Top Differences between Depression and Anxiety

The top Differences between Depression and Anxiety are made simple in this article

Two of the most talked-about themes in mental health are depression and anxiety. To many people, these two seem the same, but in reality, they are not despite the close symptoms exhibited by these two conditions.

In light of the challenges many people apprehend in distinguishing depression from anxiety; this article focuses on shedding more light on the two while also highlighting the differences.

Ready to learn more? Let’s get right into the details!

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety isn’t about worrying oneself temporarily about something as it goes beyond that. Though an integral part of life, an anxiety disorder can only occur when experiencing stress or worry about anything.

When a person is going through anxiety, the intensity can worsen with time, and external factors can trigger this.

From everyday interactions with people from all walks of life, you sometimes experience this disorder.

Symptoms of anxiety 

Here are some of the symptoms you get to exhibit if anxiety sets in:

Excessive Worry 

One of the first things you notice when experiencing anxiety is that you worry too much about so many things at a time.

It could be about your job, health, and family’s health and finance. When you experience this uncontrollable worry about an aspect of your life, then anxiety has kicked in, and if not taken care of as soon as possible, it may break you down totally.

Excessive Tiredness 

When you feel tired almost all the time to the point that there’s no stopping time for this unusual fatigue, then you are already under anxiety. Once you start fidgeting, then know it’s one of the signs of anxiety disorder, and you need to act rather fast.

Restlessness 

Another important symptom to know you are experiencing anxiety is restlessness. Once you get hit with this disorder, the nervous system has no sense of moderation, so you become restless.

Once this happens, a massive release of dangerous hormones such as adrenaline triggers a heightened alertness sensation.

This makes you respond almost immediately to threats, and it’s the same hypervigilance that makes you restless.

Lack of Memory 

You also tend to forget things easily when you are experiencing anxiety. People’s short-term memory to quickly respond to questions and issues is gone.

You begin to struggle remembering conversations due to your inability to process information immediately.

What is depression?

Though similar to anxiety disorder, depression affects one negatively. It makes you feel sad, hopeless and loses interest as well. Unlike anxiety, depression is a more critical issue that lasts longer for weeks and also affects your general functions as a person.

The way people experience depression differs; it follows almost the same rhyme. This affects your daily work significantly and lowers productivity. When you are depressed, it affects many aspects of your life and even your relationships with people around you.

Symptoms of depression 

Here are some of the symptoms of depression you should look out for:

Lack of interest

One of the first things you should watch out for as someone who’s experiencing depression is a lack of interest.

There’s this lack of motivation to initiate conversations with friends or anyone. You just want to be on your own and wallowing in your thoughts.

Fun-fulfilling exercises such as entering the gym, hitting the road, jogging, or going into the woods aren’t things for depressed individuals. They want to sit on that couch and soliloquize. Once you notice this, get help as soon as possible, and depression has already kicked in for you.

Moody 

Another easiest way to know a person is undergoing depression is a lack of enthusiasm. You tend to feel really down due to the thoughts going through the head.

But the sad thing about depression is that this moody state stays for a while compared to the ordinary circumstance in one’s life.

Insomnia and Hypersomnia 

Once you find it hard to sleep at night for consecutive days, then you should worry about depression grabbing you.

This is in tandem with a report that says an individual who finds it daunting to sleep for more than may have fallen into depression.

On the flip side, if you sleep abnormally at the workplace, depression may be the factor behind this act.

Increased or reduced appetite

You also want to take cognizance of the amount of food you eat. if you are someone who appreciates good food, but you notice the reduction in craving for food consecutively, then depression has already begun.

And sometimes, some people eat a lot to mask their true feelings. They consume almost all the available food in the kitchen, and you begin to wonder why? Well, the truth is, depression has set in, which needs to be addressed.

Concluding Thoughts about Differences between Depression and Anxiety

Despite the difference between anxiety disorder and depression, both disorders can come together in some cases. The good news you should know is that both conditions are treatable.

Also, there are symptoms you can use to denote whether you are experiencing depression or an anxiety disorder as stated above.

Depression and anxiety aren’t something to play with, with the symptom; you can always be proactive in visiting a counselor to help deal with the issue

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