Depression and Anxiety: How Does One Relate to the Other?

Although depression and anxiety are two separate conditions, they can often present or occur together and even have similar treatments. The two conditions can frequently relate to one another since anxiety can arise as a symptom of someone experiencing clinical depression. Likewise, someone experiencing chronic anxiety can trigger symptoms of depression.

So if you have ever wondered, “Is it possible that I have depression and anxiety at the same time?” the answer is yes, it is possible for a person to be struggling with symptoms of both anxiety and depression or be experiencing both co-occurring disorders.

Thinking about depression and anxiety, you may think of them as being at opposite sides of a spectrum: depression resulting in feelings of low mood and energy, whereas anxiety affects heightened senses of worry and feeling like things are sped up and coming at you quickly. But indeed, the two disorders can have similar elements.

How Are Depression and Anxiety Different?

Depression and anxiety disorders are different and each disorder has its own unique causes as well as its own set of behavioral and emotional symptoms experienced by an individual.

Anxiety

We all experience a certain amount of anxiety in response to common life stressors such as job stress, family or relationship issues, school, and decisions. Although anxiety is an normal part of the human experience, when anxiety persists for long periods of time, is out of proportion to the situation, or leads to extreme behaviors in an attempt to reduce the anxiety, anxiety can lead to disruption in normal life functioning.

A person struggling with anxiety may experience sudden anxiety or panic attacks seemingly without a cause and can live with a sense of constant and distressing worry and anxiousness. When this happens, the effects of anxiety can take a physical, behavioral, emotional, and social toll.

Anxiety disorders are often characterized by fear, nervousness, and apprehension. Often times there are worried or nervous thoughts that are focused on both the present and future, concentrating on what might happen. This can create a lot of discomfort with the anticipation of what may happen and how to try and control the outcome.

People with anxiety often are able to identify that they are experiencing irrational or unproportioned fear or worry but feel unable to stop it. Anxiety often presents with more energy than what is seen in depression, and the focus or fear is often centered on something that will make their life situation worse.

Common thought or belief is that things can and will go wrong to make life worse. Physiologically, anxiety tends to lead to an activation of our body’s natural fight-or-flight mechanism, even when no danger or threat exists. This can lead to the experience of sensations and feelings in the body such as increased or rapid heartbeat, sweating, restlessness, and feelings of panic.

Depression

Most of us experience low mood or times of sadness, but for those diagnosed with depression, these manifestations tend to be more severe and persistent. There can also be some differences in the presentation of depression among different ages as well as between men and women.

For instance, in men the experience of depression may manifest as irritability, tiredness, anger, and reckless behaviors such as abusing alcohol or drugs. Men are also less likely to recognize these symptoms as depression and therefore less likely to seek help. Depression in women tends to manifest as worthlessness, sadness, and guilt.

Amongst younger children, depression can show up behaviorally as not wanting to go to school, experiencing high anxiety when separated from a parent, and excessive worry about a parent dying. Teenagers experiencing depression tend to get into trouble at school and be sulky and irritable. They are also more likely to have co-morbid disorders such as anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

Older adults may present more subtly with symptoms of depression and be less likely to admit to feelings of grief or sadness. The issues of illness and medication use common at this stage of life can often make it difficult to distinguish the cause of any depression as well.

Depression, as opposed to anxiety, generally does not have the same fear component and instead centers on the concept that things are already bad in life, with little to no hope that things will improve or get any better. The focus is less on the future with the belief that nothing can or will ‘go right’ or make things any better.

With this belief, people dealing with depression may suffer from suicidal ideation, severe lack of energy and fatigue, finding no pleasure or joy in things that they would otherwise enjoy, and experience an emphasis on negative emotions.

People tend to feel numb or experience an absence of feelings, instead feeling like it’s not worth getting up for anything or a lack of positive feelings and sensations, such as energy. With energy levels feeling very low, people experiencing depression often feel overwhelmed by day to day responsibilities and personal relationships.

How Are Depression and Anxiety Related?

Research is starting to show that people who develop depression later in life often have a history of experiencing an anxiety disorder earlier in their life. While there is no indication that one will always cause the other to occur, it is commonly seen that many people struggling chronically with either depression or anxiety also suffer from the other disorder as well.

A study done at Harvard found that in their sample, nearly two-thirds of the people who had depression also had generalized anxiety disorder. And, in looking at other co-occurring anxiety disorders in people with depression, the rates were all greater than 40 percent.

Although each disorder has its own set of distinct clinical symptoms, there can be some overlap. For instance, in both anxiety and depression, symptoms of irritability, an inability to concentrate, and sleep disturbances are common. Also, similar physical symptoms can occur in both anxiety and depression: headaches, stomach issues, and other aches or pain for no apparent reason.

With both disorders, a key impact is in the way that it effects thought patterns. Both anxiety and depression change the way that you think and cause negative and unhealthy thinking patterns. This can often make it feel as though they are not treatable, that the thoughts or feelings will never go away, and difficult to recognize evidence to the contrary. Without treatment, anxiety and depression can impact and restrict daily life functioning with work, relationships, and other everyday tasks or outings.

Although no one knows the exact cause of anxiety or depression in terms of brain chemistry, a link in the neurotransmitters has been observed in both disorders. Both generally exhibit low serotonin levels, as well as changes in dopamine and epinephrine. When these neurotransmitters are balanced at normal levels, they can help your mind to stay calm or focused, as well as assist our bodies to regulate anxiety and resist depression or other mood disorders.

Treatment for Depression and Anxiety

Anxiety and depressive disorders are very treatable and often have very similar treatments. However, research has shown that only about a third of people suffering from depression or anxiety actually seek treatment. This is unfortunate because studies on the topic show that majority of people who commit to treatment find that their symptoms lessen or even are eliminated.

There are several ways that someone suffering from an anxiety or depressive disorder can seek help. There are some self-help steps that can be taken as well as reaching out to a mental health professional for counseling, and on occasion speaking to a prescriber about utilizing medication to assist in managing symptoms for a time can be helpful.

Lifestyle changes

A few self-help things to consider when looking at helping to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression can include some simple adjustments to your lifestyle. Examining your diet, sleeping habits, and self-care practices can be a great place to start. It is amazing how much our nutritional intake as well as our quantity and quality of sleep can have an impact on our mood and energy levels.

If we are not fueling our bodies well, are depriving ourselves of sleep, or never allowing ourselves to get out of work mode, then it makes sense if our bodies are struggling to function well. Exercising is a great way to help relieve some stress and get a good dose of endorphins. Eating well, getting adequate sleep, and allowing for time of fulfilling social support and fun can drastically help improve our mood and ability to identify positive aspects in our life.

Therapy

As mentioned earlier, because anxiety and depression often manifest with unhealthy thought patterns, a common type of therapy used to treat anxiety and depression is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT helps a person learn how to identify and examine their thought patterns. From there you can learn alternative ways of thinking, responding, and behaving in order to assist you in finding relief from the cycle of anxious or depressive thoughts.

If an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder is diagnosed, a mental health professional can come alongside you to begin helping you to manage and treat your symptoms. With the help of a counselor, you can learn healthier and more effective coping skills to help you manage your symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Stress management exercises and learning to identify and change negative thought patterns can greatly help with symptoms of anxiety. When treating depression, similar treatments and skills can be successful. Sometimes more serious depression and anxiety disorders may need additional assistance from the medical community.

Medication

Periodically, when symptoms of anxiety or depression are severely impacting the ability to function and therapy or self-help/lifestyle solutions on their own are not enough, a doctor may recommend a prescription antidepressant, which can treat both conditions. Although this is not a cure, in conjunction with therapy, people can find some relief from symptoms that persist due to our neural chemistry. Sometimes our bodies need a little assistance in better regulating our neurotransmitters.

With medications, be sure to talk to your doctor about the various options out there. The type of medication you receive depends on a variety of factors including: the specific type and severity of the disorder, how you respond to the medication, as well as other things such as your age, sex, and other medications you may be on.

It may take a while to find which medication works best for you so be open and honest with your prescriber about any side effects you may be experiencing. If this is something you are nervous about, a counselor can help to prepare to have this conversation with your doctor or prescriber.

Help And Hope Are Here

When seeking treatment, although there are some overall options that are common for treatment, there is no one size fits all approach. This may mean that you may go through some treatments or options that fail or take time to work before you experience relief.

Being aware of this can help to not feel disappointed or quit prematurely if something does not work right away in your treatment. There are generally no immediate results; treatment can take time. Your mental health and wellbeing are worth the commitment and investment.

If you are experiencing anxiety and/or depression, we would love to come alongside you as you work toward wellness. If you are having thoughts of suicide or feel like there is no hope, please reach out. There is help available and you are not alone.

In reaching out to a Christian counselor, you will be able to work together to examine your negative and unhealthy thought patterns that are working against you and keeping you in the cycle of anxiety or depression. In working to change your thoughts and establishing good support and self-care, we can find a treatment plan that will be effective in relieving your symptoms of anxiety or depression.

If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, please do not ignore your thoughts, emotions, and symptoms. These disorders are treatable, but if left untreated it can lead to further distress and suffering as symptoms persist into further isolation. You do not have to remain in the overwhelming and persistent cycle of anxiety or depression.

Do not avoid your symptoms. Instead, take a step toward wellness and contact a counselor. Reach out to us at Seattle Christian Counseling and set up a risk-free appointment with a counselor you feel comfortable with. Do not be afraid to reach out to a counselor to come alongside you in your struggle. You are not alone. Help is here for you.