Angst. It's a lovely feeling. What would this world's goths, teenagers and teenage goths do without it?
But it's never enough to just /shout/ or /rant/ about your angst, not even to regularly slash your wrists and show anyone, especially those who don't want to see, the scars. No, we must have an obvious, nonverbal method of communicating our angst, for those times in noisy, crowded clubs when you can't be heard above the music and you're terrified that if you scowl too hard your corpse paint will crack.
This is by no means a complete list. Please feel free to add more.
1) Generalised angst (mild): Place the right hand, fingers spread, over the heart area, with appropriate facial grimaces. Neck twisted around to the right, eyes closed. This indicates that All Is Not Well With The World.
2) Generalised angst (medium): Fling back the head as far as it will go on the neck and close the eyes in an expression of torment. Place the back of the right or left hand on the forehead, thumb somewhere around the bridge of the nose, fingers loose and not too spread. The other hand should be flung out to the side to ward off the hideous tortures being flung at the angstee.
3) Generalised angst (intense): This is tricky. Left hand out in front of you at about shoulder height. Fingers curled in, arm tense and slightly bent as if holding a stick tight against your shoulder. Right hand curled almost shut, as if holding another stick, which is then sawed back and forth over the first. Basically, look as if you're trying to saw a violin in half across the strings whilst on ecstasy.
4) Personalised anger (mild - US): Someone's pissing you off. Curl all fingers except the middle, plus thumb, into the palm of your hand, and extend the arm, palm inwards, towards the object of your aggression.
5) Personalised anger (mild - UK): As above, but use the first two fingers of the right hand.
6) Personalised anger (medium, intense or European): Clench both hands into fists. Bring the left hand across your body, with the forearm parallel to the floor at mid-chest height, and violently slam the right arm upwards so that the right elbow finishes underneath the left forearm.
7) "I don't know or like this band, but everyone else does, and I'm angstful because if I don't pretend to they'll all hate me, not that they don't anyway": Raise the right or left arm, or both, above the head in the direction of the stage, curling in middle finger, ring finger and thumb, leaving little and index fingers sticking out. (Distressingly similar to the Texas Longhorns... can anyone shed light here?)