Mental health is quite complex, and it is very common for one disorder to be confused with one or several others disorders. Despite experts having established specific diagnoses for various mental disorders, many of them overlap, a fact that makes it quite difficult for different mental disorders to be diagnosed. Depression and anxiety are among the many mental disorders that are often confused. Most of the time, these two disorders occur together. Depression is usually viewed as a low-energy state while anxiety is perceived as a high energy state (Pratico, 2014). However, the two disorders are closely related to each other, with people suffering from depression often experiencing anxiety too.
One of the similarities between anxiety and depression is that both the disorders result in changes in the function of the neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitter chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine have been found to play a role in both anxiety and depression. The shared neurotransmitter functions imply that the two disorders share some symptoms, and each can contribute to the development of the other. More often, it is anxiety which eventually leads to depression. This usually comes about as a result of poor coping in combination with intense anxiety symptoms. The two result in a feeling of hopelessness which over-time develops depressive symptoms. Another similarity between depression and anxiety is that they can feel natural due to the involvement of neurotransmitters. As such, people can suffer from the two disorders for a long time without knowing that they do so. There are also similarities regarding the factors that result in depression and anxiety. Both the disorders can be traced to "triple vulnerabilities" that include a combination of psychological, biological and other specific vulnerabilities. It is also worth noting that both depression and anxiety are treatable. Similar treatment regimens are often used, with behavioral therapy and administration of anti-depressant medication being the most common therapies (Pratico, 2014).
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Despite having similar traits, anxiety and depression are not the same. Depression is usually accompanied by emotions such as hopelessness, anger, and despair. People suffering from depression often exhibit low energy levels, a fact that makes it quite difficult for them to engage in the day to day physical activities. Additionally, they find it very hard to maintain personal relationships (Pratico, 2014). On the other hand, individuals with anxiety disorder often experience panic or fear in circumstances where many other people would not feel threatened. People suffering from an anxiety disorder may often experience sudden panic even in the absence of a specific trigger (Pratico, 2014). Most of the time, individuals with anxiety disorder live with constant anxiousness, something that may inhibit their ability to work as well as establish and maintain significant relationships. Compared to anxiety, depression has fewer physical symptoms, meaning that a person can hide the fact that they are depressed. However, the mental symptoms of depression can be quite dangerous and often includes suicidal thoughts. The lack of energy among depressed individuals is more pronounced, a fact that makes it difficult for them to go about their daily activities.
As mentioned earlier, depression and anxiety often occur together. This normally poses a significant challenge to the patients and clinicians trying to treat the condition. It has been observed that when depression and anxiety occur together, the symptoms of both the disorders become more severe relative to when each disorder happens independently (Pratico, 2014). It is also reported that the suicide rate for depression triggered by anxiety is significantly higher than the suicide rate that can be traced to depression alone ( Pratico, 2014). This clearly shows what a deadly combination depression and anxiety are. As such, proper diagnosis and management of the disorders is of great significance.
As a clinician working in a mental health setting, I will able to diagnose generalized anxiety disorder if a patient presents with excessive worry about the normal day-to-day situations. The worry exhibited by a patient with a general anxiety disorder will also be intrusive and will often result in functional impairment or distress. Presence of physical symptoms such as restlessness, sleep disturbance, muscle tension, chronic headaches and gastrointestinal symptoms would further help confirm the diagnosis. The diagnosis will be a depressive disorder if the patient exhibits feelings of hopelessness and despair, is irritable, persistently sad and has feelings of guilt. Additionally, physical symptoms such as fatigue, restlessness, significant difficulties in concentrating, loss of appetite and difficulties sleeping will help confirm the diagnosis.
The following are some questions that I might ask to establish whether a patient is suffering from depression:
Over the past 14 days, have you felt hopeless, down or depressed?
How is your sleep?
Do you feel strong or weak?
Do you find it preferable to stay indoors as opposed to going out and engaging in outdoor activities?
Have you had any suicidal thought?
For anxiety disorder, these are some questions that I might ask:
Over the past two months, have persistently been worried by several events or activities in your day to day life?
Are you troubled by the unreasonable worry and your inability to control it?
Has there been any changes in your eating and sleeping patterns?
Reference
Pratico, J, M. (2014) Abnormal psychology . Noba
