What is life anguish and how to overcome it
Vital 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. In addition, this fear is reflected in the body in some way: headache, difficulty in breathing, lack of balance, urge to vomit or sweating, among others.
It is a vital instinct that has become obsolete. Formerly this fear was essential for our survival, but today it is a feeling that does not bring benefits but does bring discomfort. There are many people who suffer it and there are different ways to overcome it. In this article, we tell you what vital anguish is and how to overcome it.
What is vital anguish?
The meaning of vital anguish is associated with emotions that cause us discomfort and consists of a constant fear of being attacked at any time . 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 vital anguish is, and then we give you 5 guidelines on how to overcome it.
Do a self-analysis
What to do to calm vital anguish? The first step in resolving the symptoms of life distress is to find out what exactly causes the problem. In each person it can vary. It may be that what makes you activate the alerts is walking at night alone or going through a certain area of the neighborhood.
Write down what are the situations you fear and also what thoughts go through your mind at that moment. Your problem is in these thoughts and, therefore, also the solution. In this article, we tell you what a panic attack is: symptoms, causes and treatment .
Work with those thoughts
To overcome existential anguish, calculate percentages of how likely it is that what you fear will happen to you and propose other possible options. In short, refute yourself / your thoughts. This way you can 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 find 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 and what emotions the alternative thought produces. It is a way of continuing to appreciate the importance of seeing situations from a more realistic perspective. In this article, you will find more information on how to remove anxiety .
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 to 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 exposure ends early, anxiety and fear levels could increase.
To make the graded exposure, a list of stimuli that are feared would be made and one would begin with the one that produces the least anxiety. Once said stimulus stops producing discomfort, the exposure would begin with the next stimulus. It is important that the person does not disconnect from the exposure either mentally, that is, to think of something else to distract and relax.
Because on many occasions the situation that causes fear cannot be decided when it begins and when it ends, two types of alternative exposures can be carried out : imagined and virtual reality . The advantage of the first is that it is cheaper, 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
Practicing breathing techniques or other forms of relaxation can be very useful in reducing the general anxiety levels of the person. It can also help you cope with dreaded situations. In this article, we show you different relaxation techniques for adults .
Other ways to relax can be the simple act of doing 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 anxiety relaxation that will bring you calm and well-being.
Remember your values
How to overcome vital anguish? The moral values in psychology are those important aspects of a person 's life: family, family, work, health ... For each person has a different order of priority. Think about your ideal order and think about what order they are in now due to your fear. Perhaps, due to your fear, you cannot go to see the family as much as you would like or it is even being very difficult for you to go to work and they may even fire you. Is it worth giving up everything for a danger that will surely not appear?
