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All 5 posts Subject: The Semantics of Anxiety Please login to post Down

Rhodium
(Chief Bee)
09-04-04 14:18
No 529546
User Picture       The Semantics of Anxiety
(Rated as: good read)

There are those who say that people cannot think about concepts for which they lack specific words, either in their native language or in any second language. Some african languages lacks a word for the color 'orange', and speakers of that language will thus classify (and experience) what we would call various orange hues as being either red or yellow, rather than different shades of a specific color inbetween.

I assume the same idea is true for most experiences and their descriptions, so that you will learn to distinguish between several different states of mind if you learn the words and expressions for those from foreign cultures and languages. I must definitely say that I continuously aquire a more and more vivid 'mindscape' myself as I learn synonyms in various languages for similar concepts, each word having a slightly altered meaning than the next - synonyms tend to overlap between 75-95% when it comes to what 'semantic area' they cover, very seldom two words mean 98-99% the same thing...

The Semantics of Anxiety
P. Pichol
Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp, 14, S22-S28 (1999) (https://www.rhodium.ws/pdf/semantics.of.anxiety.pdf)

Abstract
The semantics of the basic psychiatric technical terms related to the anxiety disorders, anxiety, fear and panic, raises complex problems of translation, especially between the English, French and German languages. Some of the specific dificulties and their consequences on the international understanding of the underlying concepts are outlined.

^{The Hive - Clandestine Chemists Without Borders}

jsorex
(Hive Addict)
09-04-04 21:44
No 529585
User Picture       Further reading on the subject.

For anybody interested in this subjet, here are some other authors that touch the subject. Actually DSM IV has a new intercultural section, but if you read it for more than 5 secs. without bursting into laughter you're really something.

Social Semiotics, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2002

Constructing Subjects and Making Experts: Reading the Politics of the Psychiatry Novel

This paper examines the ideological and political basis of the practice of psychotherapy in
contemporary culture. Psychotherapy is argued to be both inherently political and intimately
concerned with the construction of subjectivity. These arguments are examined through
interrogating the representation of psychotherapy in the works of Lindner (The Fifty-
Minute Hour, Bantam, New York, 1955) and particularly in Yalom’s fictional text
Lying on the Couch (HarperPerennial, New York, 1996). The implications within
psychotherapy for representing normality, negotiating power, and locating and constructing
subjectivity are highlighted through the critical treatment of these texts.

Other good related refs:

Suman Fernando, Mental health Race Culture. Macmellan, London 1991
Miche Foucault, The Birth of the Clinic

The literature of one Allan Young.

Kellerman H. et alii. Psychopathology and Differential Diagnosis: A Primer. Vol 1 History of Psychopathilogy. Columbia Univ. Press, New york 1988.

CharlieBigpotato
(Bizarre pHomme de Terra)
09-05-04 05:28
No 529635
User Picture       thought without language:

it is fascinating to attempt to think without language.
or to imagine the thoughts of a dog, and how they manifest as it is making its choices.
most spiritual (for lack of better word) disciplines allude to a mental state free of language. some imply that all species employ this same non-language.

thanks for the link, chief. interesting stuff.

so strange, it is, to try to imagine early humans; beefore language...and what was going thru their mind.

and how?

Osmium
09-05-04 15:39
      > so strange, it is, to try to imagine...
(Rated as: insignificant)

paranoid
(Quick-witted Quibbler)
09-05-04 21:52
No 529744
User Picture       The concept is indeed quite abstract, isn't it

The concept is indeed quite abstract, isn't it Zib? We're so used to considering our thoughts in a manner organised by our primary language, that as Rhod pointed out that learning new languages can help up contextualise our feelings and thoughts much more approrpiately. I believe the greek language has eight different terms for love, all with various differentiations, some more subtle than others.

I, and presumably most people, hear ourselves talking in our heads while thinking intensely (or even generally). I personally find I often havce a song playing almost coninuously in the back of my head, something I'm typically unconscious of. The song generally varies by mood, and certain portions become much more repeated than others when I'm stressed or tired.

I also find myself repeating phrases or words in my head at times, either when I've recently found them appropriate to describe a state of mind or when I'm stressed/upset and unable to get over a certain unfavourable construct or set of circumstances.

Perhaps that's why I've found myself running far more efficiently over the last year or so. In pursuing my masters, I've become incredibly more well read and capable of writing, and therefore much more capable of expressing myself. My experiences dealing with many individuals in the non-scientific academics have lent a new appreciation of the circumstances of society and life as a whole.

Lacking a word to describe a circumstance is not in itself a prohibitively limiting factor towards appreciating a thought. But being unable to understand it through a phrase or mode of verbal association is much more so.

Perhaps then the secret to rapid memorisation and recall is to be able to provide a short descriptive term or phrase to any particular situation/feeling/thought, and organise them mentally in a meaningful hierarchy in one's mind.

Just a thought...

My ideal vacation - Juxtaposed along the precipice intersecting reality and fantasy (i.e. wanking).

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	All 5 posts		Subject: The Semantics of Anxiety		Please login to post		Down


		Rhodium (Chief Bee) 09-04-04 14:18 No 529546				The Semantics of Anxiety (Rated as: good read)
						There are those who say that people cannot think about concepts for which they lack specific words, either in their native language or in any second language. Some african languages lacks a word for the color 'orange', and speakers of that language will thus classify (and experience) what we would call various orange hues as being either red or yellow, rather than different shades of a specific color inbetween. I assume the same idea is true for most experiences and their descriptions, so that you will learn to distinguish between several different states of mind if you learn the words and expressions for those from foreign cultures and languages. I must definitely say that I continuously aquire a more and more vivid 'mindscape' myself as I learn synonyms in various languages for similar concepts, each word having a slightly altered meaning than the next - synonyms tend to overlap between 75-95% when it comes to what 'semantic area' they cover, very seldom two words mean 98-99% the same thing... The Semantics of Anxiety P. Pichol Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp, 14, S22-S28 (1999) (https://www.rhodium.ws/pdf/semantics.of.anxiety.pdf) Abstract The semantics of the basic psychiatric technical terms related to the anxiety disorders, anxiety, fear and panic, raises complex problems of translation, especially between the English, French and German languages. Some of the specific dificulties and their consequences on the international understanding of the underlying concepts are outlined. ^{The Hive - Clandestine Chemists Without Borders}



		jsorex (Hive Addict) 09-04-04 21:44 No 529585				Further reading on the subject.
						For anybody interested in this subjet, here are some other authors that touch the subject. Actually DSM IV has a new intercultural section, but if you read it for more than 5 secs. without bursting into laughter you're really something. Social Semiotics, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2002 Constructing Subjects and Making Experts: Reading the Politics of the Psychiatry Novel This paper examines the ideological and political basis of the practice of psychotherapy in contemporary culture. Psychotherapy is argued to be both inherently political and intimately concerned with the construction of subjectivity. These arguments are examined through interrogating the representation of psychotherapy in the works of Lindner (The Fifty- Minute Hour, Bantam, New York, 1955) and particularly in Yalom’s fictional text Lying on the Couch (HarperPerennial, New York, 1996). The implications within psychotherapy for representing normality, negotiating power, and locating and constructing subjectivity are highlighted through the critical treatment of these texts. Other good related refs: Suman Fernando, Mental health Race Culture. Macmellan, London 1991 Miche Foucault, The Birth of the Clinic The literature of one Allan Young. Kellerman H. et alii. Psychopathology and Differential Diagnosis: A Primer. Vol 1 History of Psychopathilogy. Columbia Univ. Press, New york 1988.



		CharlieBigpotato (Bizarre pHomme de Terra) 09-05-04 05:28 No 529635				thought without language:
						it is fascinating to attempt to think without language. or to imagine the thoughts of a dog, and how they manifest as it is making its choices. most spiritual (for lack of better word) disciplines allude to a mental state free of language. some imply that all species employ this same non-language. thanks for the link, chief. interesting stuff. so strange, it is, to try to imagine early humans; beefore language...and what was going thru their mind. and how?



		Osmium 09-05-04 15:39				> so strange, it is, to try to imagine... (Rated as: insignificant)



		paranoid (Quick-witted Quibbler) 09-05-04 21:52 No 529744				The concept is indeed quite abstract, isn't it
						The concept is indeed quite abstract, isn't it Zib? We're so used to considering our thoughts in a manner organised by our primary language, that as Rhod pointed out that learning new languages can help up contextualise our feelings and thoughts much more approrpiately. I believe the greek language has eight different terms for love, all with various differentiations, some more subtle than others. I, and presumably most people, hear ourselves talking in our heads while thinking intensely (or even generally). I personally find I often havce a song playing almost coninuously in the back of my head, something I'm typically unconscious of. The song generally varies by mood, and certain portions become much more repeated than others when I'm stressed or tired. I also find myself repeating phrases or words in my head at times, either when I've recently found them appropriate to describe a state of mind or when I'm stressed/upset and unable to get over a certain unfavourable construct or set of circumstances. Perhaps that's why I've found myself running far more efficiently over the last year or so. In pursuing my masters, I've become incredibly more well read and capable of writing, and therefore much more capable of expressing myself. My experiences dealing with many individuals in the non-scientific academics have lent a new appreciation of the circumstances of society and life as a whole. Lacking a word to describe a circumstance is not in itself a prohibitively limiting factor towards appreciating a thought. But being unable to understand it through a phrase or mode of verbal association is much more so. Perhaps then the secret to rapid memorisation and recall is to be able to provide a short descriptive term or phrase to any particular situation/feeling/thought, and organise them mentally in a meaningful hierarchy in one's mind. Just a thought... My ideal vacation - Juxtaposed along the precipice intersecting reality and fantasy (i.e. wanking).

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