Often we are quick to label the feelings that we have on a daily basis; someone who is feeling sad may say they are feeling depressed; someone who is worried about a particular incident may describe it by saying they are having an anxiety attack. These words have become the vernacular of a generation; so much so, in some cases, that we have a difficult time recognizing and defining what symptoms could really be related to clinical conditions. There are many people who experience anxiety in a severe and persistent basis; and others who would be diagnosed as experiencing depression. But what most people don’t realize is that anxiety and depression are connected more often than not.
Depression differs from periods of sadness because of its intensity and frequency. Depression is often a persistent state of melancholy that colors activities of daily life. It can be triggered by many events or environmental factors – or by nothing at all. In some cases heredity or changes in the physical body can be the greatest cause of depression. In either case, the feelings associated with depression are often the same.
Sufferers report feelings of intense sadness, apathy, irritability, and negativity. There are also physical symptoms that those who are depressed report experiencing including stomach problems, insomnia or constant fatigue, lack of appetite, headache, nausea, and general pain throughout the body. In some cases the feelings are so powerful that they render the sufferer incapable of going about normal activities.
Anxiety is defined by persistent and severe feelings of panic and fear – either in a general sense or in response to a particular event or situation. Anxiety is considered to be an umbrella term under which different kinds of anxiety fall including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Anxiety, like depression, can manifest itself through physical symptoms such as difficulties in breathing, increased heart rate, diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, shaking, and more.
Anxiety and depression can easily be co-occurring – meaning that they occur together with their own separate and independent symptoms; or comorbid – meaning they occur together and their symptoms overlap. Researchers have even studied the existence of anxiety and depression together and found that over half of the people who experience major depression also experience severe and persistent anxiety.
The connection is so prevalent between anxiety and depression that clinicians have developed terms that can help them diagnosis their patients who are presenting with a myriad of symptoms. For instance, agitated depression refers to a depressive state that actually presents as anxiety including feelings of general panic and fear. Akathitic depression is a depressive state that also presents as anxiety but does not include feelings of panic.
In addition, it has been found that ongoing feelings of anxiety can actually trigger depression. And doctors have noticed that where there’s smoke there is often fire. Persistent feelings of panic and apprehension can cause sufferers to experience mild to severe depression. Researchers are still studying the links between anxiety and depression and their commingling effect on each other.
What is clear, however, is that anxiety and depression can be managed and treated through a variety of therapies and medication that have found great success in the marketplace. Often when the overall feeling of anxiety is removed, the depression will lift as well. If you are experiencing any feelings of anxiety and depression it is important to immediately see your doctor so an appropriate treatment plan can be put into motion.
J. Lloyd
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-connection-of-anxiety-and-depression-126784.html
Depression and anxiety affect more than 20 million adults every year. With depression symptoms ranging from mild to severe, more people are seeking help for the treatment of depression and anxiety than ever before. Treatment options for depression and anxiety include prescription medication, hormone therapy, psychotherapy, and a variety of other specialized therapies.
Since each case is unique, there is no “one-size-fits-all” cure for these sometimes debilitating mental disorders. But when natural remedies are used in conjunction with other types of treatment, treatment success rates can soar!
Regardless of whether or not you are in a professional depression or anxiety treatment program, there are a number of things that you can do to help yourself.
Natural remedies for these mental disorders don’t get a lot of attention so they’re often overlooked as successful treatment options. Fortunately the situation is changing. Natural remedies for depression and anxiety are most effective when used in conjunction with professional therapy. For many patients, that combination is enough and additional treatment methods usually aren’t required.
Here are some proven tips for getting depression and anxiety under control:
Banish Negative Thoughts
Although it’s nearly impossible to prevent negative thoughts from creeping into our minds, negativity makes depression and anxiety worse. Try to offset these thoughts by focusing on the positive things going on in your life. Positive, happy thoughts trigger the brain to release “feel good” chemicals that combat depression and anxiety naturally.
Avoid Associating with Negative People
Sharing your life with people who are negative only strengthens your own negative feelings. Likewise, sharing your life with positive, upbeat people strengthens your positive feelings. The choice is voluntarily so choose the people who can help you and avoid the ones who can’t.
Journal Your Way to Relaxation
Take a few minutes each day to write in a journal. You don’t have to create a novel, just jot down your thoughts on the positive and negative aspects of each day and note what made you depressed and what made you happy. At the end of each week take time to reread what you’ve written. Before you know it you’ll have a clear picture of the things that lift you up and which ones bring you down. As soon as possible, start avoiding the things that affect you negatively and start doing more of the things that make you happy.
Tap Into the Power of Affirmations
Affirmations are uplifting statements that you say out loud. Because affirmations are spoken as if the results you are seeking have already occurred, they work by programming your subconscious to make true that which you have already told it to be true.
Feel free to create your own affirmations or use these:
“I deserve the happiness that I feel every day.”
“I think only positive and uplifting thoughts.”
“I am in control of my moods and outside issues do not affect me negatively.”
“I love myself and I deserve the love of others.”
Summary
You are in control of your thoughts and feelings. Depression and anxiety are not unbeatable conditions that you are powerless to control. Start by following the tips presented in this article and then seek the help of an expert in the field of anxiety and depression management if you require additional assistance.
Susan Huebert
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/tips-for-combating-depression-and-anxiety-37658.html
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A lot of people who are exerting too much of their brain power usually exhaust not only their physical strength when engaging in various multi-tasking activities, they also tend to over extend their brains up to the point when it plainly needs some good old time for relaxation. A lot of busy people who seem to cannot fathom the idea of relaxing and taking time of from work, as well as their worries, tend to actually start having nervous breakdowns, anxiety depression and all sorts of mental illnesses that can cause a person’s sanity to go haywire, fortunately, if you’re one of those poor unfortunate ones who are unable to distress and is constantly worried and fussing over things, there are actually available cures and various treatments for treating anxiety depression.
Anxiety depression is actually characterized by all sorts of irregularities and erratic behavior from the person who is suffering from it, this is usuallu due to certain stress triggers that may tend to easily cause a person undue jitters and stress. Also, a lot of people who tend to get easily nervous over stressful activities are actually prone to having anxiety depression, its just a matter of being strong-willed when it comes to facing difficult and stress-prone activities. It may be pretty hard to overcome at first, but trying to be calm and cool in times of extreme pressure is what’ll actually save your mental health from going totally downward spiral.
When it comes to effectively curing one’s self from a mental illness, one must keep in mind that you have to be actually honest with yourself and assess what kind of depression or mental illness you actually have, go to reputable psychiatrist to get yourself diagnosed correctly as well as be able to get the right depression treatment for yourself. Here are the various types of depression:
Manic or Bipolar depression – characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one’s mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell.
Postpartum depression – characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this.
Dysthimia – characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it’s been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately.
Cyclothemia – characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one’s moods.
Seasonal Affective Disorder – characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies however, prove that more people actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person’s mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time.
But the type of depression that has actually been proven to be quite common among people is anxiety depression, which is actually characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that’ll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity like first date jitters or a grueling exam the following day. Anxiety actually helps you get psyched up towards facing certain “difficult situations”; anxiety therefore is actually a good thing. Anxiety depression however, is simply the opposite, not to be easily dismissed as a “case of the nerves”; Anxiety depression is in actuality an illness that can be caused from the biological makeup of an individual, or in other words, a hereditary illness.
Also, there are actually various types of Anxiety depression, each having its own unique characteristics. Take for example Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this kind of Anxiety depression is a lot more complicated than the average Anxiety depression, in spite of possibly being a day-to-day habit for those who suffer this kind of Anxiety depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually makes the individual quite more paranoid than usual, anxiety attacks are more frequent, even absurd at times. They can even be anxious even when there’s no apparent reason that calls for them to behave in such a way. People suffering from generalized anxiety disorder actually shows a lot of symptoms, from lack of sleep, to being unable to relax, getting tired easily, cannot concentrate on what they’re doing and even suffering from depression. This kind of Anxiety depression is still curable; just a little work will actually do the trick.
Consult a reputable cognitive behavior therapist who’ll help give the individual the therapy that he or she needs to help him or her loosen up, also prescribed medicines are sort of a must to help these individuals battle anxiety attacks, help them calm down and relax.
Jocelyn Snider
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/information-about-getting-anxiety-depression-752342.html
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