Lived time in standstill and jump. Anxiety und spontaneity as constituents of melancholy and mania

The important differentiation between anxiety and fear which has its origin in philosophy seems not adequate developed for psychopathological issues. In general, fear has a concrete-objective background and in contrast anxiety stands for a more meaningless threat. Although this differentiation is used in common speech, it is not yet established in Psychopathology. However, there are a few empirical and conceptual reasons to assume, that fear has a primarily spatial-related and anxiety a time-related reference. The temporally condition of anxiety is shown by discussing the phenomenon of lived time (Zeitigung). Lived-time extends on a dynamic continuum between time standstill on its minimum and time jump on its maximum. Time jump is a basic attribute of spontaneity and constitutes mania. Time standstill is a basic attribute of anxiety and constitutes melancholy. This means that melancholy and mania on the one hand and anxiety and spontaneity on the other hand are determined by the same bipolarity. The terms of anxiety and spontaneity and its interrelation are discussed considering lived time and modified experience of time in melancholy and mania. In the following a new perspective on the open meaning of anxiety in melancholy is demonstrated. Furthermore the structural relationship of melancholy and mania and the coherence of basic symptoms and the modified experience of time are discussed.