Emotional Distress: Just a Longing for Something
By: Trishna Patnaik
Tags: Lifestyle, Hopelessness, Therapy, Loneliness, Emotional Anguish

Emotional Distress: Just a Longing for Something

If you ever heal from what hurt you, you’ll bleed on people who did not cut you.

Emotional distress is a state of mental anguish or distress or torment that can take a wide variety of forms. It may result from a mental health issue or even particular circumstances, such as relationship difficulties or then financial strain. Emotional distress is such a broad term that can refer to a wide range of symptoms from a variety of mental health disorders.

However, please note that anyone can experience emotional distress, even if they do not meet the criteria for any particular psychological disorder. Here, one must learn what emotional distress is, what can possibly cause it, and what one can do next.

Symptoms of Emotional Distress

Emotional distress is a constant and perpetual state of emotional suffering. The term encompasses a wide range of symptoms, but its hallmarks are the symptoms of depression and anxiety. People can experience it at any particular time, and it is usually temporary. Mental health disorders can cause symptoms of emotional distress that do persist for long periods or occur in cycles.



The symptoms of emotional distress are sometimes severe and may develop into a mental health disorder.

Some symptoms of emotional distress do include:

· Feeling overwhelmed, helpless, or hopeless

· Feeling guilty without a clear cause

· Spending a lot of time worrying

· Having difficulty thinking or remembering

· Sleeping too much or too little

· Having changes in appetite

· Relying more heavily on mood-altering substances, such as alcohol

· Isolating from people or activities

· Experiencing unusual anger or irritability

· Experiencing fatigue

· Having difficulty keeping up with daily tasks

· Experiencing new, unexplained pain

The succinct characteristics of emotional distress may vary depending on the presence of any underlying mental health disorders. For example, in a person with a borderline personality disorder, emotional distress may cause both the angry outbursts and an intense feeling of loneliness.

Causes of emotional distress

The causes of emotional distress vary widely, and they usually involve a combination of factors.

For some people, distress is due to a traumatic experience or event, such as a death in the family. It can also result from a wide range of underlying mental health conditions.

In other cases, certain situations do trigger emotional distress. Examples of such situations are as below:

· Emotional distress at work

The workplace can be a stressful environment, and while some stress may be motivating, too much is often overwhelming.

Some causes of emotional distress related to work may include:

· Concerns about job security

· Concerns about performance

· Long hours

· Low pay

· Poor working conditions

· Increasing responsibility

· A lack of control over work

· Relationships with colleagues or managers

Please note sometimes circumstances do build and combine in unexpected ways to cause distress or pain or anguish. A person can then experience this in any workplace and at all levels of an organization. For example: long working hours may be a particularly potent cause of emotional distress. For example, people working more than 50 hours a week are more likely to experience depression and anxiety in the future than those working 35 hours per week.

Emotional distress at home

Among the many possible causes of emotional distress at home are the personal or even environmental factors, such as:

· Experiencing relationship problems with partners, other family members, or friends

· Undergoing major life changes, such as moving home or having a child

· Living in a neighbourhood that faces inequity and a deprivation of resources

· Having a low income

· Experiencing discrimination

· Feeling lonely or isolated

· Having debt

· Having an unhealthful lifestyle, which might involve smoking or even low levels of exercise

Treatment (A must)

Emotional distress can become overwhelming and go on to affect daily functioning. The treatment usually involves identifying the triggers and practicing techniques to reduce stress or despair or pain.

The triggers of emotional distress are not always obvious, and talking to family members, friends, and a therapist or counsellor can then help people identify them and one can come up with alternative ways of coping.

For example, cognitive behavioural therapy is a standard method of identifying and addressing sources of emotional distress. Please note: there are many types of this therapy, and the best type for each person depends on the situation one is in. Stress management strategies, including the relaxation techniques, such as box breathing and guided imagery, can also certainly help.

Some people even use mindfulness meditation as a long-term strategy for dealing with absolute stress. It typically does involve focusing inward to heighten attention and more so self-awareness.

Making certain lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and becoming more physically active, can also certainly help. Please be sure that regular exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression.

Even light physical activity can be helpful. Adolescents who have engaged in light activity have a lower risk of experiencing depressive symptoms at the age of 18 years.

Diagnosis

There is no clinical diagnosis of emotional distress. Anyone can experience it, and it can be a part of a mental health disorder. It can sometimes even be hard to distinguish between emotional distress and depression or anxiety. To help a person identify the cause of their symptoms, a doctor may ask them about recent experiences and major life events that may be sources of distress. They may also ask about additional symptoms that could indicate a mental health disorder, such as suicidal thoughts or feelings of hopelessness.

Very few things in life are worthy of the kind of emotional distress we put ourselves through. — John Mayer

About the Author:

Trishna Patnaik, a BSc (in Life Sciences) and MBA (in Marketing) by qualification but an artist by choice. A self-taught artist based in Mumbai, Trishna has been practising art for over 14 years. After she had a professional stint in various reputed corporates, she realised that she wanted to do something more meaningful. She found her true calling in her passion that is painting. Trishna is now a full-time professional painter pursuing her passion to create and explore to the fullest. She says, “It’s a road less travelled but a journey that I look forward to everyday.” Trishna also conducts painting workshops across Mumbai and other metropolitan cities of India.

Trishna is an art therapist and healer. She works with clients on a one on one basis in Mumbai.

Trishna fancies the art of creative writing and is dappling her hands in that too, to soak in the experience and have an engagement with readers, wanderers and thinkers.