What Is Depression?
Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness. Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment. But the majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. Medications, psychotherapies, and other methods can effectively treat people with depression.
Causes of Depression
Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. Depressive illnesses are disorders of the brain. Longstanding theories about depression suggest that important neurotransmitters—chemicals that brain cells use to communicate—are out of balance in depression. But it has been difficult to prove this. Brain-imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have shown that the brains of people who have depression look different than those of people without depression. The parts of the brain involved in mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior appear different. But these images do not reveal why the depression has occurred. They also cannot be used to diagnose depression. Some types of depression tend to run in families. However, depression can occur in people without family histories of depression too.9 Scientists are studying certain genes that may make some people more prone to depression. Some genetics research indicates that risk for depression results from the influence of several genes acting together with environmental or other factors.10 In addition, trauma, loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship, or any stressful situation may trigger a depressive episode. Other depressive episodes may occur with or without an obvious trigger. Research indicates that depressive illnesses are disorders of the brain.
Diagnosis & Treatment of Depression
The first step to getting appropriate treatment is to visit a doctor or mental health specialist. Certain medications, and some medical conditions such as viruses or a thyroid disorder, can cause the same symptoms as depression. A doctor can rule out these possibilities by doing a physical exam, interview, and lab tests. If the doctor can find no medical condition that may be causing the depression, the next step is a psychological evaluation. The doctor may refer you to a mental health professional, who should discuss with you any family history of depression or other mental disorder, and get a complete history of your symptoms. You should discuss when your symptoms started, how long they have lasted, how severe they are, and whether they have occurred before and if so, how they were treated. The mental health professional may also ask if you are using alcohol or drugs, and if you are thinking about death or suicide. Once diagnosed, a person with depression can be treated in several ways. The most common treatments are medication and psychotherapy.
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What Is Anxiety?
It’s normal to feel anxious sometimes. It’s how we respond to feeling threatened, under pressure or stressed: for example, if we have an exam, job interview or doctor’s appointment. Anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us on, help us stay alert, make us aware of risks and motivate us to solve problems. However, anxiety can be a problem if it affects your ability to live your life. If your anxiety is ongoing, intense, hard to control or out of proportion to your situation, it can be a sign of a mental health problem. Help is available no matter how long you’ve felt anxious or severe your symptoms. There are many different types of treatment; we can discuss the available options.
Anxiety can affect both your body and mind.
The effect on your mind can include:
a feeling of dread or fearing the worst
feeling on edge or panicky
difficulty concentrating
irritability
feeling detached from yourself or the world around you
Physical feelings can include:
restlessness
feeling dizzy or light-headed
wobbly legs or pins and needles in your hands and feet
shortness of breath or hyperventilating
heart palpitations (a noticeably strong, fast heartbeat)
nausea (feeling sick)
needing the toilet more or less often
sweating
sleep problems
panic attacks
Anxiety can also affect your behavior. You may withdraw from friends and family, feel unable to go to work, or avoid certain places. While avoiding situations can give you short-term relief, the anxiety often returns the next time you’re in the situation. Avoiding reinforces the feeling of danger.
Some people with anxiety may appear to be fine on the outside while still having some of the symptoms listed above. You may have developed ways of hiding your anxiety so that other people don’t notice it.
Causes of Anxiety
Many different factors can make anxiety disorders more likely to happen. These include genetics, painful long-term health conditions, traumatic events such as childhood abuse or domestic violence, or drug or alcohol misuse. Your current life situation can also trigger anxiety – for example, money or housing problems, unemployment, work stress, loneliness, bullying, or difficult family or personal relationships.
