What Strategies Are Often Used In Treating This Dual Diagnosis
Evidence-based research suggests that both anxiety and depression be treated at the same time.
Effective strategies often used in treating these co-occurring conditions include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT is often used to treat people with both disorders. Fears, anxieties and tendencies toward depression are managed by seeking out their root causes. Once uncovered, patients learn how to take control of their emotions and life.
- Antidepressant medications Often combined with CBT, these may be prescribed in treating both disorders. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are new antidepressant drugs that produce fewer side effects than their predecessors.
- Exercise This can be very helpful for both disorders. Physical activity causes feel-good chemicals to be released in the body. This aids in relaxation and feeling of well-being.
- Relaxation techniques This typically involves meditation or mindfulness. These techniques can often help to remedy both disorders and improve quality of life.2
Feeling Overwhelmed Is A Common Anxiety Symptom
- Feeling overwhelmed easily is often one of the most common anxiety symptoms
- Anxiety itself is an overwhelming and powerful emotion
- Anxiety can also weaken your stress coping ability, making it easier to feel overwhelmed
- There are several simple techniques to feel less physically and mentally overwhelmed
- For longer term solutions, it will be important to learn to manage your anxiety
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Questions To Ask Yourself
Again, its very common to feel low or sad, stressed or anxious, or any combination of the above, on occasion.
All the same, youre the best person to recognize whats typical for you. If you start to experience new, uncomfortable feelings, changes in your energy and motivation, or any other unusual symptoms, it never hurts to connect with a mental health professional for more guidance.
You might wonder whether an online self-test for anxiety or depression could offer more insight about the changes youve noticed. Some people do find these a helpful place to start but a more personalized route might involve asking yourself a few questions:
- Do I spend a lot more time worrying than I have in the past?
- Do I feel sad, empty, or hopeless often?
- Have I lost interest in the things I used to enjoy?
- Have I started to avoid spending time with friends and loved ones?
- Do I worry about things I cant control to the point where I have a hard time thinking about anything else?
- Do I become irritable or annoyed more quickly than I have in the past?
- Do I often feel restless, on edge, or unable to relax?
- Do I cycle through dark, unwanted, or fearful thoughts I cant seem to stop?
- Is it difficult to fall asleep, get enough sleep, or wake up on time most days?
- Have I noticed unexplained pain, tension, or other physical symptoms?
- Do these changes affect my daily life or relationships?
If you answered yes to most of the questions above, it may be time to reach out to a therapist.
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Helping A Suicidal Friend Or Relative
If you see any of the above warning signs:
- get professional help for the person
- let them know they’re not alone and that you care about them
- offer your support in finding other solutions to their problems
If you feel there is an immediate danger, stay with the person or have someone else stay with them, and remove all available means of committing suicide, such as medication.
Over-the-counter drugs such as painkillers can be just as dangerous as prescription medication.
Also, remove sharp objects and poisonous household chemicals such as bleach.
What Does Depression Feel Like
Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.
Sadness is something we all experience from time to time. For some, this feeling is temporary and goes away on its own. But for others, this persistent feeling of emptiness, unhappiness, and hopelessness becomes a regular part of their day.
If your mood has changed over the last few weeks and engaging in routine daily tasks is getting more difficult, you may have depression, and you’re not alone.
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. According to data from 2017, it is estimated that 17.3 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States had a least one major depressive episode in the past year.
Depression, a mood disorder that can cause mild to severe symptoms, can affect how you feel, think, and manage daily activities.
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You Can Care About Everything And Nothing At The Same Time
Youre continually trying to serve two masters and rarely finding any peace inside your own head. At times, it feels like no matter what you do, you just cant win: Depression makes it hard to get out of bed some mornings, while anxiety keeps you worrying about the ever-growing to-do list piling up around you as you lay in bed. Depression whispers that youre worthless, and that nothing really matters anxiety screams that youre not keeping up, or that something awful is about to happen and that everything, even the smallest of decisions, matters immensely. Perman
How Social Anxiety Manifests
How exactly does social anxiety manifest? In some cases, there are specific social situations that trigger anxiety, while other situations rarely bother a person. Triggers for social anxiety are highly subjective and depend on the individual in question.
Some examples of common social anxiety triggers include:
- Freezing up when meeting someone new: Sometimes, meeting someone new can trigger social anxiety. Individuals may feel uncomfortable around people they do not know well.
- Stumbling through a speech or presentation: Individuals with social anxiety may feel very anxious when speaking in public. For some, getting through even a few slides of a presentation without stumbling on their words is a challenge. For others, social anxiety and speech problems happen no matter the social situation.
- Talking to a police officer or other authority figure: Many people feel nervous talking to authority figures like bosses or police officers. Individuals with social anxiety may feel particularly unsettled when talking to such figures.
- Interviewing for a new job: Most people are nervous before a job interview and want to create the best impression of themselves as possible. However, for some, job interviews can trigger social anxiety, decrease their performance or impact their ability to get a job.
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Sometimes It Also Feels Like We’re Drowning In The Chaos Of Modern Life And Are Two Feet Underwater
In a time of constant connectivity, we’re at risk of being overstimulated, which can exacerbate anxiety and depression. Our brains take sensory stimulation from the environment around us, filtering out the relevant aspects and focusing our attention where it matters. Sometimes, brain injury, emotional trauma, or even the strains and stresses of life can reduce the effectiveness of this filtering. This can leave an individual feeling overwhelmed, faced with an intense sensory experience that changes the way they interact with their environment or makes them want to withdraw.
Stimulation is part of what gives life its color, but overstimulation can have detrimental physical and psychological effects. The brain’s natural response is to become alert our muscles tighten into knots, and we may find ourselves constantly on edge. Our bodies weren’t meant to feel this pressure all the time, so many people succumb to anxiety and depression as a result.
Depression Feels Like Body Aches
Research has shown that physical symptoms like pain are linked to depression, possibly due to an imbalance of chemical messengers in the brain.
The neurotransmitters that play a role in pain perception, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, are the same ones that play a role in mood regulation, explains Israel.
With depression, the threshold for pain decreases, so you may experience pain in the joints and muscles, she says. You may experience more frequent headaches, joint pain, muscle pain, or fibromyalgia.
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What If I Am Not Happy With My Treatment
If you are not happy with your treatment you can:
- talk to your doctor to see if they can suggest changes,
- get an advocate to help you speak your doctor,
- ask for a second opinion if you feel it would help,
- contact Patient Advice and Liaison Service and see whether they can help, or
- make a complaint.
There is more information about these options below.
Advocacy
An advocate is independent from the NHS. They are free to use. They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard.
There are different types of advocates available. Community advocates can support you to get a health professional to listen to your concerns. And help you to get the treatment that you would like. They arent available in all areas.
You can ask an advocate to help you make a complaint. Advocates that do this are called NHS complaints advocates. They are free to use and don t work for the NHS. They re available in all areas.
You can search online to search for a local advocacy service. If you cant find a service you can call our advice service 0808 801 0525 . You can email us too at . We will look for you.
Second opinion
Talk to your doctor about your treatment to see if you can resolve the problem with them first. If you dont agree with their decisions about diagnosis or treatment, you could ask for a second opinion. You are not legally entitled to a second opinion, but your doctor might agree to it if it would help with treatment options.
âPALSâ
The Illnesses Make It Hard To Feel Good In The Moment
I have to try harder not to care about stuff too much and go with the flow. harder for me to just be in the moment. That makes me have anxiety. I know Im having a bout of depression because I wake up in the morning and I just dont feel good about things. Emily Johnson, 35, a sales associate in Orange County, California
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How To Tell If You Have Anxiety Depression Or Both
As you can see from the symptom descriptions, there is some cross-over between the two. In mental health, one of the more common comorbidities is that of depression and anxiety. This means that more than one disease or condition can be present in the same person at the same time. In fact, some studies show that 60% of those with anxiety will also have symptoms of depression and the numbers are similar for those with depression.
Anxiety and depression can occur sequentially, one after another, or they can co-occur, said Jerimya Fox, a licensed professional counselor and a doctor of behavioral health at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital. This is because the same neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine, are involved in both.
To meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder or depression, however, symptoms must be persistent and impairing.
For anxiety, these must persist for several months, and for depression a couple weeks, Dr. Fox said.
To assess the severity of your symptoms, Dr. Fox suggests the following:
- Ask a trusted family member or friend if they have noticed changes in your behavior.
- Recognize the severity of your symptoms: mild, moderate or severe.
- Track your thoughts and symptoms. How often are you getting sick? How often are you having racing thoughts? How often are you having difficulty getting out of bed?
Your Thoughts And Feelings Affect Everything You Do
Not feeling right can cause you to think and act differently and this can affect all aspects of your life, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
When somethings not right you could experience it in different ways. You might get sick or just feel generally run-down. You may feel like youre not your usual self â you dont want to be around anyone when usually you love company. You may cry a lot for no apparent reason or easily lose your temper, or even wonder what your life is all about.
Getting an overall picture of yourself helps to make sense of whats happening in your life, and what can help you feel better. One way to do that is to think about whats happening in different aspects of your life your body , your spirit , your social circle and your mind .
- Physical : Thinking about your tinana means focusing on how you look after and care for your body.
- Mental : Thinking about hinengaro means focusing on emotions and how you communicate, think and feel.
- Social : Thinking about whnau means focusing on the relationships you have with people who support you. Their support might be physical, cultural or emotional.
- Spiritual : Thinking about wairua means focusing on things that give your life meaning. That might mean your religion. It could also mean thinking about your links with the environment , your heritage, and your connections to ancestors .
Know and understand those unseen things that can cause worry, anxiety and fear â Mori proverb.
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Effects Of Anxiety On Your Body
These can include:
- a churning feeling in your stomach
- feeling light-headed or dizzy
- feeling restless or unable to sit still
- headaches, backache or other aches and pains
- faster breathing
- a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat
- sweating or hot flushes
- grinding your teeth, especially at night
- needing the toilet more or less often
- changes in your sex drive
How To Prevent Anxiety And Depression
Given the number of factors that affect these conditions, there’s no way to definitively prevent depression and anxiety. However, there are certain lifestyle choices and safeguards that can decrease your likelihood of experiencing symptoms.
First and foremost, it’s important to look at the daily decisions that affect your life. These include where you work and what you do for a living, the people in your life, the foods you eat, where you live, and so much more. All of these things can affect your quality of life. For instance, a well-rounded person who loves his or her career, lives in a nice home, and surrounds himself or herself with supportive friends is more likely to be physically and emotionally healthy than someone who hates his or her job, lives unhappily, and wastes his or her time around negative influences. The way you spend your time can greatly affect your health and happiness.
You can also reduce your likelihood of experiencing anxiety and depression by spending time on yourself and taking care of your health and wellbeing, a measure that can boost both physical and mental health. This sounds simple, but many people delay caring for themselves because they think they’re too busy or undeserving or they think its a sign of being selfish. Absolutely everyone deserves time for self-care. It’s a crucial part of maintaining a healthy emotional and mental state.
When Anxiety or Panic Becomes More Than A Temporary Feeling
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The Relationship Between Anxiety And Depression
Helpful Links
While anxiety is generally considered a high-energy state and depression a low-energy state, anxiety and depression are more closely related than you might think. A person with depression often experiences a lot of anxiety, possibly even to the extent of having panic attacks.1
Anxiety disorders involve more than common nervousness and worry. They can cause terrifying fear about things other people wouldnt think twice about. Many people with anxiety disorders fully comprehend that their thoughts are irrational. But they still cant stop them. Feelings of losing inner control haunt them. This angst is one of the entry ways for depression.2
How Can I Support My Mental Health
Having depression or anxiety isnt a sign of weakness and theres no need to feel embarrassed. Keep active in your community, consider joining a support group and do things that boost your mental wellbeing.
Self-help groups
Meeting other people who understand what youre going through can be helpful, especially if youre feeling isolated or lonely. You can find a local support group by asking your GP, or by contacting Mind, Anxiety UK, SANE or Rethink Mental Illness.
Keep a regular social routine
There are a range of services in the local community where you can meet new people and learn new skills. This will give you something to look forward to, and prevent you feeling isolated or alone. Your local Age UK can help you find an activity or group that will suit your interests.
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Living With Both Conditions Can Cause Physical Symptoms
My biggest issue is with sleep. There are days when I constantly feel tired but I cant fall asleep because my mind is wired Im constantly overthinking. My conditions are well managed now, after therapy and antidepressants, but there are still tough days. The physical symptoms dont always go away. I experience a lot of tightness in my chest and stomach aches from anxiety. Those things lend themselves to a depressive episode so it feels like a never-ending cycle some days. Alex Kuntz, 25, a public relations professional in Minneapolis
How Is Depression Related To Endocrine Imbalances
This will help them determine the appropriate treatment. What may seem like depression might actually be successfully treated by thyroid medication before antidepressants, for example. Its also very possible that your mental health symptoms predated or existed alongside any sort of endocrine issues.
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