It may be difficult to differentiate between anxiety and depression — because symptoms may be widespread and non-specific - and often can occur together, making your life a misery. You may even think that there is no light at the end of the tunnel because all you see if muddled: your brain is foggy and your thoughts may probably make no sense, or perhaps you are so consumed with ruminating over the same thoughts over and over again that you can’t sleep and unable to hit the ‘reset’ button.

May be the triggers (the problems) you’re experiencing are relentlessly battering your down, and getting back up feels simply impossible. So you think… And so, you wait for better days, all the while you retreat from the world around you and self-isolate yourself, facing all your fears and ‘demons’ alone.

You don’t sleep. You probably don’t eat well. You probably don’t spend any time outdoors or surrounded by nature. You probably spend hours watching the news and on social media sites.

You start living in an artificial world where all you see is darkness and pain, and the stress you are impacting on your body with the simple power of your thoughts.

Do the thoughts need to be real?

Do your problems and views of the world around you need to be accurate?

No…

It’s all a fabrication of your mind. The way you react to events is the interpretation your mind follows, and so looking at problems through a different (non-biased) set of lenses can change almost immediately. This is why people who see the glass half full may have greater resilience than people who see the glass half empty (or even empty!)

What is anxiety?

Categorised as anticipatory stress (a defence mechanism meant to protect you — your body's reaction to stressful, dangerous, or unfamiliar situations), anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry (e.g., money or relationship problems), or fear (e.g., danger, exams/interviews, public speaking, losing your home or relationship problems where you feel you life is in danger), or a mix of both (e.g., ruminating over past things that you feel are holding you back). Symptoms may be mild or severe depending on how disproportionate your reaction. Common symptoms of anxiety:

• Increased heart rate and breathing rate (you may also experience palpitations)

• Sweating

• Trembling

• Feeling powerless

• Feeling apprehensive

• Having a sense of impending doom (or panic)

• Feeling constantly tired or weak

High levels of anxiety can impact your daily life, your relationships, and even decision making (remember, everything is ‘foggy’), and/or your quality of life. On the long term, you may develop an anxiety disorder, such as:

• Phobias

• Agoraphobia (fear of leaving your home or social gatherings)

• Social anxiety disorder

• Separation anxiety disorder

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

• Substance-induced anxiety disorder

Conventional treatment of anxiety

Anxiety is usually treated with SSRIs (serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. It is thought that anxiety can result from lower concentrations of serotonin and so the drugs allow for the effect of serotonin to be felt for longer) and similar drugs called antidepressants. You may also be referred to therapists (CBT, talking therapies and/or psychological counselling). Ultimately, the method will depend on your preferences and the cause of the anxiety.

Extremely anxious people often seek other routes to drown the symptoms, especially if they have been feeling this way for a long time. Substance abuses is thus very common. It could be painkillers, recreational drugs or alcohol.

You may feel like you’re crumbling down, and your anxiety becomes life-altering and so can also lead to depression. Your problems are not going away and you’re making yourself sick as a result. You probably don’t eat (or overeat), don’t sleep (or spend your days in bed), don’t spend any time outside, and feel in pain (due to not moving and not eating a nutrient-dense diet to supply the least essential nutrients your body and brain rely on to function at the very minimum). And so, you take more and more painkillers and all you see is darkness. Subsequently, you may become depressed (and so your body).

What is depression?

Depression is known as a mental disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in life or things once enjoyed, and can interfere with your daily functioning. You may also feel constantly tired (feeling lethargic, as if you were a zombie in the movie of your life), have difficulty sleeping (falling asleep and staying asleep), and experience brain fog (poor memory and concentration), and experience more symptoms depending on your experience (and interpretation of that experience).

Depression is more than feeling sad for a few days. Clinical depression will linger for weeks or months. It could be a low-grade clinical depression or it could be intense, deep depression.  Persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia) is a depressed mood that lasts for years (over 2 years).

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

• Feeling constantly anxious, sad or in danger

• Feeling lethargic, constantly tired and lacking energy

• Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or helplessness

• Feelings of pessimism or hopelessness.

• Loss of interest in hobbies or activities that were once pleasurable (including intimacy and sex).

• Lower cognitive capacity (poor memory and concentration, and problems with decision making — fuelled by brain remodeling (e.g., hypertrophy of the amygdala (the fear centre of the brain based on past experiences) and hypotrophy of the prefrontal complex (the reasoning — and social — centre of the brain). You may forget the little things like where you left your phone or your keys, or unable to remember the name of the person you’re speaking to or what you were just talking about).

• Excessive sleeping, insomnia, or early-morning wakefulness. You may also wake up in the night and unable to go back to sleep.

• Restlessness or irritability (sometimes, defensive/aggressive behaviours)

• Suicide ideation or suicide attempts

• not eating or overeating

• physical symptoms, like headaches, aches or pains, cramps, and a wide array of digestive problems.

When anxiety and depression occur together, the above problems can become recurrent or chronic and lead to substantial impairment in your ability to take care of yourself and you may also struggle to complete chores or avoid everyday responsibilities (e.g., paying bills, return important calls/emails, or stop caring for those under your care like a child or an elderly person).

When depression is at its worst, it could lead to suicide. Suicide ideation may also be fuelled by substance abuse and ‘remove’ the conscious you that would otherwise be strong enough to find another way.

The different forms of depression include:

• Major depression

• Persistent depressive disorder

• Psychotic depression

• Postpartum depression

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

• Bipolar disorder

Conventional treatment of Depression

Talking therapy and referrals are the preferred routes, yet, if your symptoms are life-altering, then your generalist may prescribe medicines to help you ‘feel better’.

Many people have felt let down by the medical system and have explored new routes to improve the quality of life (while some others may be on medications for a decade, two, or even their entire life).

Alternative treatments that can help alleviate or minimise symptoms

• Nutrition (to improve diet and take part in feel-good activities). A nutritionist or naturopath may help restore balance in your body and brain activity with a bespoke plan to help you return to your own self.

• Joining an association or support groups, or groups of people for activities

• Acupuncture,

• Mindfulness,

• Mindful breathing (breathwork),

• Tapping (EFT),

• Journalling,

• Massages,

• Qi gong and/or yoga,

• and more

The most successful exercise would be the one you feel resonate the most with you. Do not beat yourself up if meditation is not for you. Try something else.

Mindful eating is also a prerequisite. You need to shift from an anxious/hyper-active state to a more relaxed state. A state required by the body to break down and assimilate the nutrients from the food you eat.

When eating when stressed, you may not produce saliva and stomach acid (the energy is diverted to keep you in a state of ‘fight-or-flight’ and not a ‘rest-digest-and-heal’ state). You may also struggle to supply enough digestive enzymes and your liver may also be under tremendous amount of stress and may not provide enough bile, a natural laxative, required to breakdown and assimilate fat and fat-soluble vitamins.

Eating when stressed, anxious and/or depressed will inevitably lead to malnutrition (nutrient deficiencies), gut problems (bloating, pain, IBS/IBD, constipation and/or diarrhoea), skin problems and sleep problems (due to gut dysbiosis and the brain missing out on nutrients to produce feel-good neurotransmitters)

Want to know more?

Are you struggling to see the light, medicated and feeling like a zombie, not living your own life, or caring for someone anxious and/or depressed, then follow us on social medias and sign for our newsletter to keep updated with our course on Mental Health Awareness.

By doing the course, you will be better equipped to understand mental health disorders like stress, anxiety and depression, and major mental disorders, and those you may be caring for.

The next course is set to start in November 2022.