Emotional discomfort: possible causes, and how to overcome it

Emotional distress does not necessarily have to cause an upheaval, but it can affect us greatly.

For most people, life is not a pool of calm, undisturbed water. It is often more like a river, full of steep meanders and stretches where the flow waxes and wanes, at a fickle and unpredictable pace.

Letting oneself be carried along by such a current implies overcoming the obstacles that will generally arrive, with the purpose of continuing to sail beyond the horizon. By taking the helm of our own existence, we inevitably accept to face the ups and downs inherent to its nature.

This circumstance is complex, and is closely related to personal and social issues as diverse as family life, studies, work, etc. Problems in any of these areas can be the reason for what we know as emotional distress.

In this article we will deepen, in particular, in what is this emotional discomfort. Where it comes from and how it usually manifests itself, as well as the extent to which it affects the daily life of those who suffer from it. In the last part we will talk about its therapeutic approach.

What is the emotional discomfort

Emotional distress is an extensive and complex concept, which has been used profusely in the clinical and research fields, but has often not been defined in a clear and precise way. has often not been defined in a clear and operative way.. For this reason, sometimes there is some "confusion" when we try to refer to it, and even the limits that separate it from what becomes a psychological disorder are diluted. It is true that the vast majority of mental health problems involve some degree of emotional distress (mild, severe, etc.), but the isolated presence of emotional distress does not always imply psychopathology.

Thus, the first approach to this concept implies recognizing that the subjective experience of emotional distress does not in any way mean that the individual is suffering from some mental disorder, but that he/she is simply is affectively representing everyday situations that bring him or her some suffering or concern.. In this case, the affective response would not reach the intensity necessary to satisfy the diagnostic criteria required by the manuals in use (as would be the case of the DSM-5), although this does not prevent it from being experienced with embarrassment and regret.

Those who suffer from emotional distress explicitly use phrases such as "I feel bad", "I'm down" or "I feel flat" to describe their experience, which is usually the result of an isolated and recognizable event or the accumulation of several of them in a discrete period of time. In any case, it indicates an impairment in the feeling of well-being compared to a previous moment, and in general the subject feels deprived of the joy that he/she was once able to feel in his/her own skin. Sometimes it is not possible to identify what has been the trigger, so that a certain disorientation is added.

When we go deeper into the sensations beyond the emotional, the existence of physical symptoms for which no explanatory organic root can be found is frequently reported. The most notable are headache (headaches), digestive disturbances (such as diarrhea or constipation) and certain muscular discomfort. All this requires a physical examination that rarely provides a finding capable of identifying them, and very often precipitates the planning of symptomatic approaches that do not attack the "core" of what really motivates them (use of analgesics or anxiolytics with myorelaxant properties, for example).

These undefined and diffuse physical symptoms can be accompanied by intimate nuances of enormous existential importance, such as sadness, anxiety, anxiety and depression.such as sadness, the shadow of an "inner emptiness" that causes uneasiness and a constant experience of nervousness or irritability. As time goes by, it is common that the preoccupation is accentuated and other problems arise, such as insomnia or persistent fatigue. It is at this point in the evolution of emotional distress that there is a greater risk of it transcending into a more structured and clinically relevant psychopathological condition (especially depression and anxiety).

It is such a prevalent problem that it has been estimated (according to several studies) that 30% to 60% of the people who go to their primary care physician are experiencing this problem.. It is more frequent in women than in men (70% in the first case), and it is thought that this discrepancy is due to different ways of dealing with emotions and to the potential existence of different stressors between the two groups (women are more "involved" in caregiving tasks in addition to their work responsibilities, for example).

It is common for the problem not to be detected in timeIt is common for the problem not to be detected in time, so that it becomes firmly established or progresses to a full-blown disorder, as well as leading to hyper-frequency referral to the family physician or other specialists.

Why does emotional distress occur?

As can be seen, living with such emotional distress results in severe erosion of quality of life. results in a severe erosion of the quality of life and of all the dimensions that make up human reality and of all the dimensions that make up the reality of the human being: from the social to the individual, including the vital areas in which both participate (such as academic or work). What is really true is that, despite not being a disorder as such, the symptom in question also precipitates an impairment in self-image that alters the normal development of personally significant projects.

Below we review only some of the basic reasons why a person might suffer from such a circumstance. However, it should be noted that its potential causes are virtually infiniteThe potential causes are virtually infinite, since they depend on the way in which the individual constructs his or her own world.

Academic problems

Academic problems are generators of emotional discomfort, especially during adolescence, as this is the developmental period in which failures in this area can have the greatest impact on well-being.This is the developmental period in which failures in this area can have the greatest impact on well-being. The difficulty in obtaining the desired results (grades), the belief that one does not have sufficient resources to face the progressive demands of the educational system or doubts at the moment of choosing the curricular itinerary, are frequent causes of suffering in this maturational stage. Also the excessive load of responsibility, and the periodic evaluation of the performance (exams or expositions in front of the peers), can also trigger it.

2. Problems at work

The work environment has been, especially in recent years, a clear cause of emotional discomfort for millions of people around the world. From the barriers that young people must overcome to access stable jobs, to the never-ending situation of unemployment in which countless people are submerged after the fifth decade of life.

Also It is also frequent that circumstances such as precariousness, overload in the workplace or insufficient salaries (depending on the growth of the cost of living) are (depending on the increase in the cost of living) may be the reasons for such suffering.

3. Family problems

The presence of family problems of various kinds, but especially conflicts between members of the group, generate a lot of emotional pain to the people involved.

Such situations may include material or energy shortages, difficulties in accessing housing, psychological or organic disorders in any of the persons forming part of the unit, or arguments between the parties that cannot be resolved. Finally, emotional discomfort is also common in cases where the distribution of tasks is unfair or unbalanced.

4. Relationship problems

Relational problems, in the case that common strategies to face adversities have not been consolidated, could be a tacit cause of the problems.could be a tacit cause of affective discomfort. In this case a great number of variables are involved, which are related to the satisfaction of romantic expectations or to disagreements about important aspects of coexistence.

The maintenance of an unsatisfactory bond for fear of loneliness, or any other additional cause (not to cause pain to someone who is appreciated, e.g.), is one of the most common causes for this situation to emerge within a dyadic bond.

5. Excess of responsibility

The situations of family, work or personal overloadFor a long time, it was postulated (and still is today) as one of the factors underlying the accentuated risk of women to report emotional discomfort.

And it is quite true that the intimate perception that our responsibilities exceed our resources, or that the tasks that are "demanded" of us are in direct opposition to each other, are directly connected with the phenomenon. This is accentuated when the person, in addition, is forced to give up leisure or recreational time.

6. Social problems

Difficulties in establishing quality relationships with our peer group, or with the work team, are very often pointed out as very powerful triggers of the problem we are dealing with. Reluctance to ask for help, or to ask for collaboration, may also be at its base.

In any case, it is nowadays it is now known that an insufficient social support network is an extraordinary risk factor for emotional distress. in terms of emotional distress, as is unwanted loneliness ("imposed" by circumstances). Experiences of rejection, uprooting or ostracism also generate emotional distress.

7. Health problems

Health problems, and more specifically serious/chronic illnesses, have emerged in recent years as the area of life in which emotional distress has been most commonly investigated.

We know that the diagnosis of a relevant pathology, the process of recovering health, the use of certain drugs (chemotherapy, for example) and the adaptations in daily roles, involve a series of personal challenges in which an inner struggle takes place. In cases where this discomfort reaches the level of a mental disorder, the involvement of a health psychologist is unavoidable..

How can it be approached?

All the situations that have been shown in the previous lines generate, potentially, an important psychological suffering. Although in the first moments this does not reach the intensity necessary to be considered a psychological disorder, it is expected to evolve into anxiety or depression if an adequate therapeutic approach is not articulated. It is for this reason that it is very important to seek the guidance of a professional adequately trained in mental health.The aim is to develop a good diagnosis and its corresponding treatment.

Increasing knowledge about emotions, and learning to regulate the way they are experienced, is a key objective of the intervention in this context. This translates into a greater ability to recognize, identify, discriminate, repair, communicate and use each one of them, so as to optimize the management of internal experiences. From this, the person acquires the ability to deepen in his needs and desires, being this an essential first step to build a comfortable daily life.

In addition, it may be interesting to teach procedures aimed at problem solving, since sometimes "bad" choices have worked as an element of support to the adverse situation that one may be living. Such strategies usually have an impact on description of the problem, generation of alternatives, assessment of all courses of action, and commitment to the selected solution. solution that has been selected. This technique has been shown to be effective as a resource for the prevention of depression or anxiety in the case of people in specific situations of vulnerability.

Finally, enhancing the social skills available to the person (especially assertiveness) helps to significantly reduce emotional discomfort. Through a program such as this it is possible to provide the individual with appropriate communication skills, so that he/she can successfully mediate in all negotiation situations whose object is the relief of responsibilities or the search for the agreement with which to provide a solution to a persistent conflict.

Bibliographical references:

• Cruzado, J.A. (2012). Screnning of Emotional Distress in Cancer Patients and their Families. Psicooncologia, 9, 231-232.
• Moreno, A., Krikorian, A., & Gonzalez, C. (2015). Emotional distress, anxiety and depression in Colombian oncology patients and their relationship with perceived competence. Advances in Latin American Psychology, 33, 517-529.