that sometimes our fears are based on unrealistic aspects.
Ideally, a professional could help you in this part of the process, since it can be quite complicated at first because the perspective, thoughts and ideas you have are very settled in your mind. The psychologist can help you look for other alternatives that are more in line with reality and that do not cause such a level of anxiety.
Also, you could assess what emotions your initial thought produces in you and what emotions alternative thinking produces in you. It is a way to continue valuing the importance of seeing situations from another, more realistic perspective. In this article, you will find more information about .
Exposure to your fears
If in the other steps it is important to go to a professional, in this step it is completely essential. The idea would be gradually expose yourself to the feared situation and only end the situation once the feeling of anxiety has disappeared. This point is important, since if the exhibition ends prematurely, the levels of anxiety and fear could increase.
To make the graded exposure, a list of stimuli that is feared would be made and we would start with the one that produces the least anxiety. Once said stimulus stops causing discomfort, the exposure would begin with the next stimulus. It is important that the person does not disconnect from the exhibition mentally either, that is, think about something else to distract and relax.
Because in many cases the situation that causes fear cannot be decided when it begins and when it ends, it can be done two types of exhibitions alternatives: the imagined and the virtual reality. The advantage of the first is that it is more economical, its disadvantage is that it depends on the imaginative capacity of the subject. The disadvantage of the second is the economic part, but its advantage is that it is much more similar to reality and has shown better results.
Relaxation techniques
Practice breathing techniques or other forms of relaxation can be very useful in reducing the person’s general anxiety levels. It can also help you face feared situations. In this article, we show you different ones.
Other ways to relax can be simply do different pleasant activities. Examples of this are playing sports, reading, taking care of plants, painting, walking, etc.
In the following video, you will see a very effective guided relaxation for anxiety that will give you calm and well-being.
Remember your values
How to overcome life anguish? In psychology, they are those important aspects of a person’s life: family, partner, work, health… For each person they have a different order of priority. Think about what your ideal order is and think what order they are in now because of your fear.
Perhaps, because of your fear, you cannot go to see your family as much as you would like, or you are even finding it very difficult to go to work and you may even be fired. Is it worth giving up everything for a danger that surely won’t appear?
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Bados, A., & García, E. (2010). The technique of cognitive restructuring. Department of Personality, Psychological Evaluation and Treatment. Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 15.
- Espada, JP, Van der Hofstadt, CJ, & Galván, B. (2007). Live exposure and cognitive-behavioral techniques in a case of panic attacks with agoraphobia. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 7(1), 217-232.
- Gonzalo, L.M. (1998). Roots of vital anguish. Journal of Medicine of the University of Navarra, 46-48.
- Hayes, S. C. (2015). Acceptance and commitment therapy. Desclée De Brouwer.
- Serrano, DC (1994). The vital anguish. Medical Gazette of Mexico.