afflictions

hardship

Suffering from difficult circumstances

• adversitySevere difficulty or suffering
• tribulationState of great distress
• struggleLabored effort against resistance

trial · ordeal · suffering · trouble · difficulty · challenge · cross · curse · bane · scourge

anguish

Intense mental suffering

• tormentSevere prolonged suffering
• miseryIntense prolonged distress
• griefIntense sorrow from loss

sorrow · heartache · despair · melancholy · trauma · distress · woe · desolation · bereavement · lamentation

ache

Persistent dull discomfort

• throbBeat with intensity
• sorenessTender, painful sensation
• discomfortMild physical or mental distress

tenderness · twinge · spasm · cramp · burning · prickling · numbness · pang · inflammation · stinging

epidemic

Widespread disease occurrence

• pandemicGlobal disease outbreak
• outbreakSudden eruption of trouble
• infectionPathogen invasion causing illness

spread · transmission · infestation · quarantine · virulence · pathogen · vector · carrier · contagious · communicable

epidemic

Widespread disease occurrence

• influenzaAcute viral respiratory infection
• cancerUncontrolled cell proliferation disease
• diabetesMetabolic disorder affecting glucose

arthritis · tuberculosis · hepatitis · dementia · leukemia · pneumonia · asthma · malaria · measles · polio

persistent

Continuing despite difficulty

• incurableCannot be healed
• degenerativeCausing progressive decline
• progressiveFavoring reform and innovation

lifelong · long-lasting · relentless · recurring · debilitating · lingering · protracted · remission · flare-up · manageable

• sufferingagony, anguish, misery, pain, torment
• Biblical Afflictionsleprosy, blindness, boils, plagues, pestilence
• Tibetan BuddhismBuddha, Tibet, Dalai Lama, lama, lamas
• cravingcraving, thirst, hunger, yearning, desire
• Buddhist Mindmind, mental states, mental state, cognition, attention
• High HolidaysRosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, High Holy Days, shofar, machzor