Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite
1

What is a word or expression to describe a feeling of anxiety about the passing of time?

I am not referring to boredom which refers to not having anything to do or being dissatisfied with what I'm doing and wanting to do something else.

I am referring to the feeling I get when I contemplate that time has passed by, or that time is passing by.

share|improve this question
I have re-worded my question to be less confusing. I can see from the four answers I see so far that I failed to make myself clear. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 14 '11 at 1:00

6 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

This sounds like an existential crisis, with particular reference to

a new-found grasp or appreciation of one's mortality;

However, you shouldn't really be able to experience something so traumatic on a daily basis, while still being able to function normally.

share|improve this answer
Perhaps existential crisis could be an acute form of the anxiety that I describe. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 6 '11 at 16:33
1  
I think existential crisis is really far too broad a term for the relatively specific feeling OP refers to, which isn't really even about "mortality" (1 of 5 examples in the Wikipedia page). It's to do with the panicky feeling that time is passing, rapidly & probably wastefully, and that OP is unable at that moment to either slow time down or know how to start using it wisely. – FumbleFingers Sep 6 '11 at 19:43
The perception of time passing as a 'waste' questions the nature of existence, for if the person who feels this way believes their life has meaning then it is simple frustration, yet here this is not so. And what else is 'contemplation of the finitude of life' but appreciation of one's mortality? However, I understand the OP does not feel at a crisis point, so perhaps this could be better described as existential anxiety? – z7sg Ѫ Sep 6 '11 at 23:33
up vote 3 down vote

Perhaps you are experiencing a mild form of chronophobia.

share|improve this answer
Although this isn't exactly the answer I'm looking for, it is closer than any of the other answers I see here so far. The word chronophobia denotes fear of time passing. I'm looking for a word that denotes anxiety about time passing. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 7 '11 at 17:03
What is anxiety if it isn't a mild fear or concern? – ghoppe Sep 14 '11 at 5:52
+1, will be dropping in chronophobics every chance I get, Chronophobes sounds good too! – Arjang Nov 19 '11 at 0:04
up vote 1 down vote

Perhaps you are feeling restless, or contemplating your mortality?

share|improve this answer
Contemplating mortality would be an aspect of thinking about the passage of time, but I'm looking for a word or expression that describes anxiety about the passage of time per se. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 6 '11 at 16:33
up vote 1 down vote

The most natural way to say this is probably to make a judgment about the unproductive use of time. You might say you regret squandering your time that day. Or, you might be unhappy you did nothing but waste time (or one of its synonyms like mess around).

share|improve this answer
No, this isn't it. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 6 '11 at 21:21
It's not a feeling about how I used the time, but a feeling about the passing of time itself. – Rice Flour Cookies Sep 14 '11 at 0:56
up vote 1 down vote

It sounds like this is a concept without a label. I'd like to nominate temporal angst. It sounds like the emotion you are experiencing is angst involving time.

share|improve this answer
up vote -1 down vote

It's not anxiety, and it hasn't got anything to do with mortality or existentialism. It's the feeling one gets when one becomes acutely aware that time is passing. An observant sadness yet simultaneous joy and nostalgia. I think it is one of those things we have no words for, like sitting on a grassy hill and suddenly becoming completely aware of gravity holding you onto the earth's surface, and imagining that if it were to stop suddenly one would simply float outwards from the surface of the earth into the vast nothingness of space.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the passage of time has a certain weight and physical element that you can feel when you get this "anxiety". Like the Vonnegut's Transmalfadorians who saw humans in the dimension on time. Some sort of other world and reality. Have you read the poem "Esse" by Milosz, I think it will bring up some of what you are feeling.

share|improve this answer
This answer doesn't really answer the OP's question. As seen by the other answers, there are words to describe this experience. – Luke Nov 8 '12 at 0:05

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.