Everyone has those times when they don’t feel their best emotionally. Maybe you’re sad, or maybe you’re nervous—those are typical parts of just being human. But when those feelings start to get overwhelming or inhibit you from living your life to the fullest, that may be a sign you’re suffering from mental illness like anxiety or depression.
Without an evaluation from a psychotherapist or psychiatrist, it’s hard to determine which of these clinical conditions you have, especially when the words “depressed” and “anxious” are often used casually to refer to people without a diagnosis.
But there’s a difference between feeling depressed and having clinical depression, just as there’s a difference between feeling anxious and having anxiety. While there is some overlap in symptoms, and patients with one condition statistically have the other condition in more than half of cases, it’s important to distinguish them from one another.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, shared symptoms include nervousness, irritability, and problems concentrating. There’s often a cyclical effect where a person who is depressed can start to worry, triggering their anxiety, and then too much anxiety leads a person to become depressed.
Depression is generally distinguished by feeling sad or hopeless, or by a loss of interest in activities or pursuits a person once enjoyed. People with depression might have trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, or inexplicable physical pain. On the other hand, anxiety causes a person to persistently worry in a way that’s disproportionate to the issue at hand. People with anxiety will often overthink and obsess over situations, causing them to become indecisive, restless, and fearful. They are inclined to dwell on worst-case scenarios and have trouble focusing.
Any of these symptoms is normal when there is an identifiable cause—loss of a loved one might trigger a person to feel depressed, or a major life event like a career change could trigger anxiety. When symptoms are chronic and get in the way of everyday activities, this can be a sign a person is having more than just an emotional day or an emotional week.
It’s important to note that these two conditions, in addition to potentially triggering each other, have the same biological cause—namely low levels of the hormones serotonin and dopamine. When they are diagnosed together, they are considered comorbid conditions and can often be treated simultaneously. Both conditions improve with psychological counseling. Lifestyle changes that can help include better sleep habits, regular exercise, limited alcohol consumption, and better social support.
To learn more about these specific conditions, or to find a therapist who can offer an evaluation, visit the Anxiety and Depression Association of America online at adaa.org.
