Pangs

[lunarla]

Though I've tried to research this topic, not too much is to be found as to an answer for this feeling or what really happens in the body/mind to cause it. As a definition it is basically:

pang (png)
n.
1. A sudden sharp spasm of pain. See Synonyms at pain.
2. A sudden sharp feeling of emotional distress.
tr.v. panged, pang·ing, pangs
To cause to feel pangs; distress acutely.

The second definition is what best describes it for me. I get chronic panging though to the point where I have a stomach ache. And to me it's such a unique feeling. It can be good or bad. When it's good it's basically butterflies and when it's bad it has a connection to bad thoughts making it one of the worst feelings I've experienced.

As well as this I think it has something to do with the subconscious. For me, I get the pang (good or bad) and then start thinking things that follow that before anything else. As if something being said/done is first giving me a pang without any other thought.

It also may be important to note that I get this romantically... I think getting them to the severe extent may have something to do with my insecurity which is heightened when feeling close to someone. The pang is a feeling of confliction. The bad pang is usually result of something being said/done that may be very kind but then I feel as though I don't deserve it, or that maybe it's not meant, thus, a pang results.

Anyway, getting to the bottom of this feeling has been at the back of my mind a lot. I'm not really sure how it manifests itself neurologically or otherwise.

I'm sure that may other people get this feeling because it can have to do with many different contexts, but to what extent does everyone get this?

 

[Tiercel]

I get something like this, but it's usually associated with longing. But once in a while I get it when I feel like I'm not deserving or not good enough.

Mostly I get them when I see a couple that looks like they are truly happy and in love. I get this empty, sorrowful feeling right in the middle of my chest. Sort of like I really want to cry yet am unable to. It almost feels as if there's a vital body part that's missing from my chest. Strangely enough, the last time I felt it was while looking at the surf by moonlight. I walked over the sand dune, and it was like getting hit by the full force of a wave right in my chest. I spent about half an hour just standing there, looking at the waves and listening to the plovers that I couldn't see in the dim light.

I never really thought about the how and why of it. I always assumed that it's just part of always being a lonely guy.

 

[FountainandFairfax]

I get pangs of guilt/anxiety all the time. I think most people do, it's just that they aren't as sensitive to these types of emotional short-circuits and the pangs just either barely register or are shrugged-off much more easily.

I especially empathized with your feelings about the pang proceeding any kind of thought or other trigger. I know that most psychologists / psychiatrists say that the anxious feelings we experience originate in thoughts, but to me it's usually been the opposite.

I will often times be sitting at home, alone, when a pang of anxiety will strike for no apparent reason on a clear day. I'll compose myself, think positively, and try to get to the source of the problem, but more times than not, I'm left sitting there, saying to myself: "What the hell am I so anxious about?".

 

[lunarla]

I get something like this, but it's usually associated with longing.

It's definitely a longing feeling for me too. I want so much to accept things as good and believe what someone is saying, but then that is completely conflicted by feelings of inferiority and unworthiness. The pang is like, "I wanttttt, I want so much, but I can't have." resonating in the pit of my stomach like a kick to the gut.

I especially empathized with your feelings about the pang proceeding any kind of thought or other trigger. I know that most psychologists / psychiatrists say that the anxious feelings we experience originate in thoughts, but to me it's usually been the opposite.

To me, it's always been the way that I've caught it occurring. The pang happens without any first bad thoughts, or at least not conscious ones. It is more of a reaction and stimulus than a result. I've heard the other conclusion by professionals too, but it's always confused me in ways.

 

[Hellhound]

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with your post... but sometimes, when I think about certain things that make me sad, i get a really annoying pain in my chest. Is it related to what you describe here? Do anyone else have it?

 

[Noca]

All I know is that cause of my bone disease I'm in pain 24/7 till the day I die.

 

[lunarla]

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with your post... but sometimes, when I think about certain things that make me sad, i get a really annoying pain in my chest. Is it related to what you describe here? Do anyone else have it?

Hmm, I think it'd be related at least by the nature of the cause. I sometimes have the pang in my stomach to a lesser degree than the other cases when thinking of something sad. Perhaps yours is just felt in a different spot? Interesting. Or does it start somewhere and then end in your chest, maybe? I can't say that I've had it in my chest, but I'd definitely say it's related.

 

[Flowers-Of-Bloom]

I get this too. An anxious pang, usually associated with social settings or paranoid thoughts. It's quite uncomfortable, to me, because the pang seems intense and it is oft what makes my anxiety so unpleasant.

 

[Hellhound]

Hmm, I think it'd be related at least by the nature of the cause. I sometimes have the pang in my stomach to a lesser degree than the other cases when thinking of something sad. Perhaps yours is just felt in a different spot? Interesting. Or does it start somewhere and then end in your chest, maybe? I can't say that I've had it in my chest, but I'd definitely say it's related.

It's like heart pains. In fact, I thought it was physical, but I'm starting to think it's emotional, because it happens only when I think about certain things, mostly things that make me depressed. It doesn't last too long, only a few seconds.

 

[Silvox Black]

I believe this is a condition called Angina...thought Angina is associated with heart pains alone or chest pains when thinking or dwelling on emotional events or stresses. I've experienced such pangs similar to the ones that you have described so I believe it is something similar to Angina.