Is It Anxiety Depression Or Both
Its common to experience brief periods of worrying or depressed mood. This is normal when you have life stress . These feelings will often resolve on their own. But in clinical anxiety or depression, feelings persist for weeks or even months. And the feelings often interfere with your daily functioning.
Like any other health condition, a provider can help decide if you have depression or anxiety. If you have certain symptoms, your provider may diagnose you with depression. This is called major depressive disorder . If you have other symptoms, your provider may diagnose you with anxiety. This is called generalized anxiety disorder .
Making a diagnosis of MDD or GAD generally depends on how many symptoms you have. It also depends on how long you have had the symptoms, the severity of your symptoms, and the impact of your symptoms on your daily life.
Sometimes a provider will use special questions to help understand your symptoms. There is a standard questionnaire for depression and a questionnaire for anxiety. Your provider may use these questions for diagnosis or to check your progress during treatment.
A provider can usually help you determine which diagnosis is the best fit for you. But sometimes, people can be diagnosed with both anxiety and depression. This is sometimes referred to as having a comorbid condition. Having a comorbid condition means you have more than one medical diagnosis.
Baby Loss Doubles Risk Of Anxiety And Depression
Women who have experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage or early in the child’s life are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression as those who did not, a study suggests.
They are also more than one and a half more times more likely to experience anxiety than those who have not lost a baby before, during, or shortly after birth, the research found.
The findings from the University of Edinburgh draw on 29 studies from 17 countries with analysis on data collected from more than one million women.
Researchers examined studies published between January 1995 and March 2020 on how perinatal lossthe loss of a child during the period from conception through to 28 days post-deliveryaffected common mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress .
The study analyzed the data to identify the factors that may influence mental health outcomes, including the type of loss, the stage of pregnancy, and factors such as income status, in which country the mothers live and their maternal age.
Health outcomes
Researchers also took into account the results of studies into the outcomes of women who do not experience loss, but have difficult births.
As well as the heightened risk of anxiety and depression, the study also found similar levels of these mental health conditions after loss in low, middle and high income countries.
Perinatal loss did not result in any significant effects for PTS outcomes, the study found.
What Might Indicate That Both Anxiety And Depression Are Present
Traits that may signal the presence of both anxiety disorder and depression include:
- Irrational worries or fears that wont go away
- Physical symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, rapid heartbeat, labored breathing or abdominal pain
- Difficulty going to sleep or staying asleep
- Changes in eating habits either too much or too little
- Trouble remembering, making decisions or concentrating
- Constant feelings of sadness or worthlessness
- Loss of usual interest in activities or hobbies
- Feeling often tired and cranky
- Inability to relax and live in the moment
- Suffering from panic attacks, including the sense of losing inner control2
You May Like: How To Treat Anxiety Disorder
What Is The Link Between Smoking And Mental Health Conditions
Smoking is much more common among adults with mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, than in the general population.6 About 3 out of every 10 cigarettes smoked by adults in the United States are smoked by persons with mental health conditions.6 Why smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions is uncertain. More research is needed to determine this. No matter the cause smoking is not a treatment for depression or anxiety. Getting help for your depression and anxiety and quitting smoking is the best way to feel better.
Measures Of Anxiety And Depression
Anxiety and depression were measured using a number of different tools, the most popular being the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies- Depression scale . The HADS is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of a 14 items, seven of which relate to anxiety and seven to depression . A score of up to and including seven is classified as not depressed or anxious, those with a score from eight – 10 are defined as possible depression or anxiety and a score of 11 or over was classified as probable depression or anxiety. The CES-D records the frequency and severity of depressive symptoms over the preceding week via a 20 item questionnaire. Each item is scored on a scale from 0 to 3 inclusive, and a score of 16 or over indicates major depression.
Recommended Reading: Can You Get Chest Pain From Anxiety
Testing Primary Model Assumptions
Prior to each analysis, the models assumptions were tested. Specifically, the models identification was tested by comparing the models completely standardized solutions against typically acceptable loadings . Based on factor loadings in the completely standardized solutions, the identification status of the primary model was considered identified. After testing the identification status, the goodness of fit for the model was examined. To test the goodness of fit, the practical indices of goodness of fit were used: RHO , CFI , and RMSEA . Practical indices of goodness of fit were used in place of the chi-square fit statistics as the chi-square values are highly affected by large sample sizes, as in the present dataset.
Relationship Between Depression And Anxiety
“If you’re facing terror every day, it’s gonna bring Hannibal to his knees” – Jim Ballenger, a leading expert on anxiety
While depression is often considered a low energy state and anxiety is considered a high energy state, anxiety and depression are more related than people think. Inside, a depressed person often experiences a lot of anxiety even leading to panic attacks.
Of course, having panic attacks can itself be a depressing thing. Any lack of control within our lives can contribute to depression.
Read Also: What Physical Symptoms Can Anxiety Cause
How The Two Are Different
Anxiety and depression are different disorders. Anxiety is characterized by fear and apprehension. These are often worried and nervous thoughts where significant attention is paid to situations that have happened in the past alongside worries about what is going on in the present and the future. Anxiety creates a feeling of discomfort and releases substantial energy throughout the body. Those with anxiety tend to think negatively and many worry about everyday occurrences unnecessarily. Often anxiety presents itself with feelings of unease and uncertainty.
Depression,on the other hand, centers around the idea that life is already bad, with little hope for the future. There is less worry about the future because it involves less hope. Those with depression may suffer from suicidal ideations, severe fatigue, less energy and fewer emotions and like anxiety these emotions are often very negative.
Physically, anxiety tends to cause an activation of feelings and sensations while depression may cause an absence of feelings and sensations
There are also similarities between the two conditions, and in some cases one can cause the other. For example, after a severe panic attack some people find themselves drained of energy and emotionally upset which may develop temporary depression. The experience may leave the person feeling traumatised and alone.
They sometimes even have similar physical symptoms, including:
D Anxiety As A Residual Component Of Depression
Anxiety disturbances may characterize the residual phase of major depression , which favor residual disability and increase the risk of relapse, up to 60% after 5 years , as the following case illustrates.
Clinical Presentation
Assessment and Diagnosis
Macroanalysis. The patient satisfied the DSM-5 criteria for major depressive illness, but careful evaluation disclosed hypochondriacal fears, worry for health, and marital crisis . In the macroanalysis , the clinician could give priority to pharmacotherapy of major depressive disorder, leaving the other components to post-therapy assessment . If the clinical decision of tackling one syndrome may be taken during the initial assessment, the subsequent steps of macroanalysis require a reassessment after the first line of treatment has terminated .
Fig. 4.
Macroanalysis of Marks clinical case before and after first-line treatment.
Staging. Based on the staging model of unipolar depression , the patient was first at stage 3 and went back to stage 2 after the diagnosis of spondylarthrosis.
Treatment Options
Don’t Miss: How Can I Fall Asleep With Anxiety
Depression And Other Psychiatric Disorders
Depressive symptoms can occur within the context of other psychiatric disorders. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment planning requires careful evaluation of the range of symptoms presented by the patient. For example, significant weight loss can be both a symptom of depression and an eating disorder and distractibility and low frustration tolerance can occur in both depression and ADHD.
Depressive symptoms can co-occur or be triggered by the following psychiatric disorders:
- Borderline personality disorder 4
Results Of Individual Studies
All 16 included studies examined depression, with all of the articles consistently finding that the prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults with AMD was higher than in those without. The prevalence estimates provided ranged from 15.7%-44% in the cross-sectional and cohort studies and the casecontrol studies reported a significantly higher prevalence of depression in participants with AMD compared to non-AMD sufferers. Different methods were used to diagnose depression and studies included different subtypes of AMD, meaning a formal meta-analysis was not possible.
Depressive symptoms in neovascular AMD
Depressive symptoms in non-specified AMD
The majority of studies did not specify whether they were examining neovascular or non-neovascular AMD. These studies recruited their participants mostly from eye clinics or community settings , although one did not state a setting. Six studies stated that they compared their depression prevalence rates in AMD populations with community populations with no eye pathologies. One study compared early and late AMD populations. For the remaining studies it was difficult to identify the sample they were comparing their findings in AMD populations against.
The casecontrol studies that included a clinical cut-off found depression to be significantly higher in the AMD population than in the control group.
Anxiety symptoms in neovascular AMD
Anxiety symptoms in non-specified AMD
Also Check: What Can Help My Anxiety
Everything You Need To Know About Stress Depression And Anxiety
20 March, 2019
We hear these three words more and more often. The truth is that these days theyre the most common disorders out there. Stress, depression and anxiety can appear by themselves or together. But its important to identify the warning signs for each of these problems because fortunately, you can get help.
Why Anxiety And Depression Are Linked
Are anxiety and depression the same? No, but they share many similarities and connections.
Anxiety and depression often occur together. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, nearly 50 percent of people with depression also have an anxiety disorder. Co-occurrence is prevalent because anxiety frequently causes depressed states and major depressive disorder can result in anxiousness.
Also Check: What Are Some Names Of Anxiety Pills
Stress: What You Need To Know
Everybody talks about stress since it can appear out of nowhere, after any activity or thought and make us feel anxious, angry or frustrated. Doctors say that having low levels of stress is a good thing. Therefore, high levels of stress can actually be harmful.
Too much stress predisposes a person to all sorts of physical and psychological diseases. Stress can lead to low blood sugar, overactive tyroids, heart attacks, increased bile secretion or cholesterol in your arteries.
When To Talk To Someone About Your Symptoms
Once anxiety or depression impacts your life, you should seek help from a mental health professional. The psychological conditions can lead to social isolation, worsening performance at school or work, and substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
If you rely on drugs or alcohol as a response to anxiousness or depression, consider rehabilitation. The Recovery Village has centers throughout the country that provide co-occurring disorder treatment when a mental illness pairs with addiction. The team of experts can help you attain a substance-free lifestyle and treat your mental condition.
Related:Starting Treatment for Addiction & Mental Health through Teletherapy
If youre looking for healthy ways to manage anxiety and depression, the Nobu app can help. It is free and for anyone that is looking to reduce anxiety, work through depression, build self-esteem, get aftercare following treatment, attend teletherapy sessions and so much more. Download the Nobu app today!
Facts & Statistics. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Accessed January 10, 2019.
Read Also: How To Help A 5 Year Old With Separation Anxiety
Addressing Your Mental Health By Identifying The Signs Of Anxiety And Depression
What is stress, and what happens when we arent able to cope well with stress? Stress can present itself after being fired from a job, going through a divorce or losing a loved one. Even getting married, transitioning to a new job or having a baby can cause stress.
Many people look to define stress as either good or bad, when in reality its neither. Stress is an event we view as out of our control and typically occurs outside our daily routines. How we react shapes our ability to cope with these and other similar events in the future. When individuals struggle to cope with stressful situations, depression and anxiety become more noticeable.
According to the World Health Organization, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting more than 40 million adults every year.
The most common anxiety disorders include excessive fear or anxiety of:
- Specific phobias
- Natural environment heights, storms, water
- Blood-injection injury needles, invasive medical procedures
- Locations airplanes, elevators, enclosed places
Its common for those struggling with anxiety disorders to also struggle with depression or vice versa. Close to 10 percent of the worlds population suffers from anxiety and depression. However, while anxiety and depressive disorders are highly treatable, only a small percent of affected individuals receive treatment.
- Genetics
Risk Of Bias In Individual Studies
All included studies were subjected to methodological critical appraisal using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme . These tools contain a series of questions to assess how effectively the participants in each of the studies were selected, the main results of the study, the reliability of these results and whether the results can be used to benefit the local population. CASP was chosen as it is a comprehensive and detailed appraisal tool suitable for assessing the studies included in the review. Different versions of the tool are tailored to different study designs. A score is generated by summing the number of positive responses to each question, with a higher number indicating higher quality. Each article was assessed by three independent reviewers and any differences in score were resolved by discussion with a 4th reviewer . The total CASP score each paper received is included in the data extraction table .
You May Like: Can You Use An Inhaler For Anxiety