The Difference Between Depression and Anxiety

Depression and anxiety are different mental health conditions, but they are very similar and share many symptoms. They both spring from a common emotional reservoir, leading a person who is affected by either condition to feel as if they are ensconced in the darkness of some deep, dank, and dismal emotional valley. When it comes to depression, even the thought of having to mentally climb out of such a valley can make one feel much more “dead” than “alive.”
 
What’s more, some of us who have (or have had) depression find ourselves grumpy or downright irritable, sometimes even more so than at our low points. Of the two conditions, we tend to think of depression as being more serious. However, research indicates that we may be mistaken in our perception.

Apprehending Depression

People often discover that pastimes and social events that used to bring pleasure no longer do. This mental health issue affects a staggering number of individuals, to the extent that some refer to it as a mental health epidemic. Indeed, the World Health Organization has called “the global rise in depression a massive public health concern.”

When we in the United States and much of the developed world think about mental illness, we typically associate it primarily with depression and anxiety disorders. We estimate that anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of individuals in our countries are clinically depressed.

Understanding Depression—Key Symptoms That Reveal Its Existence

Depression is a mental health condition that is anything but simple. The ways in which it expresses itself are multitudinous; its common symptoms alone fill a roster that would make any condition feel severe. 

Diminished Interest:

When individuals are depressed, they frequently discover that even activities they once took pleasure in—like hobbies and social gatherings—no longer bring them any joy. 

Overwhelming Gloom

The sun does not shine in life when one is suffering from depression. It takes the light and leaves behind a sense of darkness and gloom. A pervasive hopelessness drenches even the prospect of tomorrow. 

Irascibility:

Many depressed people become grumpy and cranky and take out their bad moods on others. It doesn’t take much for some depressed people to explode with anger. 

Fatigue:

Depressed people almost always feel worn out and drained. Sometimes they cannot even work up the energy to sit up or stand. 

Sleeplessness and Sleepiness:

Depressed people may either sleep way too much or not enough, and both conditions breed fatigue. They may also wake up too early and not be able to go back to sleep. 

Change in Appetite:

Someone who is depressed might either overeat or undereat, and either way is unsafe. Some people use food as a form of “anti-depressant,” while others can barely summon the energy to eat, even when they do crave something. 

Poor Concentration:

A depressed person may look fine, but inside they’re fighting a war of attrition for little gains in concentration and with no prospect of a quick resolution. They can’t focus at work, at home, or even while driving. 

Physical Pain:

Not paying attention to your mind can have some disastrous outcomes. If you’re not tuning in to how much pressure your mind is under, it’s going to find really creative ways to get you to notice it. These aren’t hotline therapist methods; they’re not pleasant at all. Why does our mind do this? Well, when our mind is pushed to the limit and is under a huge amount of stress or strain, it comes up with some not-so-nice tactics to get us to listen to it. After all, mental health is as important as physical health. A sure-fire way to signal that something is seriously wrong up there is to send out some physical symptoms.

We all have emotional reactions once in a while; that’s just being human. Some of us might be under the impression that we are not humans because our emotional responses are far too less or far too much in comparison to what our idea of an “average human” would be. Even fewer of us probably realize just how much variance there can be in the intensity of our emotional responses and in the actual colors and smudges of our personal emotional palette when it comes to life in general, let alone life under challenging circumstances.

Recognizing anxiety disorders

The sensation that a person has while they are in a state of anxiety can vary from mild to extreme. It is not uncommon to feel this way when important choices in life have to be made or when one is facing a new situation. Some people even find that they spend a fair amount of time feeling anxious about the future and what it holds for them.

However, people who suffer from an anxiety disorder do not just have moments of unease as they go through their lives. Instead, they live with a persistent state of worry that some terrible event is about to occur or that they will not be able to manage some event they have coming up. Anxiety manifests uniquely in each individual, but many who suffer from the condition share some common symptoms.

Pervasive Sense of Worry:

Not surprisingly, worry takes the top spot in the hierarchy of anxiety symptoms. Those with anxiety not only struggle to manage their normal daily fears but also often have a low threshold for what constitutes fear-worthy.

Build-up of Irritability:

Persistent anxiety can boil over into irritability, making it hard for individuals with anxiety to be civil and comfortable around other people.

Sense of Impending Doom:

Those with anxiety also experience the sensation of a near-constantly hovering dark cloud of death or disaster that has the potential to rain down at any moment.

Trouble with Sleep:

Up to 90% of people with anxiety disorders experience sleep disturbances, which is extremely problematic for them.

Abdominal Distress:

Finally, abdominal distress is a common indicator. Between 60 and 80 percent of those with some form of anxiety will also have a gastrointestinal issue, which might just give a very good definition of what “nerves” really are.

An individual’s ability to carry out the daily tasks of life can be substantially affected by an anxiety disorder. The constant nature of anxious feelings can make it impossible for people to concentrate on work and put a real strain on relationships. Anxiety makes people want to stay away from the events and situations that might make them anxious, leading them to become more and more isolated, which might eventually snowball into something worse.

It is vitally important to understand anxiety if one is to appreciate its true nature and the role it plays—or doesn’t play—in mental health and day-to-day functioning. Everyone knows that feeling anxious from time to time is perfectly normal. However, most of us are unaware of how common anxiety is and how often it co-occurs with other mental health conditions, especially when it’s not a normal part of our lives. We also don’t appreciate quite how manageable anxiety can be and how professionals and lay helpers alike can help in that process.