Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

Showing symptoms of depression and anxiety? It’s perfectly normal; everyone gets to experience these reactions at certain points in their lives. However, it becomes unhealthy when we let these feelings rule our lives.

What is Depression?

Depression is when a person is in an emotional state of great sadness, feeling of guilt or worthlessness, experiencing lack of sleep, decreased appetite and sexual desire, aversion to his/her usual activities, and withdrawal from other people. Depressed people usually feel sad, empty, anxious, hopeless, guilty, helpless, and irate. Depressed mood can be a result of an infectious disease, physiological problems or a bad experience from the past.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the most common type of emotion. Every now and then, especially in times of difficulties, we all can feel anxious. There are many different forms of anxiety, they are:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder is when a person feels anxious for no particular reason, or termed as excessive anxiety.

• Separation Anxiety Disorder is the fear of losing or being separated from a loved one.

• Specific Phobia is a fear towards specific situations or objects like spiders, clowns and dark places.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is when a person shows severe anxiety after certain traumatic events.

• Social Phobia is the fear of interacting with other people due to the possibility of being embarrassed or humiliated.

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is when a person has created obsessive thoughts that are at times accompanied with compulsive behavior. An example is washing hands 50 or more times a day.

• Panic Attack happens when a person suddenly shows outbursts of intense emotions, fearfulness and apprehension.

Depression and Anxiety

Most of the time, anxiety precedes depression. These two disorders co-exist and carry serious repercussions and may substantially increase suicidal thoughts and attempts. Panic attack, social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder are forms of anxiety that are directly associated with depression. Individuals who are at high risk of developing these two disorders are those whose families have histories of depression and anxiety.

Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

• Lack of energy. A person who’s both depressed and anxious will normally feel tired or less energized. This symptom greatly affects motivation – when you are less energetic, the less motivated you’ll become.

• Trembling hands. When a person is anxious and feels fearful, he/she will experience uncontrollable physical reactions like trembling hands.

• Exhaustion. When a person feels mentally and physically exhausted, even a good rest cannot help. A simple ordinary daily task becomes too difficult to handle.

• Excessive worry. When a person worries too much about even the smallest events, they tend to become very negative about everything, which in time can be a threat to the body and mind as well.

• Disturbed/Abnormal sleeping patterns. Because of deep depression and anxiety a person tends to oversleep or has lack of sleep. They may also suffer nightmares and distress which may go away when anxiety and depression are controlled.

• Irritability. They typically have short fuses that even small things can make them lose their temper, which may at times result to aggressive and nasty behavior.

• Panic. This arises from catastrophic events like relationship issues, speaking in public and problematic work situation.

• Isolation. A depressed person may at times isolate themselves. These people choose to be alone than feel uncomfortable or awkward around other people.

• Headaches. A physical symptom associated with anxiety and depression which might lead to migraine.

• Loss of appetite. This is a common symptom for anxiety and depression.

When a person shows symptoms of depression and anxiety, he/she should talk to psychologist to address his/her issues. These symptoms should not be taken for granted to prevent grave consequences.