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I Feel Dreadful: What It Means and What You Can Do About It



If you've ever thought about the meaning of life, you have something in common with the great historical philosophers. Perhaps you have concluded that humans must make their lives meaningful. If so, you agree with the existentialist philosophers. Being responsible for your own life, though, can be scary. It may make you anxious or worried. Some people label these feelings existential dread.


If you question the meaning of life without finding good answers, you may be in an existential crisis. An existential crisis is not a mental health condition, but you may need to seek treatment if you feel especially anxious or depressed as a result of your crisis. If you experience suicidal thoughts, seek help immediately.




I Feel Dreadful



If your feelings persist, you could have an underlying condition that complicates your situation. Bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are two conditions that could make it harder to get over an existential crisis.


One woman has admitted she's so concerned that her friend is making a mistake with the name she's chosen for her daughter that she's considering telling her she thinks the moniker is "dreadful".


Where other witch shows feel like they're trying too hard, Penny Dreadful Season 2 Episode 3 succeeded in grounding Vanessa's backstory. These witches are the stuff of nightmares and they mean business.


The burning scene was haunting but beautifully shot. Watching Joan Clayton burn reminded me of the real life women burned at the stake in the name of God. It was a powerful scene, and I found myself watery-eyed over a character I just met. That's great acting and writing. Patti LuPone absolutely killed her guest starring role. This was a tough and emotional installment, but I feel like I know Vanessa Ives even better now.


If you're like me, you're not always able to bolt out of bed every day with a disciplined, ready-to-go morning routine. In fact, I'm certain I'm not alone as sleep studies have shown that over 53 percent of people feel "dreadful" when their alarm goes off in the morning, and 27 percent feel generally anxious. Even the sound of an alarm during waking hours can trigger something New York Magazine writer Maureen O'Connor coined Phone Alarm Stress Disorder (or PASD).


Plan for contingencies. Prior to becoming a time coach, I struggled with turning in work very late in the day on the day it was due. One small shift made a big difference: setting a personal deadline for myself a day or two before the actual deadline. That way if anything took longer than expected, I could still wrap it up the next morning, submit the project on time, and not have to work late or feel stressed.


Most of us spend a lot of our time fighting this sense of dread, feeling powerless to combat it and completely at its whim. We push it away, only to find it resurfaces at just the wrong time! Once you recognize this cycle, you can simply accept this dread that is so often present instead of fighting it off. When it arrives, allow it to be there without beating yourself up. Take some deep, yogic breaths to quiet your mind a bit, and then ask yourself some questions:


It really does help when you can put an exact name to this fear that causes these adverse feelings inside of you. If you chalk it up to general malaise it is much harder to get a grip on that it is when you can actually name the thing or things that cause you to feel this way. That helps you sort of put your eyes on the prize and to have a better understanding of what you are fighting against.


Thank you for your comment. The GoodTherapy.org Team is not qualified to offer professional advice, but we encourage you to reach out. A therapist or counselor may be able to help you address these feelings of dread and identify any root causes.


Every morning I wake up with my heart pounding and feeling like someone is kneeling on my chest. I had to stop wearing makeup due to crying too much in the mornings. This constant feeling of dread is controlling my life and I need a way to make it stop. I currently talk to a counsellor, and am on the fence about taking medications. Other than breathing exercises, does anybody have tips or tricks on how to calm themselves down?


When we asked Australians how it affected them, they told us eco-anxiety affected everything from their mood to their daily routine to their relationships. It even affected their ability to concentrate, work or study. For some, eco-anxiety made them feel restless, tense and agitated. New Zealanders reported similar impacts.


Eco-anxiety is not going to go away as an issue, given the range of environmental issues the world is confronting. To stop these feelings becoming overwhelming or debilitating, there are a range of behavioural, cognitive and emotional strategies people can use to cope.


I am on day 4 of 1st post chemo session and I feel dreadful, going from your experience how long does the nausea last, its only been 4 days. I know I have a long tough journey ahead but any advice you can give would be most welcome. Thank you


I am on my second lot of flot and can honestly say I'm dreading the 3rd. The first I had sickness and diareah for 5 days until the right anti sickness was found. After the 6th day I was back to normal. Second lot I haven't been sick but constantly feel sick no appetite and still have diareah . Have no energy and just want to sleep .I do go for a walk everyday and try and carry on as normal as I can and the it just gets me and I feel so poorly again. Any advise would be great x


My mom just started her first chemotheraphy session (cisplatin and etoposide) last Wednesday and since Thursday on she started throwing up non-stop.She was given Metroclopramide at home but she was unable to even have a sip of water without throwing up so that was a no no.We rushed her to the hospital on Sunday as she could not eat or drink anything and was very pale. And even today she is still in hospital with fluids,nutrients and paracetamol fed through her veins.It's now been a week since che started having nausea,vomiting and a feeling of her stomach twisting.Did anyone else experience this and how long does it usually take to recover?


My mums just had her first lot of chemo session , we're on day 7-10 which they said would be the worst. She feels absolutely freezing shaking and shivering , on the 2 tablets, feels sick headache bad heart palpitations, the same nausea tablets you said your mum has had. Last night was her worst and she really believed we wouldn't find her this morning she felt that ill... it's all apart of the cycle I know and I'm only 19 so hard to cope with it all but I'm managing .. does it start to pick up soon and she will feel ok?


Emil feels he must make himself useful, and therefore valuable, by acquiring power and mastering magic. I do the same by being the funny, fat friend. In my younger, even more insecure years, the sassy, funny fat friend; the kind that will go shopping with you and make their queerness the butt of the joke as long as it meant their straight friends were laughing with them and not at them.


While this trans-figuration may not be analogous to real world transition, it positions him at an intersection in which I feel seen. Realizing I am trans served as a first step on a journey towards gender euphoria, but stepping out of a binary and onto a spectrum overwhelms as much as it liberates. I no longer need to conform to an expected presentation, but I also have no standard with which to measure myself besides my own desires.


As I stumble around in the intersections of dysphoria which make me dread feeling seen, squinting my eyes as my authentic self flickers in and out of focus, I look to Emil to remember. Our bodies may trans-figure, we may come undone, but pride can exist alongside dysphoria. The love of our friends can wrap around us even as we curse our perceived monstrousness and despair. Through queerness there is possibility; wherein I can lean into the aspects of myself which differentiate me from the cishetero norm, safe in the knowledge my found family will not let me fall. Like Emil, I must be unafraid to trans-figure my body and mind, knowing they will be seen, and extend the scope of my reach.


In my work as a psychotherapist, I notice a few key themes tend to come up over and over again for introverts about the holidays. A central one is the feeling of pressure. Introverts love spending time alone in their home sanctuary, and finding this time becomes more challenging around the holidays. Without as much ample time to ground and recharge, introverts may feel exhausted and overwhelmed. That said, here are some more common things that introverts dread about the holidays. 2ff7e9595c


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