An affliction is a physical or psychological discomfort. The opposite of grief is satisfaction or joy. Grief from a physical point of view: Medicine is responsible for curing diseases and restoring health. One of the central aspects of any doctor is to avoid or reduce the pain of his patients. The concept of pain is ambiguous and imprecise, since each person has their own pain threshold and there is no objective and precise way to measure it.
In any case, physical affliction is understood to be any form of discomfort of the human body (irritation, acute or chronic pain, itching, discomfort, allergy, swelling ...). A physical affliction involves more than a certain pain, since it affects the mood and the individual as a whole.
Grief from an emotional perspective
Although the concept of affliction is applicable to the physical dimension of the organism, it is generally used to describe emotional aspects of the individual. In this sense, it speaks of spiritual distress, which can be expressed through melancholy, anguish, depression, sadness or anguish. Someone has a grief when they feel a degree of dejection in their state of mind. Our emotions and feelings are not stable and throughout a day we can feel joy or distress in different degrees and senses. Grief becomes problematic when it translates into a depressive state and presents some pathological feature.
The concept of grief from a religious perspective
In the Bible there are many references to the affliction of men, that is, to the moments in which the human being feels weakness, pain, helplessness or fear.
From the Christian point of view, when we have any affliction we must keep hope, trust God and his goodness. A person with a solid faith will be able to better overcome his afflictions, since he can interpret them as a test that God puts him to overcome adversity or as a divine design that he must accept with resignation.
Different ways to overcome emotional distress
Each individual and each cultural tradition has its own mechanisms for overcoming afflictions. Talking to a friend and venting can be a good method. There is also the alternative of resorting to a therapist or adopting some type of avoidance strategy (resorting to alcohol or drugs can be a way to avoid afflictions). There are people who decide to pray or confess in order to feel better, and in both circumstances they seek some spiritual relief.
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