through the entire episode / ordeal

[islandinthesun]

"The only thing that kept me going was the support of my friends, who stood by me through the entire (difficult) episode/ordeal."
The episode in question is a period of emotional stress caused by unexpected dismissal from one's job. How would you say the above sentence in German? The part I'm having trouble with is in bold. A neutral term corresponding to "episode" would be preferrable (over something like "ordeal").

 

[Thersites]

I would suggest schwierige Zeit

Ich konnte das nur dank der Hilfe meiner Freunde durchstehen, die mich während dieser schwierigen Zeit nie im Stich gelassen haben.

 

[elroy]

Vielleicht auch "Krise"?

 

[Kajjo]

Ja, in manch einem Kontext mag "Krise" passen, aber ich halte den Vorschlag "schwierige Zeit" für perfekt idiomatisch und genau passend.

 

[elroy]

We can say "difficult time" in English too. "ordeal" is stronger, which is why I suggested "Krise," which I think is also stronger than "schwierige Zeit."

 

[Kajjo]

Yes, English tends to be sometimes stronger than German. I like #2 as translation.

"Ordeal" can be translated as Tortur, Leidensweg, Quälerei, falls das im konkreten Fall zutrifft. Aber ich sehe da hier nicht so das große Potential.

 

[elroy]

"Ordeal" can be translated as Tortur, Leidensweg, Quälerei

None of those fit in this particular context.

 

[Sowka]

I like both translations: "schwierige Zeit" for "difficult times" and "Krise" for "ordeal".

Which one to choose depends on the severity of the situation that the person experiences.

I would probably say "schwere Zeit" because for me, this conveys the overall feeling of being sad, perhaps overwhelmed and depressed better than "schwierige Zeiten", which feels somewhat more "technical" to me ("schwierig" like a complicated math problem or similar issues).

 

[Frieder]

"The only thing that kept me going was the support of my friends, who stood by me through the entire (difficult) episode/ordeal."

..., die in dem ganzen Schlamassel zu mir gehalten haben. (colloquial)

 

[Hutschi]

..., die mir in dieser schweren Zeit beistanden.

I think, as Sowka, that "schwere Zeit" fits well.
It fits also in emotional sense. It includes more emotions than "schwierig" and omits the unintended (unfreiwillige) comic of "Schlamassel" .

 

[Kajjo]

Yes, the old debate about "schwer" vs. "schwierig". The former focuses on the emotional burden, the latter on the difficult time.

Personally, I prefer "schwierig" in most cases, because I like the more rational approach. But both words are fine and express the perspective of the author.