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, the urge 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 feeling that does not bring benefits but does bring discomfort. There are many people who 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.
Index
- What is vital anguish?
- Do a self-analysis
- Work with those thoughts
- Exposure to your fears
- Relaxation techniques
- Remember your values
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 moment
Now you know what life anguish is, and then we give you 5 guidelines on how to overcome it.
Do a self-analysis.
What to do to calm the vital anguish? The first step in resolving the symptoms of life distress is to find out what exactly is causing 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: 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, as 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 alternative thinking produces in you. 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 about how to remove the anguish.
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 exposure ends prematurely, the levels of anxiety and fear 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 exhibition either mentally, that is, to think of 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 exposures alternatives: the imagined and the 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.
Practice breathing techniques or other forms of relaxation can be very useful to reduce the general anxiety levels of the person. It can also help you cope with feared situations. In this article, we show you different relaxation techniques for adults.
Other ways to relax may be the mere fact of 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 bring you calm and well-being.
Remember your values.
How to overcome vital anguish? The moral values 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 your ideal order and think in what order they are now because of 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?
This article is merely informative, in 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.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is life anguish and how to overcome it, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
Bibliography
- Bados, A., & García, E. (2010). The technique of cognitive restructuring. Psychological Personality, Evaluation and Treatment Department. Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 15.
- Espada, J. P., Van der Hofstadt, C. J., & 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, D. C. (1994). Vital anguish. Medical Gazette of Mexico.
