Depression and Anxiety

A man carrying the world upon his shoulders, indicating depression and anxiety

Depression and anxiety are the most common forms of mental health issue, affecting 8% of people in the UK in any given week. Yet so many people who experience these debilitating symptoms feel like they are the only ones who feel this way and often blame themselves for not being able to function the way they feel they are expected to.

Depression can come in many forms, but always includes feelings of low mood or sadness that doesn't go away and can't be explained by some other reason. Other common symptoms of depression include:

  • Low self-worth
  • Low energy
  • Reduced interest in doing things
  • Finding it hard to make decision
  • Not finding enjoyment in things
  • Feeling that the world would be better without you

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, you may be depressed and you are certainly not alone in this. One in five people experience depression at some point in their life and talking about it can really help.

Anxiety often involves feelings of dread about something that might happen. It is the feeling that you get when your brain is looking forward in time and predicting danger, whether or not it really exists. We all feel anxious from time to time and in the right place it can even be a helpful response. But anxiety can be truly debilitating and can culminate in panic attacks and an inability to be around other people.

Some of the symptoms that indicate anxiety are:

  • Dread
  • Restlessness
  • Poor concentration
  • Heart palpitations
  • Dizziness
  • Unable to stop worrying about things

Sometimes we can identify triggers for anxiety, such as health, money, socialising or work. But sometimes the feelings seem to come all by themselves. Either way, you aren't stuck with them.

Depression and anxiety can present in very different ways. One way that people sometimes think about it is that anxiety involves worrying about the future, while depression tends to involve thoughts of the past. Despite these differences, I find that depression and anxiety often come along together and need to be addressed as a whole. One way that we work with these negative feelings about the past and the future is to learn to focus on the present and appreciate what is happening right now.