What the heck is "angst"?

[Mr. Google]

It's hard to explain but the way people use it is to describe doing something because youre a teenager and it's more or less your job to piss of people and being angry and confused. That's at least what I consider it. And probably why I listen to Say Anything...

 

[bjj hero]

And who said adults aren't naturally loaded with angst? If anything, I hate people who are too certain of themselves. Not people who are riddled with enough questioning that is leads them to negative feelings. I'm happy that there are people who are sensitive and self questioning in the world. They tend to be a lot less bigoted. Also, a lot of people seem to have a lot of backwards ways of thinking about negative emotions. If angst is an emotion people shouldn't be feeling, hating people who feel that emotion probably would only intensify it.

Angst is natural at times. When people refer to "teen angst" they are not usually talking about the teenager whos being inappropriately touched by his/her uncle, or the one whos unsure if there will be a meal at home this week or the teen who is worried about beign hospitalised by some bully.

Its more to do with teens who believe the world/their life is so terrible when they have well off parents who love and care for them, a warm roof and regular meals, a trust fund for college, all the gadgets they could want and an extended social network. The "Daddy never bought me a pony" and the "no one understands me" crowd.

Now thats fine, a lot of people go through this, its part of growing up but I will not be treating the woes of having the wrong footware or that they are not the most popular kid at school etc. like its the end of days.

 

[Cyfu]

It's the Norwegian word for anxiety. other than that i have never heard the word.

 

[wintercoat]

Romanticized depression.

The "my life is soooooo hard" attitude of the average teenager also fits the bill.

 

[Nikolaz72]

I think it's more related to 'whining' in internet terms. Complaining and being depressed over things that aren't worth that much...emotion.

Spoiler: Angst lie within

It hurt me to read that.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

People whining, but finding a better word for it. Very common in teenage fiction and on the internet

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

The infectious version of teh gayz. Avoid it at all costs lest you start enjoying the presence of handsome, over designed men in your vidja magaymes.

 

[Fwee]

I think mostly people are against the "angsty teens" that are just "semi-goth", and not ones that are actually suffering from the tightening internal knot of frustration and helplessness.

 

[KingCrInuYasha]

Angst has in our age of hyperbole and overreaction taken on a meaning that belittles its original intent. Angst is most commonly used now as you've seen above as a derogatory term for entitled youth, I recall this being especially prevalent during Grunge.

Actually, it can be traced back earlier than the Grunge-era; in fact, it sowed the seeds for Grunge in the first place:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/newyorkdolls.html

For those who don't want to read the above, let me put it in another way: It's one thing to be upset at a medium because it doesn't speak to you. It's another to be upset at the same medium because it doesn't speak only to you.

 

[Realitycrash]

This isn't even the first time I've even asked this question, sadly.

I hear people use this as a term of disparagement all the time. Especially coupled with a hatred of teenagers.

But even after looking up the term several times, and even asking the question, I'm resigned to assuming I don't know what angst actually is. Because the stated definition, and how people use it to mean, seem like two different things.

Also, any definition I've ever heard of angst, is the last thing I'd ever feel a natural antipathy towards. Heck, if I ever ran into the way some people whine about angst in real life, I'd want to slap them. And possibly even spit on their face. Because of an utter disgust at a lack of empathy towards people who deserve it.

"Emotional clogging", "fear", "anxiety", "tenseness", "stress", "inner turmoil", people are supposed to hate people who feel this way? People like that are going through a natural emotion and deserve sympathy.

When I hear people complain about and hate so called "angsty teenagers", I'm reminded of what all the bulllied kids go through and how many suicides and school shootings there have been. And I'm supposed to be siding against them? Imagine if you were a gay teenager in a homophobic school and had parents who were conservative Christians. Wouldn't you feel a little bit apprehensive and worried when faced with society and reality?

And who said adults aren't naturally loaded with angst? If anything, I hate people who are too certain of themselves. Not people who are riddled with enough questioning that is leads them to negative feelings. I'm happy that there are people who are sensitive and self questioning in the world. They tend to be a lot less bigoted. Also, a lot of people seem to have a lot of backwards ways of thinking about negative emotions. If angst is an emotion people shouldn't be feeling, hating people who feel that emotion probably would only intensify it.

Angst is an english word dervied from Ångest. It differs from anger or sadness mostly in the fact that it has to do with regret or a feeling of social isolation and loneliness.
Angst is a very misused word, and it has lost some meaning (been "blurred out") over the recent decades, but it refers mostly to existential issues (or regret), concerning the isolation and loneliness of man in creation, from eachother and from the creator (i.e God). it was heavily written about by Soren Kirkegaard and Jean Paul Sartre.
Angst is, in general, also a feeling of being stuck in a situation one can't do anything about, and having problems with dealing with ones emotions. Such a problem is well described in Goethe's "The sufferings of young Werther".

TL;DR version: Angst is feelings of regret, social isolation, loneliness and the self-loathing that comes with such feelings. However, angst is rather blurred out due to overuse.
If you want a more detailed analyzes, and as somewho who both studies philosophy and suffers from angst himself, you can go ahead and mail me.

 

[RyoScar]

I would say Angst is being angry at the world with no real reason.

 

[Jegsimmons]

Angst is basically the little bitches term for 'stress, depression, and anxiety'.

also see: 'mellow-dramatic', 'whiner', and 'Stop being such as piss ant and deal with life like a man, you fucking wuss.'

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

Angst is basically the little bitches term for 'stress, depression, and anxiety'.

also see: 'mellow-dramatic', 'whiner', and 'Stop being such as piss ant and deal with life like a man, you fucking wuss.'

Because saying that to a depressed person makes you such a better human being, doesn't it?

Angst is, in my definition, sadness and anxiety coming from social causes. At least, I usually see it used in reference to social problems. It's the sort of constant low-to-medium-level stress and negative emotion that comes with turmoil in one's social life.

 

[Realitycrash]

Angst is basically the little bitches term for 'stress, depression, and anxiety'.

also see: 'mellow-dramatic', 'whiner', and 'Stop being such as piss ant and deal with life like a man, you fucking wuss.'

As much as I wish I could tell every whiner in the world to "man-up or kill yourself", this doesn't solve the problem, because it isn't always that easy.
Also note that people can be socially functional and still suffer from angst.

 

[DirtyJunkieScum]

In the derogatory way that it's now evolved into that is most likely being used?

It's a way to tell someone that they've built themselves up behind a wall of emotion usually coupled with immaturity and are acting out on it.

This man gets it. Looking up the dictionary definition doesn't really convey all possible uses and meanings of a word.

Angst or angsty etc is used to describe the sort of emotional and hormonal teenagers that are just finding out that the world isn't the super happy fun place they thought it was when they were kids and get all mopey and whiney about it, usually stuff that doesn't affect them directly or is a minor inconvenience at worst. Basically a combination of hormones, inexperience and immaturity causing unwarranted displays of emotion.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Angst is an english word dervied from Ångest. It differs from anger or sadness mostly in the fact that it has to do with regret or a feeling of social isolation and loneliness.

See, I thought it was a loan word from German (separate from 'Furcht' in definition as 'Furcht' would denote a specific fear of something perhaps at hand, while 'Angst' is more a fear of the intangible) that was entirely unnecessary since in English there is both 'anxiety' and 'anguish', both of which have the same etymology.

TL;DR version: Angst is feelings of regret, social isolation, loneliness and the self-loathing that comes with such feelings. However, angst is rather blurred out due to overuse.

I wouldn't say 'overuse' per se, just 'misuse' (though linguistic purists may go so far as to say 'abuse') since the 'modern' usage of 'angst' is to describe the 'traditional' definition of angst taken to its logical extreme. Just another demonstration of lingual corruption. Hence why it went from describing those who thought or worried excessively to those who brood or have the semblance of brooding to those who rage at the world (legitimately) and finally to those who merely whine. *shrug*

I'd take you up on the philosophy, but I shy away from anything that isn't metaphysics... >_>