Plenty of individuals deal with depression or anxiety. Some people are diagnosed with both. Someone with one can easily have the other as well, which can be a combination that’s challenging to deal with every day.
Depression and anxiety don’t have to dictate how you live your life. You can combat either one or both of them. You may feel that you’re dealing with anxiety or depression, though, and you’re not sure which one you have.
Let’s talk about the most likely signs that you’re living with each of these conditions.
Anxiety
Though someone can have both depression and anxiety, they’re quite distinct conditions, and there are different signs that you have each one.
If you have anxiety, that usually means you’re in a highly nervous state most of the time. You may be worried about specific things or more general ones. If you have anxiety, though, there are probably very few moments where you don’t feel that you’re in danger or that something terrible might happen.
Feelings of worry or dread invade your mind most or all of the time if you have anxiety. If that sounds like what you regularly experience, it’s definitely possible that you have this condition.
Depression
Depression usually manifests itself with individuals having extremely low periods where they have a tough time doing the things that are expected of them. If you have it, you may feel that life is pointless or hopeless.
You might not take joy in anything. You may be unable to force yourself to get up each day, dress yourself, and engage with the world.
You’ll Need to Get a Doctor or Therapist’s Diagnosis
When you look at the symptoms that go with these two conditions, you can see they are not very much alike. However, a person can have both of them.
Bouts of anxiety and depression can grapple for supremacy in an individual who is dealing with both. They might have times when they feel anxious and times when they feel down.
The ennui they deal with every day might make them miserable, but they may also worry about what could happen to them if they leave the house. That’s why many individuals who experience both depression and anxiety symptoms are hardly able to function in society.
What’s important to remember is that even if you feel you have either depression or anxiety, you should not self-diagnose. If you do, you have no way of knowing for sure whether you’re right about your guess regarding what is happening to you.
You also can’t get treatment if you don’t see a doctor or therapist who can give you their professional opinion. That means you can’t get the therapy or medication you need. Without those things, the chances that you will get away from your feelings of angst are very low.
Depression and anxiety can be uphill battles. Combating them often requires enlisting professional help, so that should be your aim if you believe you have one of these conditions.
