How Anxiety Affects Depression

How Anxiety Affects Depression

Depression and anxiety are the two most common mental health disorders in the United States, affecting nearly 50 million people combined. These disorders can significantly impact a person’s wellbeing, and their ability to function in their daily lives. However, depression and anxiety are highly treatable in most people, and there are a number of effective treatments on the market.

What is Depression?

Depression and anxiety are related disorders, although they are very different in nature. Depression is generally characterized by sadness, feelings of isolation, or negative thoughts. However, it’s much different than the sadness associated with grief or loss. Depressive feelings can stem from past traumas, abuse, or difficult experiences. Some of the common symptoms of depression include:

  • Sadness
  • Loneliness
  • Isolation
  • Loss of interest in certain activities
  • Loss of energy
  • Oversleeping or undersleeping
  • Feeling worthless
  • Suicidal thoughts

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a fear of the future or uncontrollable situations. While it’s normal to feel anxious about a job interview or a first date, people who suffer from an anxiety disorder have fears that interfere with their daily lives. Unlike depression, there are several different types of anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, social anxiety, phobias, PTSD and OCD. The symptoms of anxiety disorders are:

  • Nervousness
  • Restlessness
  • Irritability
  • Rapid breathing and heart rate
  • Sweating
  • Feelings of panic
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Insomnia

Some people who suffer from anxiety also experience anxiety attacks, which are moments of overwhelming fear or worry. Anxiety attacks are more common around stressful events or situations and tend to build up slowly over time.

Research Behind Depression and Anxiety

Depression and anxiety are extremely common mental health disorders. In the United States alone, over 16 million adults get diagnosed with depression every year. It’s the leading cause of disability among Americans between the ages of 15-44, and the median age at onset is around 32 years old.

Anxiety also has staggering statistics. Generalized anxiety disorder is the most prevalent mental illness in the United States, affecting roughly 40 million adults each year. About 6 million adults suffer from panic disorder, 15 million adults have a social anxiety disorder, and 19 million adults deal with specific phobias.  

Everyone is susceptible to depression and anxiety, regardless of age, gender, economic status, and education level. However, research has shown that women are more likely to get diagnosed with both depression and anxiety. Additionally, some studies suggest that people of color have a greater likelihood of developing a mental health disorder than other races.

Although mental health disorders mainly affect adults, children and adolescents are also at risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 American children between the ages of 2-8 years old have been diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder.

Depression and Anxiety Can be Co-occurring

Depression and anxiety are often co-occurring disorders, meaning that someone with anxiety can also suffer from depression, and vice versa. In fact, almost 50 percent of people who get diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. 

Many mental health professionals believe that anxiety can be a symptom of moderate to severe depression. When you’re feeling tired, lonely, or sad, the thought of leaving your house or engaging with other people can make you feel anxious. Conversely, it’s also common to have depression that is triggered by anxiety. If you suffer from OCD, for example, you might be embarrassed about your condition, which makes you feel depressed and isolated.

Research also shows that having co-occurring depression and anxiety is common in children. About 3 in 4 children with depression between the ages of 3-17 also have anxiety. For children aged 3-17 with anxiety, about 1 in 3 also suffer from depression. 

Treatment for Anxiety and Depression

Despite the high rate of depression and anxiety in the United States, both disorders are highly treatable, even when they are co-occurring. Using a combination of therapies, a majority of people who suffer from these disorders make a full recovery. 

For moderate to severe cases of depression and anxiety, a therapist will usually prescribe medication to help the person manage their symptoms. Some of the common medications that are used to control symptoms of depression and anxiety include:

  • Celexa
  • Lexapro
  • Prozac
  • Paxil
  • Zoloft

While medication is effective at treating symptoms, it doesn’t address the underlying reasons why the person developed depression or anxiety in the first place. To bridge the gap, talk therapy is also an important treatment for depression and anxiety. Working with a therapist allows the person to explore past traumas, experiences or beliefs that may have triggered their condition.

The key to successfully treating depression and anxiety is early intervention. Unfortunately, only about 42 percent of people who have a mental health disorder get treatment. The longer a mental disorder goes untreated, the more difficult the recovery process is. Untreated mental health conditions also increase the likelihood that someone will self-medicate with drugs or alcohol, and develop a substance abuse disorder.

TMS Therapy for Depression

For people whose depression has not responded well to talk therapy or medication, there are also alternative therapies that may be effective. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a new, FDA-approved treatment for depression specifically. It involves using electromagnetic waves to stimulate areas of the brain that are dormant in people with depression. 

During a series of 18-minute sessions, a coil is placed across the person’s forehead, and small electromagnetic pulses get transmitted through the skull. By reactivating dormant areas of the brain, many people report having fewer depressive symptoms, getting better sleep and having better concentration. After six weeks of treatment, many people say that the majority of their depressive symptoms have vanished.

If you’re interested in learning more about TMS for depression, contact our psychiatrist for a free consultation. You can also learn more about common conditions that are associated with depression.