According to a study in 2019, around 71.7% of people who experienced anxiety also experienced depression. This means that people can experience mental health conditions that include feelings of both depression and anxiety, making it the deadly duo.

There are two disorders which can cause the feeling of anxiety as well as depression in a person, they are:

  • Anxious Distress (AD)
  • Mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (MADD)

Understanding Anxiety and Depression

Both feelings are interconnected and usually can trigger similar responses in a person. Both disorders will make a person helpless and worthless. Anxiety is usually the feeling of fear and worrying, while depression is the feeling of persistent sadness that doesn’t seem to go away.

Common symptoms for both disorders include

  • feeling tense
  • fearing something awful is going to happen
  • can’t concentrate due to worry
  • feeling restless
  • fearing a loss of control

Common causes for both disorders include

  • genetics
  • brain chemistry
  • stress
  • medical conditions
  • trauma

Difference between Anxiety and Depression

According to research conducted in 2019, despite having similar symptoms, depression and anxiety can affect people’s thinking in different ways. They are discussed in more detail below.

Perception of events

People experiencing anxiety may tend to focus heavily on what may happen to them in the near future. Those experiencing depression may tend to focus on what is currently happening to them or, more commonly, what has happened to them in the past.

Also, people with anxiety disorders have a stronger tendency to perceive the near future as psychologically closer than those who are experiencing depression.

Attention Bias

People who are experiencing anxiety tend to focus on the negative aspects of the situation, problem or thought. They might even ignore the other important aspects of a situation, which means that this can feed their anxiety while providing a one-sided view of their anxiety-inducing situation. On the other hand, depression does not tend to be associated with attention bias.

Memory Bias

A person who is experiencing depression is more likely to primarily focus on negative memories. While anxiety does not appear to be related to negative memory bias.

Cogitation and worry  

The presence of worry is a prominent symptom of anxiety. People with anxiety might worry about many things, such as what their health will be like in the future; would they feel better and several other things. While people with depression might not experience a constant feeling of worry. They simply tend not to believe that their life will get better any time soon, so they don’t focus as much on their future.

If you feel like you’ve been experiencing similar feelings, then it’s important to talk to your doctor today or visit Ziks Health Services as we provide consistent quality care with Outpatient Treatment For Depression And Anxiety that will make you feel better in no time.