Anguish

It is a paramount feature of existentialist philosophy, in which anguish is often understood as the experience of an utterly free being in a world with zero absolutes (existential despair).

In the theology of Søren Kierkegaard, it refers to a being with total free will who is in a constant state of spiritual fear in the face of their unlimited freedom.

It has been found that the anguish of a significant change in the way a young student lives (i.e. their new responsibilities, being on their own, multiple deadlines etc.)

The study uses a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine to measure the brain waves of a subject when put into a difficult position.

Hearing a song, symphony, or sonnet filled with anguish, one might begin to reflect upon their own life and experiences that coincide with the notes, thereby bringing repressed memories beyond subconscious to our salient mind.