What is the difference, and how can we treat anxiety and depression?
Anxiety and depression are two distinct mental health disorders, although they can sometimes occur together in what is known as comorbid* anxiety disorder and depression.
In psychology, anxiety refers to an emotional and physiological response experienced by a person in situations perceived as threatening or stressful. This response can be normal and adaptive in certain circumstances, as it prepares the body to face or avoid dangerous situations.
Depression, according to psychology, is a mood disorder characterized by a profound and persistent sense of sadness, hopelessness and a decrease in interest or pleasure in daily activities. This condition can significantly affect a person's daily functioning, quality of life and interpersonal relationships.
Anxiety helps us to cope with certain situations, when crossing a busy street, we will be careful, right?
In an emergency, anxiety will help us to direct our natural efforts to focus and help us to solve and adapt to any need. When we have anxiety, our heart beats stronger, and so we can run away from danger, etc.
We will differentiate the symptoms and characteristics of each of these disorders.
Anxiety:
Excessive worry and nervousness
Restlessness and agitation
Physical symptoms
Panic attacks
Hypervigilance
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep Disorder
Social impairment (occupational impairment due to anxiety/worry)
The disturbance cannot be attributed to the use of alcohol, drugs, medications, or medical condition (thyroid, blood pressure, etc.)
Depression:
Feelings of sadness and hopelessness
Loss of interest or pleasure
Fatigue and lack of energy
Cognitive problems
Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
Diminished ability to concentrate, indecisiveness would almost give.
Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation without a plan or initiated suicide plan
Although anxiety and depression are distinct disorders, they share some similarities and overlaps in several respects according to psychology.
Through this diagram, we can clearly see their similarities and their differences.
There are practices to improve our wellbeing, there are habits that we can adapt to improve our mental health, some of these are:
Meditation
Savoring/Cleansing
Physical Activity
Links
Defining Aims and Objectives
Healthy Eating
Good Rest
Hygiene
Gratitude
Kindness
In our next post we will talk about some tools that can help us improve our mental health.
*adj. med. Psiq. [Disease or disorder] Coexisting in the same person with another disease or disorder.
Article written by Alexandra Zareth
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