By definition, "fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined... " Fear is such a powerful emotion that it can simply override all other feelings, logic or priorities.
Dictionary.com defines the word fear as: A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
As avoidance is to situation selection, escape-related behaviors are to response modulation, implemented once a person experiences a distressing emotion in an effort to reduce the intensity.
Chronic pain is usually accompanied by a distressing emotional response.
Two main findings emerge from the two studies reported here: (i) interpersonal conflict is a proximal trigger associated with non-fatal self-poisoning, in most instances; and (ii) a mixture of motivations is associated with the act, including a desire to die, a desire to escape, and difficulty tolerating distressing emotion associated with interpersonal conflict.
The position of current student protesters, at least at Yale and Princeton (where my husband is a professor and where my 2009 novel Admission was set), is that the power of language and thought to "trigger" distressing emotion is so all-consuming that we must avoid the sharing of any idea, opinion or historical truth that might offend.
The participants in this study struggled to find ways to live well with MCI, and a range of distressing emotions associated with their loved ones' functional decline were reported, including "shock, anger, guilt, anxiety, frustration, sadness, loneliness, helplessness, worry, and uncertainty" (p. 389).
Labeling our distressing emotions gives us a way of validating our inner experience, but it has the added benefit of dialing down their intensity.
Active coping is used to handle the problem arousing emotional distress, whereas passive coping is used to handle the distressing emotions caused by the problem [ 12].
Further, by developing relational means of regulating distressing emotions and reactions and an ongoing means of checking in with each other for course adjustments, parents can learn to help each other navigate the shifting terrain of childrearing during a time of war (Gewirtz et al. 2008).
A sense of irony animates her work, lending it a playful distance that permits her to enact distressing emotions, and assume extreme roles, with the knowledge that they can be put on and taken off like Andy Warhol's platinum wig.
