Anxiety and Depression: Battling Dual Disorders

Anxiety and depression, two mental illnesses that plague an enormous number of Americans, are deeply entwined. Anxiety disorders are the most common of all mental disorders and afflict 19.2 million adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Depression follows closely at more than 18.8 million. In about half of all depression and anxiety cases—the more severe cases, typically—a person who suffers from one will be affected by the other as well.

The combination punch is a lot for anyone to bear. Researchers cite a common “chicken or the egg” syndrome, where it’s unclear which disorder led to the other and complicated the patient’s condition. While this might make the climb out of a psychological hole feel longer and steeper, it’s encouraging to know that health-care professionals are very successful at treating the two in tandem.

The Sting of Stigma

Let’s first be clear about what these conditions are not. In the past 20 years or so, the increase in public education and, to a degree, pharmaceutical advertising has been responsible for legitimizing depression and anxiety in the public eye, but a few antiquated ideas still linger.

“Depression used to be an under-treated disease, in part because people were ashamed of it,” says Dr. Faruk Abuzzahab Sr., who practices with Clinical Psychopharmacology Consultants in Minneapolis. “They thought it was a disgrace to (appear to have) fallen out of your faith or to lose hope or be suicidal. People thought it was their cross in life to bear.”

Similarly, a pervasive perception remains that depression and anxiety stem from some mental weakness or inherent fault in a person’s constitution. People suffering from these disorders are hypersensitive to the world around them and often adapt misconceptions like these as their own. They can be haunted by the familiar refrain, “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” The sense of inadequacy people can feel while dealing with a mental disorder is further burdened by the notion that they are not even strong enough to rescue themselves.

But by their very definitions, anxiety and depression are marked by incapacitation and a disruption in one’s ability to cope. Inadequacy is not a cause—it’s a symptom.

Shared Symptoms

Beyond the fact that depression and anxiety so frequently exist at the same time, they share many other qualities. Dr. Carolyn Robinowitz, president elect of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington, D.C., explains, “The characteristics for the two can be different, but there is some overlap. For example, people who are depressed may have insomnia, restlessness, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating—and that’s all true for anxiety, too.

“(In anxiety,) people may have difficulty sleeping and concentrating, but also have feelings of fear, of panic, of obsessive thoughts, painful memories and physical symptoms that are different,” she continues. “So there are some ways that there are similarities, but depression is a disorder of mood.”

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Symptoms of Anxiety

Symptoms of Depression

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Either anxiety or depression may follow in the wake of a traumatic event or physical illness, and an individual’s vulnerability to either condition can increase based on genetic and/or environmental factors. Alcoholism and drug abuse are also risks, since many people seek ways to subvert a condition by means of self-medicating.

The anxiety- or depression-addled mind has a lot to untangle. For someone suffering through symptoms, it may be unclear whether the indications fall into the normal ranges of sadness and worry or in the clinical ranges that define a disorder. Next is the challenge to identify the specific illness, and then to determine whether it’s entwined with another. Many people suffer for years, even lifetimes, not knowing what their problem is—or that they have a condition that’s actually treatable.

It’s also important to understand that the symptoms of mental illness, once they’ve surfaced, very frequently recur throughout a person’s life. But without seeking help, recovery isn’t even an option. Ultimately, people can leave the untangling of anxiety and depression to the doctors—so long as they seek professional assistance.