Be Able to Distinguish Between Anxiety and Depression

When someone asks you to differentiate between anxiety and depression, your first reaction may be to laugh since the question  may appear easy to answer only to find out later that you cannot distinctively differentiate between the two. The reason is that, both these conditions occur as a result of the brain being affected by either bodily internal factors such as imbalance of the hormones or by external factors such as too much office work. However, these two health conditions can still be differentiated from each other due to their unique features that exist between them.

Among the notable differences between anxiety and depression is that, anxiety refers to the normal response to danger while depression is the normal response to a form of loss or misfortune. When you sense that danger is nearing, your nervous system starts sending some impulses to the brain and this makes the brain start thinking of all sorts of solutions or answers that can be used to combat the dangerous situation. The problem however arises when there are numerous ways of solving the problem but the brain is not sure which one to pick and use to solve the danger at hand. This situation makes you to feel restless and make you lose your concentration abilities. When this occurs, you are then said to be anxious and most of the time, you will only return to normalcy once the danger is over. On the other hand, when a misfortune befalls you, a hormonal imbalance or a wrong state of mind may occur and this may directly translate into a change of your moods. You may appear gloomy from then hence forth, be subjected to a self-criticism condition, appear pessimistic at all times and always be seen to be sad.

While anxiety is said to last only until the danger has been cleared, depression is believed to last long after the problem has been solved. The reason behind this is that, anxious moments or experiences can only be felt before and during the problem solving phase while depression occurs as a result of you not being able to solve that problem or danger appropriately.

One way to avoid anxiety and depression is by undertaking regular exercises. This may help to raise the levels of certain mood enhancing neurotransmitters found in the brain. In addition to this, exercises also help to release muscle tension something that would help you sleep better at night and finally help reduce levels of stress hormone cortisols in the body. Emotional benefits brought by exercising  include attaining confidence since by being physically active, it helps you have a sense of achievement in life. Exercising also helps you get distracted from all the stressful work that may eventually cause you to become anxious or depressed. All these effects, help the  brain and ultimately the body to fight symptoms such as sadness, anxiety, anger, stress, self doubt and even hopelessness. Once this is attained, you will automatically be able to enjoy living free from anxiety and depression.

Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information on anxiety and depression visit her site at ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION