Anxiety vs. Depression
While many people do not know the main concepts on mental health and the disorders that come with it, anxiety and depression are two of the most critical and uneducated mental health disorders there are. Along with the many similarities there comes differences with such disorders. There are reasons they are caused and ways they can be prevented. Symptoms range from serious to minor and even symptoms that only show up for certain people. With so many people being diagnosed with these disorders we should not only educate ourselves but educate the ones with these disorders enough to the point where we understand the concepts that make up both mental illnesses.
For anyone with a disorder, the unknowing is traumatizing, the wandering of why such a disorder would possibly happen to you. Surprisingly though more than 40 million adults are affected by anxiety and 16.2 million are affected by depression. For those numbers to be so high, we should begin to go through the process of how these things happen. We should be more educated on what causes these traumatic disorders to so many people. ("Depression: Facts, Statistics, And You.") ("Facts & Statistics | Anxiety And Depression Association Of America, ADAA.")
With there not being any specific way to get anxiety, the causes and reasons are greater than any. Whether it is being traced through your family or starting up on its own, there is more than those reasons for it to happen. Anxiety can be, of course, brought on by if family members have had it before, and even if you experience traumatic events like abuse, loss of a loved one or chronic physical illness. With these not being every single way a person can go through anxiety, they are triggers that show up in most mental health patients.
As well with anxiety, there are ways to cause or trigger depression, some being relatively similar. Depression is a disorder in the brain that is triggered by genetic characteristics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical illnesses, stress, grief, or substance abuse. With these being bad enough on their own, if these triggers are combined, they can make the symptoms and recovery process harder and longer. But they still affect the human brain that leads up towards depression.
Along with disorders comes many long and short-lived symptoms. Some are more serious and others are minor. Symptoms are the hardest part of any disorder because of the not knowing how serious they could be or long they could last. The worrying and stressing of these symptoms doesn’t make them better with though. But even with both disorders being different, the symptoms they share are equal.
With every disorder or mental illness, there are symptoms. Some are more drown out and the person has to live with them longer, others notice the symptom and soon remove it from their life; either way, it affects the human brain and bodily functions just as much. According to (“Causes of Anxiety and Depression: Symptoms and Signs.”) the most common symptoms are the feeling of nervousness, restlessness, severe panic attacks, sweating, fatigue, rapid heart rate, chest pains, and difficulty concentrating. All these symptoms lead up to the main disorder of anxiety.
Just as any brain disorder, depression has its symptoms. Many symptoms can be shown differently in everyday life, such as feelings, behaviors, thoughts and even physical problems. As said in (““Depression: What Are Signs and Symptoms.””) these symptoms include loss of interest, guilt, hopelessness, trouble making decisions, concentrating, harmful thoughts, showing distance in people, substance abuse, tiredness, weight loss, and gain, and changes in sleep. Of course, every person lets the symptoms affect and hurt them differently.
Of course just like any other disorder people want to find ways to cope. Not all work for certain people but they are usually your only hope. Some may take a few days, others months and even some take years. Some may take money but either with how many people have these disorders, it shows just how much help they actually need. Finding help and a way to cope will better their lives and future.
Even with people who suffer from PTSD or have trouble with anything else in life, there are certain ways people like to cope. Some people try to ignore the whole problem entirely and slowly destroy themselves more, some like to self-medicate themselves because of they don’t want to be wrong, but they're healthy and stable ways to find help and cope with these disorders. Most the time disorders like these that deal with the same concepts in symptoms and causes, share similarities in help and coping mechanisms.
The main way people try to cope, according to (““How To Deal with Anxiety and Worry | THIS WAY UP.””) is to gain back control. Losing control over your emotions and feelings is an effect of anxiety and it really takes a toll on people. Within this process of gaining back control, it is key for people to relax, plan activities, exercise, and eliminate all negative thoughts. Of course with any disorder, you can see a doctor. With anxiety being relatively linked to depression, you can see a doctor or get medication for both of these
Just like anxiety different therapies are available to help cope with depression. Such therapies, as said in (““How To Deal with Anxiety and Worry | THIS WAY UP.””) like CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ECT (Electroconvulsive therapy.) Both these therapies require an effort towards the activities required and to target your negative and biased thoughts, just like anxiety.
Just like every other disorder there similarities and differences; whether they are found in the ways to cope, how they happen or even symptoms. Every person with these disorders should know everything that comes with it, through the complicated stages to the simple ones. The obvious facts and statistics should show just how important these disorders are. According to ("Facts & Statistics | Anxiety And Depression Association Of America, ADAA.”") anxiety affects 40 million adults a year, everyone should know the basics of it, especially since only 36.9% of people diagnosed get treatment. With depression, more than 19 million people are affected by some type of depressive illness. These statistics are unbelievable and show a great deal about our country and world. With people dying around the world from diseases we can’t cure, it shows shame on the diseases, such as anxiety and depression, that have cures and have stable ways to find help. Overall there should not be a single human who can’t find help for these disorders. The signs show up and the help is there. We can’t let it slip through our fingers because these disorders seem “smaller” than others. The differences and similarities are there, they are eye-opening and they should be making a difference in a way we see them. We have to stop belittling these disorders and make a difference and impact on the effects they have. Similarities and differences come small and big, but they are for sure important for everyone to know.