Does Everyone Have Depression And Anxiety

Could Your Anger Be A Sign Of Depression

The most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders doesnt list anger among the nine main symptoms of depression.

That said, the manual does emphasize that many people living with major depressive disorder notice lingering feelings of anger, irritability, and frustration.

Anger can manifest with depression in a number of ways.

What The Research Shows

Doctors see signs that anxiety and depression are partly hereditary from studies of twins. Identical twins have the same set of genes, while fraternal twins share only half of their genes. Theyâre more likely to both have anxiety or depression, compared to fraternal twins. This suggests that these conditions may be linked to certain genes, which makes them hereditary.

But no single gene has been found that causes depression or anxiety. So itâs hard to explain how either of these conditions are passed down through genes. Combinations of different genes from your parents may affect whether youâre likely to get anxiety or depression. But doctors donât know which exact groups of genes cause these conditions.

Keep in mind that most medical conditions arenât only driven by genetics. Your environment, lifestyle, and personal experiences are also important. Families often share those things, which can make it hard to tell what role genetics play. There may be some mix of genetic risk and other things in a personâs daily life.

Test Your Treatment Options

Finding what works for you may be like ordering jeans with no stretch online. Before you can find what fits, you may have to try a few that just dont work for you.

Possible depression treatment options include:

• Talk therapy. Not an instant fix but studies do show that most people need 5 to 10 sessions before seeing results.
• Medication. This can be a hammer in your depression toolbox. Some use depression medications only for a short period of time while others engage in more long-term use.
• Alternative treatments. These can be sought out by those who prefer a more homeopathic approach. Consult your medical doctor before trying any of these methods to avoid any possible dangerous side effects.
• Lifestyle changes. They may not be enough to treat depression on their own but certainly eating mindfully, exercising, getting more restful sleep, and avoiding substances may help.

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Statistics Related To Mental Health Disorders

The following are the latest statistics available from the National Institute of Mental Health Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health:

• Mental health disorders account for several of the top causes of disability in established market economies, such as the U.S., worldwide, and include: major depression , manic depression , schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about 1 in 4 adults — suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

• Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. In particular, depressive illnesses tend to co-occur with substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

• Approximately 9.5% of American adults ages 18 and over, will suffer from a depressive illness each year.

• Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression than men. However, men and women are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder.
• While major depression can develop at any age, the average age at onset is the mid-20s.
• With bipolar disorder, which affects approximately 2.6% of Americans age 18 and older in a given year — the average age at onset for a first manic episode is during the early 20s.

Identify Symptoms And Your Triggers

Paying attention to how long your symptoms persist and how they affect your daily life is step one. From there, work backward to see if there are any common factors that trigger your symptoms.

This along with other conditions and medications you take will be helpful information to provide to your doctor or therapist.

If left untreated, depression can complicate other conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and cancer. Your body can also have a physical reaction to this mental condition, which is also important to pay attention to.

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When Symptoms And Stages Of Depression Collide

Stages is a bit of a misnomer as theres no set checklist to how depression shows up or makes you feel. Not everyone cries for 2 weeks straight or experiences hopelessness every day. In fact, some people with depression dont fully comprehend their symptoms until after they feel better.

Real talk: Theres no shame in going through stages without knowing it, but you cant practice self-compassion if you dont know youre in it! However, like the stages of grief, depression can be nonlinear too.

While these are nine common stages of depression, remember these arent in any particular order:

Who Is Most Affected By Mental Health Problems

Anyone can get a mental health problem. But we know that some groups are more likely to get them than others.

These include:

• People who identify as LGBTIQ+. are between 23 times more likely than heterosexual people to report having a mental health problem in England .
• Black or Black British people. 23% of Black or Black British people will experience a common mental health problem in any given week. This compares to 17% of White British people .
• Young women aged 16-24. Over a quarter of young women aged between 1624 years old report having a common mental health problem in any given week. This compares to 17% of adults. And this number has been going up .
• Around 40% of people in England who have overlapping problems including homelessness, substance misuse and contact with the criminal justice system in any given year also have a mental health problem .

It’s important to know that your identity does not give you mental health problems. can be very complicated. Higher risk for these groups is linked to several factors , including:

• facing social inequality and disadvantage
• facing discrimination and social exclusion

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A History Of Trauma Neglect Or Abuse

Abuse, neglect, or rejection in childhood can increase your chances of developing depression and contribute to feelings of unresolved anger.

If you couldnt react or express anger in childhood, you might continue to suppress it later in life, even when it happens as a natural response to humiliation or unjust circumstances. Suppressed anger, again, tends to leak out usually as persistent irritability or verbal and physical outbursts.

Plus, internalized feelings of helplessness and worthlessness, which can stem from childhood abuse or any traumatic experience, can lead you to redirect anger toward yourself. These feelings can fuel shame, harsh self-criticism, and self-punishment all of which often happen with depression.

The Most Common Depressive Disorders Include:

• Major depressive disorder This is a depressed mood that lasts for a two-week period. This could occur as a single or recurrent episode.
• Persistent depressive disorder This is a depressed mood that occurs almost every day for at least two years

It’s common for those struggling with anxiety disorders to also struggle with depression or vice versa. Close to 10% of the world’s population suffers from anxiety and depression. However, while anxiety and depressive disorders are highly treatable, only a small percentage of affected people receive treatment.

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The Most Common Anxiety Disorders Include:

• Specific phobias Phobias could be related to animals, like spiders, cats or dogs the natural environment, such as heights, storms or being in water blood injection injury, which is a fear of needles or invasive medical procedures or locations, like airplanes, elevators or enclosed places.
• Social anxiety disorder
• This is an abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort.

If Suicidal Thoughts Are Surfacing

Please seek help we cant stress this enough. The following resources exist to support you through this hard time:

• Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
• Ask someone to stay with you until help arrives.
• Remove any weapons or substances that may cause harm.

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Seek Support For Symptoms Of Depression

Depression is often not recognised and can go on for months or even years if left untreated. Its important to seek support as early as possible, as the sooner a person gets treatment, the sooner they can recover.

Untreated depression can have many negative effects on a persons life, including serious relationship and family problems, difficulty finding and holding down a job, and drug and alcohol problems.

There is no one proven way that people recover from depression. However, there is a range of effective treatments and health professionals who can help people on the road to recovery.

There are also many things that people with depression can do for themselves to help them recover and stay well. The important thing is to find the right treatment and the right health professional for a persons needs.

How Do You Know If You Have Both

Think about how you feel after social interactions. Do you feel good about yourself or bad about yourself?

Keep in mind that everyone deals with awkward social interactions from time to time. How you handle and cope with these interactions can determine whether youre dealing with mental health challenges.

A person who doesnt have social anxiety can usually brush off an awkward social moment and move on.

For someone living with social anxiety, however, the fear of embarrassment and genuine anxiety may feel too intense to even deal with a social situation. If you do find yourself in a social setting, you may feel like youre being watched and judged the whole time.

If you suspect youre dealing with symptoms of social anxiety, depression, or both, try to talk with a doctor or mental health expert. They can help you understand your symptoms and point you toward the best type of treatment.

Treatments are available to improve social anxiety and depression. If youre diagnosed with both, your doctor may choose a therapy that works for both conditions.

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How Are They Different

The main difference between depression and anxiety is the symptoms. Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness. You also have no energy and you lose interest in activities you once loved. Some people with depression think about hurting themselves.

Anxiety involves fear or worry that you can’t control. Depending on the type of anxiety you have, the worry can surface during everyday activities like meeting new people.

Why Do Some People Never Get Depressed

Confronted with some of life’s upsetting experiences – marriage breakdown, unemployment, bereavement, failure of any kind – many people become depressed. But others don’t. Why is this?

A person who goes through experiences like that and does not get depressed has a measure of what in the psychiatric trade is known as “resilience”.

According to Manchester University psychologist Dr Rebecca Elliott, we are all situated somewhere on a sliding scale.

“At one end you have people who are very vulnerable. In the face of quite low stress, or none at all, they’ll develop a mental health problem,” she says.

“At the other end, you have people who life has dealt a quite appalling hand with all sorts of stressful experiences, and yet they remain positive and optimistic.” Most of us, she thinks, are somewhere in the middle.

But what is this resilience? Is it something we inherit or do we learn it? Can it be traced in the chemistry of the brain? Or in its wiring, or its electrical activity? And if we lack it, can we acquire it?

The answer, regrettably, to all those questions is much the same. We don’t really know. But we’d like to, and we need to. According to the World Health Organization, depression affects just over 120 million people worldwide.

The subjects of their study are a mixed bunch – intentionally so. Some have suffered bouts of depression, others have not. Some have had more than their share of adverse life events, while others have had an easier time of it.

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What Is It Like To Have High

People living with high-functioning anxiety and depression usually do not fit the stereotype of either disorder. In fact, many appear to be overachievers. The anxiety can serve as an energizer, driving the person towards achieving his or her goals. Its later, when in private, that the symptoms of depression tend to emerge. Feelings of self-doubt and self-criticism, fatigue, helplessness or guilt, moodiness, and a desire to avoid interaction with others become intensified. Because the stereotypical image of depression or anxiety doesnt match up with what people living with high-functioning anxiety and depression look like, it is hard to spot, even for sufferers to recognize in themselves. However, the symptoms of high-functioning anxiety and depression are the same as for non-high functioning anxiety and depression. The main difference is the ability to suppress or diminish the appearance of disruptions in life activities.

What Are The Different Types Of Depression

You might have heard a number of terms used to describe depression. In this section, we explain what some of these terms mean.

What is clinical depression?

Clinical depression is a common term, but it is not a formal diagnosis. People sometimes say clinical diagnosis to just mean they have been diagnosed by a doctor.

What is a depressive episode?

Your doctor might say that you are going through a ‘depressive episode’. This is the formal name that doctors give depression when they make a diagnosis. They may say that you are going through a ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ episode.

What is recurrent depressive disorder?

If you have had repeated episodes of depression, your doctor might say that you have recurrent depressive disorder. They may say that your current episode is ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’.

What is reactive depression?

If your doctor thinks that your episode of depression was caused by particular stressful events in your life, they may say that it is reactive. For example, divorce, job or money worries. This is sometimes separated from an adjustment disorder, where you may struggle with some symptoms of depression because of adapting to a major change in your life. Such as separation from people, retirement or migrating to a new area.

What is a severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms?

You can find more information about Psychosis by clicking here.

What is dysthymia?

What is cyclothymia?

What is postnatal depression?

What is manic depression?

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Empaths And Social Anxiety

The same 2018 study found support for a negative correlation between social anxiety and cognitive empathy. Participants with lower cognitive empathy were more likely to have higher levels of social anxiety.

Those with high affective empathy and low cognitive empathy, on the other hand, seemed to experience more severe social anxiety.

Remember, high affective empathy typically means you experience emotions along with others. But with low cognitive empathy, you have a harder time understanding what people feel, so you might struggle to make sense of what those emotions actually mean.

This can easily become confusing and overwhelming, especially when it comes to unpleasant emotions.

Lower cognitive empathy can make it difficult for you to navigate social situations and get along with your peers. If social interaction is often a challenge for you, its possible that youll start feeling pretty nervous about it. It might seem easier to stick with the few people who you understand, and the idea of talking to anyone else might increase your anxiety.

Why Is Anxiety So Common In America What Changed

Unfortunately, no one seems to have an exact answer as to why anxiety is so common, but many attribute this presumed increase in anxiety disorders to factors such as social media, poor sleep habits, lowered stigma, and underreporting in the past. In particular, the United States has one of the highest rates of anxiety at 6.64% compared to most other countries that fall below this level.2

It should come as no surprise that many mental health consultants blame the rise of the internet, and social media especially, for anxiety in teens and twenty-somethings. It is thought that the various social media effects on mental health are largely negative. Comparing lifestyles depicted in social media and a fear of missing out are likely causes of anxiety as well as the way social media ironically makes people feel lonely.3 Not to mention the fact that social media is addictive, producing the same increase in dopamine that drugs give you. At this point, it appears anxiety and millennials are intertwined.

With the rise in technology also came an increase in artificial lighting and bad sleep habits. The blue light waves from your phone or computers late at night can have twice the adverse effects on your bodys production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, than normal artificial light.4 Could something as simple as unplugging alleviate some of the anxiety in millennials?

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Make Time For Rest And Relaxation

Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety can affect your energy and motivation, which often only adds to feelings of guilt and worry.

Remember, though: Depression and anxiety are health conditions. If you had the flu, youd need time to rest, right? Mental health symptoms require recovery time, too.

Instead of fixating on the things you think you should be doing, honor your needs by taking time for activities that soothe and relax you. Maybe this includes things like:

• watching a comforting movie or TV show
• re-reading a favorite book