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How Anxiety and Depression are Connected
Author: Stephanie Larkin  | Posted: 13-02-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 10 | Rating: (52)  (?) 
Depression is a disorder that does not get nearly enough attention. Depressed people are often told to "cheer up" or to "look at the bright side" of things, and may spiral even deeper when they are unable to simply snap out of the mood that has such a hold on them. While depression can often lead to fatigue and listlessness, it has a close cousin by the name of anxiety. Anxiety causes the opposite effect, putting our bodies into the "fight or flight" mode that protected us in the wild.
Anxiety attacks can feel like heart attacks, and even at more moderate levels, anxiety can have a dangerous and very negative effect on our lives and on our quality of living. Anxiety can also lead into depression, when a sense of worry and fear for the future leads into the sense of helplessness and hopelessness. That is a classic symptom of depression. Depression and anxiety are often seen together, and can sometimes lead into one another.
Anxiety is a way of describing a certain way of feeling. It may represent a sense of fear, dread, or a sense that you are in immediate danger, even when you are safe and have no reason to feel this way. There are several different kinds of anxiety disorders, including phobias or irrational fears, situational anxiety, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorders among others.
These disorders can lead to a state of almost constant high stress, and can affect your daily life much to the worse. You may be unable to function in certain situations, or you may come to fear leaving your own home, and if untreated, the symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to many of the same problems as depression, including insomnia or a reluctance or fear to leave the house or to be around other people.
Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety symptoms can also feel like heart attacks, with palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pains, and more. You might begin trembling and shaking, your mouth might go dry, and you might become dizzy from the stress of the situation. The body becomes "hyped up" by your reaction to the situation, and your senses go into a sort of overdrive that is unlike the depression of the system that happens when you suffer from clinical depression.
Depression disorder actually slows the body in some ways, making you feel sluggish rather than ready to run or fight, and hopeless rather than actively panicked or fearful. If you have been suffering from anxiety attacks, the attacks themselves may lead into depression because of the hopelessness that you feel at the hands of the attacks and because of the fears that are associated with possibly having another attack.
If your anxiety symptoms have changed to include listlessness, a disinterest in things that used to engage you, or feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing, then you may now be suffering from depression disorder, and should be treated accordingly for your medical condition.
Depression is not a constant state of being, nor is anxiety. You might think that because you have a good number of "good days" that your depressive days are just bad moments that will pass, however depression can become worse over time if it is not treated and taken care of, and can lead to suicide if left untreated long enough.
Anxiety and Depression Treatments
Anxiety can worsen over time as well if it is not handled properly. There are ways to help with anxiety even without medication. Therapies are different depending on the type of anxiety that affects you and on the level of anxiety that you suffer. For a phobia, you might be exposed at increasing levels to the thing that you are afraid of. Other therapies might require talking your problems out, and others might just provide techniques to help you ride out your panic attacks and get on with life without letting them affect you more than necessary.
Depression treatments are also varied, mostly depending on your own personal preference. Medication can provide you with an effective way of dealing with depression; however medication is not for everyone. If you are not interested in medication, then you might consider other kinds of therapies with a psychologist who has experience working with depression.
Depression and anxiety are related disorders that can have a huge impact on your overall health and quality of life if left untreated. However, both are manageable conditions that do not have to have an effect on your daily life.
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