Mental health, a most common yet less talked about issue. When we see this word “mental health” the two most common problems that hit our mind is Anxiety and Depression. People battle between Anxiety and Depression due to lack of clarity and knowledge of these terms. Throughout the world, a major portion of adults and young adults are suffering either with depression or anxiety. But what we all don’t know is that these two may come under the same head i.e. mental health, yet they are very different from each other.
Determining if someone has anxiety or depression can be very difficult. The two do have a lot in common but there are certain differences. The major problem that occurs while deciding what you are going through is the interchanging of symptoms that you feel. There are distinctive attributes for each, and understanding the differences is essential to understanding the category of disorder.
Have you ever wondered what if you are suffering from anxiety and not depression or vice versa?? To understand which side you belong to, you need to know about the two sides. Anxiety and depression are basically different classes of mental health disorders.
If we speak in a simple manner, Depression is basically a mood disorder while anxiety is its own class of conditions.
Anxiety disorders are categorised as
- generalised anxiety
- social anxiety
- specific phobia
Wherein depression is categorised as
- major depressive disorder
- seasonal depression
- bipolar disorder.
If we look into the definition of both the terms, we will get to see the difference quite clearly. On one hand “Depression” is a mood disorder characterised by hopelessness and overwhelming sadness. So, when you feel that you can’t move out of your bed, or you can’t feel happy, for no reason at all, and if this feeling is constant for a long period, you are in depression.
Whereas, on the other hand, “Anxiety” is an overwhelming worry or stress related to the identification of certain unavoidable adverse events or outcomes. In short, consciously thinking about some apparent outcome which you also know is anyway going to be negative is anxiety.
The symptoms like fatigue, restlessness, sweating, inability to concentrate, nausea, insomnia, panic attacks, isolation, irritability, anger issues, change in appetite, etc. are signs of anxiety.
Though signs of anxiety are seen in depression patients but symptoms like excessive worrying or fear, are not directly associated with depression. With this, suicidal thoughts are more often seen in depression than in anxiety.
If you feel you are suffering from either of the two, talk. Talk to people you confide in, talk to a professional, seek medication, but don’t panic and don’t lose hope. Medical science is much developed now more than ever. Take informed and diagnosed treatments and don’t just self check or friend-family check on yourself. You are one in a billion, and are important to this universe.
Stay Happy, Stay Healthy.
Also read: Stress Management: 10 Ways to Prevent & Relieve Stress
