Archive-name: angst-faq
Last-Modified: 1994/7/7

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1) What is Angst?
 
    Any feelings of anxiety, grief, unhappiness, suffering, misery, 
depression,
    sadness, and fear.
 
    The Oxford English Dictionary has:
 
       "Anxiety, anguish, neurotic fear; guilt, remorse."
 
    Webster's 9th Collegiate Dictionary defines it as:
 
      "A feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity."
 
    Above all, True Angst (tm) arises from the notion that life is
    essentially pointless and absurd, and that our miserable 
existences
    count for very little in the grand scheme of things. There are two
    main categories of Angst: emotional, and intellectual. Emotional
    Angst encompasses the typical experiences of human suffering.
    Intellectual Angst is primarily concerned with The Great Sucking 
Void
    of Existence.
 
    Other related words and definitions:
 
    Weltschmerz   -- Mental depression or apathy caused by a 
comparison
                     of the actual state of the world to an ideal 
state.
    Schadenfreude -- Taking joy in another's misfortune.
    Angstogen     -- An angst producing agent.
    Angstrom      -- The unit of angst: more angstroms = more angst.
 
    As far as etymology goes, Angst is found in both the Danish, Dutch 
and
    German languages. Weltschmerz and Schadenfreude are both German.
 
    "Angstogen" was probably coined here, although it may have been 
spun
    off of "peeveogen," from alt.peeves, or vice versa. "Angstogen" is 
also
    used in Dutch and means something like "eyes filled with fear"
 
2) alt.angst Protocols and Acceptable Behaviors:
 
a) alt.angst does not tolerate cheeriness in any form. This includes 
use
    of the notorious smiley (which is conspicuously absent here). If 
you
    feel inclined to post any stories with a happy ending, post them 
to
    alt.good.news, or some other forum -- perhaps alt.romance.chat. 
You'll
    be lucky if other members use such kind words to tell you to do 
the
    same.
 
b) Posting to alt.angst: Traps and Tips
 
    Some alt.angst posters will, occasionally, flame you for failing 
to
    display sufficient amounts of angst in one or more of its commonly
    accepted forms. These individuals have earned themselves the 
nickname
    "angst.cops." You have been warned.
 
    Also, questions asking why men or women are mean and nasty and 
hurt your
    widdle feelings do not belong here. This includes the now-
infamous: "Why
    do girls always go for jerks" and all its pathetic variations. 
There are
    a number of psychology studies that answer precisely this 
question. Our
    advice here is to use your newly-found computer skills to dig up 
any
    relevant literature. Essentially, if you have to ask why humans 
are
    mean and nasty, you probably don't belong here.
 
    Other than that, you can use the rule of thumb that states: if it 
feels
    bad, post it. Chicken Little is an excellent example of someone
    who should have posted to this group. Here, the sky is always 
falling.
    Our world is in constant crisis with spectres of war, famines and
    starvation, poverty, abuse of the environment, racism and bigotry,
    corrupt leaders, religious zealotry, fear of death, and soured 
personal
    relationships, not to mention the biggies, like "is there a point 
to
    existence, anyway?" These questions, and any others you may 
uncover or
    dream up, should leave no shortage of grist for your personal 
angst mill.
 
3) The Importance of Angst
 
    We all embrace angst here. It is what defines our existence. After 
all,
    what use would life be if everything was easy and there was 
nothing to
    worry about? Angst is a necessary element in the growth and 
development
    of any human being. It is what builds character; it provides 
contrast
    and depth to the human experience. Angst, at its simplest, is that 
which
    makes us human.
 
4) Distilled Angst (190 proof): The Angst Calendar, compiled by Steven 
Snedker
    and hacked into MS-Windows Help format by Erik Radmall
 
    Available via anonymous ftp from ftp.mantis.co.uk directory 
/pub/alt.angst.
 
    If you don't know what anonymous ftp is, then goto 
news.announce.newusers
    and read everything. If it doesn't help, get the post named "How 
to find
    sources" from news.answers.
 
    The calender is available as either hpack'ed or tar'ed and gzipped 
file.
    The README file in the alt.angst directory details how to unpack 
such
    files.
 
    Mantis, the most intellectual site on the net, also stocks some 
terrific
    files in directory alt.atheism, that you really owe it to yourself 
(and
    the rest of the net) to check out. They are also periodically 
posted to
    news.answers by the great mathew. Thanks mathew.
 
    Note: The alt.atheism FAQ on constructing a logical argument 
should be
          required reading for anyone who plans on posting to the
          Internet. Please, please read it, understand it, and 
internalize
          it before wasting valuable bandwidth with meaningless 
drivel.
 
    Angsts or Angstful Notions or Angst Suggestions or The Angst 
Catalogue
 
    The alt.angst calendar covers most of the subject of angst. But 
it's 250
    kb. Here's a little handy list you can keep close at hand, 
whenever you
    feel the urge to put words on your feelings/situation. After the 
angst
    suggestion there will sometimes be a pointer to other angsts it 
might be
    rewarding to check also.
 
     1. Life is pointless/meaningless. There is no reason.
     2. Death is eternal (making life all the more pointless).
     3. Reincarnation (No relief, just more of the same unbearable 
pain for
        eternity).
     4. Unpleasant feelings are true and pleasant feelings are 
temporary and
        empty.
     5. Lost opportunities. Lost excitement. I was once young and 
screwed it
        up.
     6. I'm wasting my time. (8,9,11,12).
     7. Things will never get better (in the sense that it's all going
        downhill).
     8. The future is just more of the same (worthless crap).
     9. Rejection (MOTAS, work, whatever).
    10. Boredom.
    11. Loneliness, being insignificant.
    12. Nothing brings me joy (hobbies, school, work, "friends", 
family etc.).
    13. There is no escape, no hope.
    14. This mess is my (0-100)% own fault (5,9,11,15).
    15. Strong hate (self, others, places, phenomena).
    16. Insanity (depression, panic attacks, schizophrenia, suicidal
        tendencies).
    17. For all my efforts I was never rewarded (12,9,7,5).
    18. Art or humans cannot help you (13,12,10).
    19. Nothing has any absolute value (1,16).
    20. Wishes coming true will not help (13,7).
    21. Lack of "the basics" (good physical/mental health, money, love 
etc.).
    22. I'm in an unpleasant situation (1-21).
 
5) Cures for Common Angst: Home Remedies and Elixirs (list by Michael 
Chase)
 
     1. God(s).
     2. Drugs.
     3. Significant other.
     4. Booze.
     5. Insignificant others.
     6. Physical fitness.
     7. That spiritual purity trip.
     8. Some godawful 12 step program full of losers not nearly as 
intelligent
        as you.
     9. Shrinks, who are either OK but ineffective, or completely 
screwed up
        themselves (what is it with them anyway?)
    10. Attitude:
         a. Hostile
         b. All-knowing
         c. Able to help others but not yourself
         d. Humorous
         e. Cynical
         f. Spacer
    11. Turning the pressure into something 'useful'.
    12. Acceptance.
    13. Writing stuff nobody will read.
    14. Exploring your past until you forget what you remember.
    15. Waiting patiently to grow out of it.
    16. Waiting patiently to see where it will all lead.
    17. Waiting for that dude with the AK-47.
    18. Getting pissed off that you can't kill yourself without
        bumming your friends.
    19. Isolation.
    20. Reading everything anybody has to say on the subject
    21. Developing a mild but sincere pride in yourself for surviving, 
which
        actually helps a little but still depends on the problem for 
it's own
        existence.
 
6) Sources for More Information About Angst
 
    Ken's WWW homepage: 
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/krawling/angst.html
    Or for excellence: fnovhtu.tu-graz.ac.at /pub/board/angst
 
    There is much literature available that conveys angst in its true 
forms.
    From Thoreau ("most men lead lives of quiet desperation"), to 
Sartre,
    Dostoyevsky, Plath, and Dante; to ancient sages like the Buddha 
("Life
    is suffering"); to Shakespeare and Steinbeck. The Brothers Grimm 
are an
    excellent source of childhood angst should one desire to educate 
one's
    children. As for visual art, Bosch, Van Gogh, and Munch spring
    immediately to mind. However, there is so much angstful art out 
there
    that we do a disservice to the art world by including only these 
names.
 
    In sum, almost all true works of art serve as little more than 
monuments
    to angst, so one can hardly go wrong.
 
 
 

