neurosis

manifests as neurotic depression or neurotic anxiety or neurotic OCD... the symptoms are meant to be defences against the pain... the pain... what is the pain about? how does it feel?

thats the idea of analytic theory anyhoo. freud thought it was about the oedipal conflict (desires conflicting with what we rationally need to do) the pain from that... kohut thought it was fear of being left alone to die when as an infant if we are abandoned then we will surely die... dissipate into the environment (as we do once we are dead). winnicot thought it was something similar...

'stress' is a pretty popular term currently...

but as for 'what it is'

how does it feel?