SleepyCatten (Barely Surviving Arc)Feb 23

Hey all  

We had another linguistic thought.

(You can see our previous linguistic queries on looking for words for the pain of being misunderstood and finding an alternative word for hope.)

We realised that English has a specific word for the inability to experience pleasure from activities you'd usually enjoy: anhedonia.

However, it doesn't seem like there's an equivalent official word for the inability to experience hope.

Instead, there are only words like hopeless or hopelessness, but those words do not really suggest that the person can no longer derive hope from situations they'd normally expect to.

Following the same logic as the above, we think it would be something like an- plus either elpĭ́s or elpída.

So, we think it'd be either anelpis or anelpida.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Corrections?

#AskFedi #GenuinelyAsking #NoReplyGuysPlease #English #linguistics #hope #hopeless #hopelessness #anelpis #anelpida

SleepyCatten (@[email protected])

Hey lovelies 🩷 Is anybody aware of an existing word in English or any other language for the intense `pain of being misunderstood`? We're thinking specifically about the kinda of pain that neurospicy folks often feel from being constantly misunderstood by others, but particularly by non-neurospicy folks. It's usually a cumulative pain that builds up over years or even decades, and factors into neurodivergent experiences like Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) :AutismInfinitySymbol: :ADHD_Butterfly: Thanks in advance 🫶 **Edit 2026-02-06:** Here are some examples of the type of word we're looking for: * [Nostalgia](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nostalgia) * [Anemoia](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anemoia) We lack sufficient knowledge of correctly combining ancient Greek words to find the correct words and forms for "being misunderstood" and "pain". #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #PainOfBeingMisunderstood #linguistics #language #AuDHD #ADHD #ActuallyAutistic **Edit 2026-02-07:** Thank you all for your thoughts, insights, ideas, and experiences 🫶 Some ones we've personally liked have been: * "Cassandra syndrome" * [Original post](https://lgbtqia.space/@Polywog/116023851835038971) * [Reply that built on it](https://autistics.life/@d1/116024088531353152) * [Our post](https://cultofshiv.wtf/@SleepyCatten/116024132509721295) suggesting combining it into ``Cassandralgia`` (the pain of Cassandra). * ``parexigisalgia`` * Post [here](https://beige.party/@saltywizard/116024353000243940) * From the Greek [parexígisi](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%AE%CE%B3%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7#Noun), meaning misunderstanding, combined with the anglicised Greek word for pain ([algia](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%84%CE%BB%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%82#Descendants)). * Using [pathos](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%80%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%BF%CF%82) in combination with another term, due to its connection to pain, suffering, strong feelings, and emotions * [Original post](https://mastodon.social/@aka_panda_333/116024305359412724) * [Our reply](https://cultofshiv.wtf/@SleepyCatten/116029818681925123), based on the above reply, combining parexígisi with pathos to create `parexigisipathy` (misunderstanding pain/suffering). * `Missverständnisschmerzen` * [Post here](https://swingset.social/@Mux/116029960474370690)

The Cult of Shiv
Show threadCharlotteFeb 23
@SleepyCatten Does "despair" not cover "absence of hope"? I guess it's colloquially used a bit more fluffily than that though
Show threadCharlotteFeb 23
@SleepyCatten hm I guess despair is a transient rather than persistent state though, typically
Show threadSleepyCatten (Barely Surviving Arc)

@Foritus

A lot of folks who feel hopeless may also feel despair, but it's not what we're feeling here.

Maybe it's just our neurospicy mind, but we see these as being distinct things, even if they can overlap.

To us, feeling truly hopeless (without hope) means that you still could feel hope, and you still believe in hope.

As you've written succinctly and clearly (very much a compliment 🩷), despair feels like the state beyond hopelessness, where you are perhaps so distraught that you cannot think clearly at all. It suggests to us a state of purely emotional, mental, and likely physical overwhelm, overload, and/or shutdown.

We're thinking more like an empathy overload (aka compassion fatigue), where it's possible to lose the ability to feel empathy for a while.

(We've sadly experienced empathy overloads more than once. They are not experiences we'd wish on anybody.)

Feb 24 at 10:24amWeb