It isn't straightforward to understand mental health. Although mental disorders have different diagnoses created by experts, it is fairly difficult to segregate two different problems due to the overlap in the symptomatology. The same is the case with Anxiety and Depression. While anxiety and depression are two separate conditions, they share a lot in common. Therefore, it is essential to understand which is what to treat these conditions effectively. Anxiety or Depression is a complicated question. It is not at all simple to understand if you have depression or anxiety, or both. A person may have anxiety and depression both simultaneously, while some may have developed depression due to anxiety. This is generally termed a “comorbid” condition when anxiety and depression affect your mental health. Symptoms of one may bleed into another due to similar causes and symptoms.
The best way to differentiate between both disorders is to look at the primary mental symptoms.
Anxiety
- Worried thoughts, negative thoughts, or belief of something bad about to happen
- Apprehension over what is going to happen in the present, or future
- Feeling the need of running away or avoiding things that could potentially cause more anxiety or being in a state of denial
- Believing that the future will hold only negative outcomes, listlessness
- Feeling of sorrow and grief over the future, believing that it has no hope
- Worry and negative emotions. Possible suicidal ideation
In anxiety, people worry that the future will have something bad coming for them and worry about it. In depression, people assume a definitive bad future and lose all expectations or motivation to make things right. Depression can be an after-kick, once a person’s anxiety state has passed, and he is left feeling drained and hopeless. This makes it difficult to separate these two disorders. Similarly, a depressed person can have anxiety about things getting worse, despite believing the future doesn’t hold anything for them. Physical symptoms can be different as well, though there are similarities. Both of these conditions can leave you fatigued, drained, and mentally distressed. The difference between anxiety and depression physically is that anxiety drains you out after the anxiety state has passed. However, the person in depression has this drained out and fatigued feeling constantly without any possible trigger. Here are some more physical symptoms.
Anxiety
- Fight or flight response symptoms, including but are not limited to sweating, shaking, stammering, or feeling the need to run or move away.
- If accompanied by physical health issues, then physical symptoms are manifested by the health issue.
- Racing heart, issues with digestion, hyperventilation
- Severe lack of energy and motivation
- Lack of emotions (flat affect), associated with a reduced rate of thinking, and behavioral issues
- Severe appetite change, headaches, and/or sleep problems
Depression tends to have lower physical problems noted, as compared to anxiety.
Things common between Anxiety and Depression
Both anxiety and depression cause changes in the neurotransmitter function, especially Serotonin. Lower Serotonin levels may cause anxiety and/or depression. Dopamine and Epinephrine both play some role in both of these conditions. Due to these shared neurotransmitters, symptoms can also be shared, and both may contribute to the development of the other. Most commonly, anxiety eventually and gradually gives rise to depression. Also, due to the involvement of neurotransmitters, they feel natural and usually stay undiagnosed until aggravated stages.
The Good News You would love to that both anxiety and depression have the ability to recover; they are treatable. We now have many ways to control and even treat both anxiety and depression, all thanks to the latest research. No matter how hopeless it feels, there are now effective ways to improve mental health in the long run.
