Is Anxiety The Same As Depression

Signs And Symptoms Of Anxiety

Are Depression and Anxiety the same thing?

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, , social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

For people with anxiety disorders, the anxiety is often persistent and can get worse over time. The symptoms may interfere with their daily life.

Some of the most common signs and symptoms of anxiety include:

Excessive fear and worry

If you experience these symptoms for six months or longer, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Whats The Difference Between Anxiety And Depression

One in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year. This means theres a chance you may know somebody affected by either depression or anxiety, two of the most common mental health conditions. You may have heard these terms a lot, possibly used alongside each other. But how well do you understand them? And do you know the key differences between anxiety and depression?

When To Talk To Someone About Your Symptoms

Once anxiety or depression impacts your life, you should seek help from a mental health professional. The psychological conditions can lead to social isolation, worsening performance at school or work, and substance abuse as a coping mechanism.

If you rely on drugs or alcohol as a response to anxiousness or depression, consider rehabilitation. The Recovery Village has centers throughout the country that provide co-occurring disorder treatment when a mental illness pairs with addiction. The team of experts can help you attain a substance-free lifestyle and treat your mental condition.

If youre looking for healthy ways to manage anxiety and depression, the Nobu app can help. It is free and for anyone that is looking to reduce anxiety, work through depression, build self-esteem, get aftercare following treatment, attend teletherapy sessions and so much more. Download the Nobu app today!

Facts & Statistics. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Accessed January 10, 2019.

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Symptoms Of Major Depression

sleep disturbance
muscle tension.

If youve experienced these symptoms most days for more than six months, and they cause distress in your daily life, then you may receive a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. Other types of anxiety disorders include separation anxiety, panic disorder, or phobias, among others.

If you compare the two lists of symptoms, you can see that there is some overlap. Sleep problems, trouble concentrating, and fatigue are all symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Irritability may also manifest in forms of anxiety or depression .

There are however, some distinguishing features. People with depression move slowly, and their reactions can seem flattened or dulled. People with anxiety tend to be more keyed up, as they struggle to manage their racing thoughts. Another distinguishing feature is the presence of fear about the future in people with anxiety. Depressed people who do not have anxiety are less likely to be fraught with worry about future events, as they are often resigned to believing that things will continue to be bad. In other words, they may predict the future based on how they feel in the moment.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms

Worrying and the symptoms of anxiety can creep up on you gradually. This can make it hard to know how much worrying is too much.

Some common anxiety symptoms include:

hot and cold flushes
snowballing worries that get bigger and bigger
a racing mind full of thoughts
a constant need to check things are right or clean
persistent worrying ideas that seem ‘silly or crazy’ .

If you think you have any of these symptoms, you might want to look at the different types of anxiety disorders below.

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What’s The Difference Between Anxiety And Depression

You Often Feel Stuck In Vicious Loop

For me, anxiety isnt just worrying about everything that could go wrong its an obsession with all of the things that need to go right. However, having depression at the same time means Im often stuck. Im painfully aware of all of the things that could go wrong, desperate to make everything go right, and yet utterly helpless at making anything happen at all. Its a vicious, self-feeding cycle and sometimes its hard to tell which came first the anxiety or the depression. Nicole Starbuck, 29, an entrepreneur in Denver

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S Of Identifying Conditions

If you are experiencing signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression, one place to start is to talk with your primary care doctor. They can perform initial screenings and may look for medical conditions that may be causing your symptoms. You may then be referred to a mental health professional for an official clinical diagnosis.

Mental health professionals will use the Standard Reference Manual to diagnose mental illnesses recognized in the United States, namely Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition .

The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for depression and each anxiety disorder are different. When anxiety and depression overlap, it can be more difficult to make a diagnosis.

Myth: These Conditions Will Go Away On Their Owndepression And Anxiety Can Both Be Serious Medical Issues There Is Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Getting Help For Your Mental Health

Why Do Depression and Anxiety Go Together?

Feeling depressed or anxious is a signal to your brain from your body that there is something going on inside that needs to be dealt with, said Meredith Sagan, chief psychiatrist at Alo House Recovery Center in Malibu, California.

Whether youre going through some massive changes, dealing with trauma or just handling more in your life than usual, feeling depressed or anxious is always a signal that an action step is required to handle it successfully, she said. Professional support can help with that.

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How To Get A Clinical Diagnosis

Theres no single test that can diagnose depression or anxiety. Instead, your doctor will likely conduct a physical exam and a depression or anxiety screening test. For this, theyll ask you a series of questions that help them get a better insight into what youve been experiencing.

If the results arent clear or if your doctor suspects the symptoms may be the result of another condition, they may order tests to rule out underlying issues. Blood tests can check your thyroid, vitamin, and hormone levels.

In some cases, general practitioners will refer you to a mental health expert, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, if they dont feel equipped to properly manage your symptoms and conditions or if they suspect youre experiencing more than one condition.

Although depression and anxiety are two separate conditions, they share many of the same treatments. A combination of these may be used to treat both conditions at the same time.

Anxiety Vs Depression: Treatment

Fortunately anxiety and depression are both treatable. Studies have shown that those willing to commit to a treatment will find their conditions will become less or better still cured.

Both anxiety and depression change your way of thinking, so at times there may be thoughts that the condition is untreatable, despite evidence showing otherwise.
There is no one size fits all approach to treating anxiety and depression. You may have to try different treatment before finding one that is right for you. You need to be aware of this and try not to feel disappointed or quit treatment if one isn’t suitable for you
Anxiety and depression require long term treatments. They won’t have immediate results, because it will involve changing how you see the world and processing this information.
Both will have their setbacks. As recovery is a process, it may take time to feel ânormalâ again. Sometimes people will begin to feel alot better but they may still experience sporadic depressive or anxious episodes. Because the two conditions cause negative thinking, these setbacks can lead to feelings of hopelessness that cause people to quit treatments. Remember setbacks are part of recovery.
Always seek professional help either from your doctor or a therapist.

Anxiety and depression are treatable, but those treatments can take time so it is important that you are committed to the therapy, treatment or both that is suitable for you.

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Other Ways To Deal With Depression And Anxiety

To battle your depression and anxiety, it might be helpful to schedule activities that you find enjoyable. Your mind might be telling you to do nothing or you might not feel like moving, but thats exactly what you should do.

You should think about things that brought you joy before the onset of your depression. What activities did you enjoy? Make a list of things that you can do to bring about a sense of wholeness. Then, see if you cant slowly start to get back into those activities.

To battle anxiety, it might be helpful to gently begin to confront the things that trigger your anxiety and reflect on how it makes you feel. If you suffer from social anxiety, then you can explore ways to engage with other people in ways that feel safe for you.

You might join a small book group or rekindle an old friendship through social media. It might help to think about social anxiety as a bathtub or pool of water thats just too hot. If you start slowly and slide in your toes, then your feet and then your legsbefore you know it, the water doesnt feel so hot.

Surround yourself with positive ideas and affirmations. You can use sticky notes or write in your journal. You can put messages to yourself on your smartphone or follow social media profiles that regularly post positive messages. The goal is to get out of the bubble of negative thoughts that dominate the way you process information.

The Disorders Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin Over The Past Couple Of Years Clinicians And Researchers Alike Have Been Moving Toward A New Conclusion: Depression And Anxiety Are Not Two Disorders That Coexist They Are Two Faces Of One Disorder

Effects of Anxiety and Depression on Pain Catastrophizing ...

Are you anxious or are you depressed? In the world of mental health care, where exact diagnosis dictates treatment, anxiety and depression are regarded as two distinct disorders. But in the world of real people, many suffer from both conditions. In fact, most mood disorders present as a combination of anxiety and depression. Surveys show that 60-70% of those with depression also have anxiety. And half of those with chronic anxiety also have clinically significant symptoms of depression.

The coexistence of anxiety and depressioncalled comorbidity in the psych bizcarries some serious repercussions. It makes the course of disorder more chronic, it impairs functioning at work and in relationships more, and it substantially raises suicide risk.

Over the past couple of years, clinicians and researchers alike have been moving towards a new conclusion: Depression and anxiety are not two disorders that coexist. They are two faces of one disorder.

“They’re probably two sides of the same coin,” says David Barlow, Ph.D., director of the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. “The genetics seem to be the same. The neurobiology seems to overlap. The psychological and biological nature of the vulnerability are the same. It just seems that some people with the vulnerability react with anxiety to life stressors. And some people, in addition, go beyond that to become depressed.”

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What Is The Link Between Smoking And Mental Health Conditions

Smoking is much more common among adults with mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, than in the general population.6 About 3 out of every 10 cigarettes smoked by adults in the United States are smoked by persons with mental health conditions.6 Why smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions is uncertain. More research is needed to determine this. No matter the cause smoking is not a treatment for depression or anxiety. Getting help for your depression and anxiety and quitting smoking is the best way to feel better.

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You Often Avoid Practicing Basic Self

Often times, I like to refer to the mix of depression and anxiety as the beast. This is the voice in our head, the feelings in our body, which tells us to do the complete opposite of the positive actions we need to be doing for ourselves and our self-care. For example, if you need to get out of bed, brush your teeth, take a shower, get dressed for work, get your papers together and go, the beast of anxiety and depression is telling you to do the complete opposite every step of the way.

Here is where we must do everything opposite of what the beast wants. If it means simply rolling out of bed and onto the floor or making it to the couch, at least youre not letting it control every step of the way. These small behavioral shifts actually help us in feeling better. Katie Sandler, 33, an impact coach in Fort Lauderdale

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Whats Going Through Your Mind

Theres something called a cognitive triad that I want to share with you. The cognitive triad is a therapeutic framework for analyzing key elements of a persons belief system. This was first formulated by Dr. Aaron Beck in his book Depression: Causes and Treatment .

It goes like this a person experiences negative views about themselves. It leads to negative views about the world around them. That leads to negative views about their past, their present or their future. That process then starts all over again with greater intensity. It goes round and round, gaining strength with each turn.

Positive ideas and information are blocked out of your mind and negative ideas are reinforced and amplified. You begin to contribute negative events to flaws in yourself, even when the facts might point to something else. This just serves to strengthen your negative core beliefs.

Positive information doesnt fit into your framework anymore, no matter how relevant or true. In fact, positive information gets reworked inside your mind and reshaped to look like something negative and thats the only data that your mind accepts.

Anxiety Treatment Centers In Georgia

Anxiety & Depression: Are they the same?

Hillside is the leading residential treatment facility in Georgia and a frontrunner in anxiety treatment. At Hillside, we start by making sure you understand your diagnosis that way you understand the condition youre dealing with and the reasons behind our treatment methods. Contact Hillside today to provide a child, teen or young adult you love with effective treatment options for anxiety, depression or another mental illness.

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Boosting Your Childs Self

There are some small but significant steps parents and caregivers can take to help build a healthy sense of self-esteem in their child:

Be a good listener. Even if you dont love what your child is telling you, try to remember how you felt when you were their age and respond to how you would have wanted an adult to respond to you. Putting yourself in your childs shoes can help you keep perspective and encourage them to come back with problems, questions, or just needing to vent.
Be kind. Children, even more so than adults, do not respond well to anger, criticism, and hostility. Choose your words carefully.
Encourage communication. Talking to them about whats going on in their life shows your child that they are valuable, interesting, and worthy of your time.
Give them choices. Making their own decisions boosts confidence, but having too many decisions can be overwhelming, so do this judiciously.
Let them know you love them. Do they seem to respond best to hugs, words of encouragement, a token of gratitude, a home-cooked meal, or time alone with you? Figure out what makes them feel loved the most and make sure you show your love frequently.
Support and encourage their strengths. If they are good at basketball, be their biggest cheerleader. If they show an aptitude for music, get them those guitar lessons they have been wanting.

Symptoms Of Anxiety In Men

Anxiety is more than having sweaty palms and butterflies in your stomach. Symptoms of anxiety can include ongoing feelings of worry, fear and impending doom that are so severe they interfere with your ability to work, maintain relationships and get a decent nights sleep. Physical signs of anxiety may include:

pounding or racing heart

thinking about death or suicide.

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How To Seek Treatment For Anxiety Or Depression

There is some good news for anyone who has anxiety or depression. First, you should know that theres help and effective treatment for both conditions. Learning what options are available to you is step one.

Its important to remember that theres no one-size-fits-all treatment for any mental health condition. It may take some time, and you may need to try a few different routes. With diligence and support, you can find a path that leads you to a healthier, more productive, peaceful life.

Treatment For Anxiety And Depression

The good news is that if you believe you are suffering from anxiety or depression or a combination of both, these mental health conditions are incredibly treatable.

For anxiety, treatment is used to minimize avoidant behaviors and help you change your thoughts of feared consequences, Dr. Fox said. For depression, the goal is to help you feel positive emotion and increased energy to have a happier outlook and disposition.

There is no one plan that works best for all patients, but oftentimes treatment is a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication, such as SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs and other anti-anxiety medications depending on your symptoms. Long-term, combined treatments are typically recommended for those with co-occurring anxiety and depression.

Your doctor will look at whats necessary to get you at a functioning level with minimal or no symptoms, Dr. Fox said. A good therapist can help you unravel your symptoms and help you develop the skills to manage and overcome your anxiety and depression.

If you are suffering from anxiety or depression or another mental health disorder, you arent alone. Get the help you need through the most difficult times.

To find a licensed behavioral health specialist near you, visit the Banner Behavioral Health website at bannerhealth.com or call the Banner Appointment Line at 800-254-4357.

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