How Are Anxiety and Depression Linked?
Anxiety disorders and depression are among the most common mental disorders in the world. Even though that they are practically two different disorders there are many similarities and often a person can suffer them both as a combination. In many cases people with anxiety disorder develop depression in long term and the combination of the both conditions make it difficult to diagnose and select an appropriate treatment.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a mental disorder which can affect your mood and can even have a great impact on your lifestyle. Anxiety can be divided in several sub-disorders which include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other. The key factor in anxiety and anxiety disorder is fear. People who suffer from anxiety often experience nervousness and fear about what might happen in the future. In general people with anxiety are constantly worrying that something bad will happen and make their life worst. Anxiety is defined by fear and negative thoughts.
What is Depression?
Depression is mental disorder that affects your mood and feelings. People with depression often feel sad and hopeless. Often people with depression are convinced that their life is bad and there is nothing that they can do to improve it. People with depression experience severe fatigue, negative thoughts and negative emotions. Both anxiety and depression cause negative thoughts. The difference is that people with depression do not experience fear that something bad might happen. Depressed people are convinced that the situation is already bad and there is nothing that they can do.
What are the Differences and Similarities Between Anxiety and Depression?
Both depression and anxiety are categorized as two different disorders but they share a lot of similarities and differences:
Differences
- The basis of anxiety is fear, as depression doesn't have it
- Depressed people suffer from severe fatigue and anxiety is characterized with hyper-stimulation
- People with anxiety fear that something bad might happen, people with depression are convinced that the situation is already bad
- Physically anxiety activates lots of sensations and people often experience symptoms like sweating, panic, rapid heartbeat. On the other hand depression causes exactly the opposite – lack of such feeling and sensations. Often people suffer from lack of energy, negative feelings, hopelessness
Similarities
- Both depression and anxiety cause negative thoughts
- Many people with anxiety develop depression or have symptoms of depression which is often caused by the anxiety
- Often people experiencing panic attacks feel lack of energy especially after a severe panic attack
- Depression and anxiety can share some physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, and stomach pain
- Both depression and anxiety can have a detrimental impact on daily life resulting in limited energy
- In many cases anxiety can cause depression. Often people who is suffering from anxiety and panic attacks develop depression as a result. The rush of fear and negative thoughts is often followed by depressive thoughts that the things are so bad that there is no way to change them
Many people suffer both anxiety and depression and are constantly with ups and downs in their everyday life. As we said anxiety causes ups as it is related to fear which causes a huge amount of adrenaline rush in our body, which is often followed by negative and depressive thought and lack of energy and vitality.
Anxiety and Depression Treatments
Even though that anxiety and depression are extremely unpleasant and can have a dramatic impact on your lifestyle both conditions are highly treatable. There is no universal treatment for those conditions and often it is a long term treatment that depends on the person will and persistence. There are techniques for home treatment or you can visit a therapist. Often the combination of both is the best option. If you suffer from anxiety or depression this means that you are overwhelming your brain with unnecessary thoughts and worries and you need to relax properly. Depending on the causes for the condition some people may find relief in meditation, exercises, particular hobby. If the cause for the anxiety is a certain event like the loss of loved one, relationship issues, loss of job you can find that consulting a therapist is the best way for you as he can guide you through the condition and help you to overcome it.