Understanding Depression And Anxiety

A Quick Guide

Depression and anxiety are distinct disorders, although they can coexist and share some symptoms. Depression is characterized by persistent sadness, lack of energy, and loss of interest, while anxiety involves excessive worrying, restlessness, and a sense of danger. However, there is often an overlap between the two, and many individuals experience symptoms of both. Treatment approaches, such as psychotherapy and medication, can be effective for managing both depression and anxiety. Lifestyle changes and avoiding substances that can worsen the conditions are also beneficial.

Are Depression and Anxiety the same? 

Actually, they are both two different phenomena. Though it is possible for an individual to have symptoms of both these disorders. They have a very critical relationship. Because anxiety mostly exhibits high energy or a jittery state. Whereas depression exhibits a lack of energy or feeling nothing. Hence, It is crucial to understand the differences between these two disorders. 

A survey conducted in June 2020, reported that 34.8% of people between the age of 18 to 24 were more depressed due to the global pandemic. Moreover, it also reported that about 50.1% of people between the ages of 18 to 34 were more anxious. 

Difference between them

Well, depression usually refers to a single disease with different symptoms that may vary from person to person. While it is normal for you to feel like taking some time to yourself if you have gone through a traumatic situation. It is not normal to be stuck in a constant state of sadness. Or lack of interest in any and all of the activities that you had found fulfilling before. According to the World Health Organization, more than 264 million people of all age groups suffer from depression.

Whereas, we use the term anxiety in different contexts. For instance, it is normal for us to feel anxious from time to time in our everyday lives due to some stressful circumstances but if you feel like you are constantly anxious all the time to the point where simple dealing with regular life situations becomes next to impossible. You should consult a mental health professional. 

According to the American Psychological Association, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is defined as persistent and excessive amounts of worrying or dread of normal life occurrences. Moreover, we use the term anxiety for a number of different conditions such as phobias or panic disorders, etc.

What do they feel like? 

Now to better understand both the conditions first, let’s take a look at the symptoms of depression. So symptoms of depression include:

• Feeling sad all day every day.
• Feeling hopeless or guilty.
• Not having enough physical energy or feeling lethargic.
• Increased or decreased appetite can lead to either weight gain or weight loss.
• Sleep problems like insomnia or hypersomnia.
• Not being able to enjoy the things you used to.
• Feelings of irritability or anger.
• Have difficulty concentrating or remembering things.
• Self-harming or suicidal thoughts.

Now let’s see some of the symptoms of anxiety:

• Have sleeping problems.
• Feeling nervous jittery, tense, or restless.
• Have trouble concentrating.
• Have an impending sense of danger or panic.
• Have an increased heart rate.
• Breathing rapidly, sweating or trembling.
• Feeling lethargic.
• Having Gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Is it possible to have Anxiety and Depression at the same time? 

While having some major distinct symptoms, it is still quite common for various symptoms of depression and anxiety to overlap in an individual and may eventually lead to complications in statistics. Though current research estimates that 85% of people suffering from depression also have symptoms of anxiety.

Researchers have now made it a completely distinct category called “Mixed Anxiety and Depressive disorder”. The symptoms of both conditions overlap but are not severe enough to be diagnosed as either condition separately. When these disorders coexist, then the resulting condition may be even more severe and deep-rooted.

Furthermore, it is quite possible that you are stuck in a loop. Your anxiety surfaces itself as a symptom of clinical depression. Whereas your depression may be triggered by anxiety disorders such as GAD, separation anxiety disorder or panic disorder, etc. It has also been studied that the chance of developing depression becomes too high when you suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder already. Hence, it is quite easy for one condition to simply trigger the other one and before you know it, the cycle continues. People who may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are much more prone to developing depression.

Similar treatments

Some of the treatments for these disorders include psychological counseling also known as psychotherapy, or medications like antidepressants, etc. They are used depending on the severity of the disorder. Moreover, with the help of psychotherapy and counseling, prolonged positive changes to your lifestyle such as acquiring better sleeping habits, eating healthy, light exercise, stress-relieving techniques like meditation, etc may help in strengthening you to overcome these disorders. Furthermore, if you are prone to using alcohol, smoking, or recreational drugs, you might want to avoid those things as they can seriously hamper your treatment or worsen your condition.

We hope you found this article useful in understanding Depression and Anxiety, their symptoms, similarities, differences, and treatments.

Learn more about Mild Depression: 6 Telltale Signs, Causes, & Self-Help Strategies