Living Stone Christian Counseling

At first glance, depression and anxiety may not seem like two disorders that would occur together, yet often they do. Anxiety can lead to depression and depression can lead to anxiety. Experiencing a mix of anxiety and depression is complex and also extremely prevalent.

Major depression is characterized by feeling sad, blue or down in the dumps for two weeks. Other symptoms of depression include: a loss of appetite, increased appetite, insomnia, hypersomnia (sleeping too much), weight loss or gain, loss of interest in activities that were once pleasurable, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, feelings of agitation or lethargy, or feelings of hopelessness. Thoughts of suicide are also another indicator of depression.

Anxiety comes in many forms – it can be generalized or it can present through panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobias, obsessions and compulsions (OCD) or post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic anxiety can be debilitating both physically (headaches, stomachaches, clenched jaws, sore muscles, difficulty concentrating, etc) and emotionally (you may worry that the anxiety will not go away and become so preoccupied with it, that joy in your life is minimized or eliminated completely and replaced by hopelessness and depression). In the same way, chronic depression can also leave you feeling frustrated; you want to feel better and anxiety develops when the hopelessness and depression does not pass.

If you find that your life is spiraling between anxieties and depression, you can find relief from this vicious cycle. It is important to seek professional help and evaluate what the best treatment options are for you. A combination of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and pharmaceutical medications (from your primary care doctor or psychiatrist) may be a good solution for you. It is important to evaluate both options. If you would like more information on how DBT works, please contact Tiffany Porche at 480-244-6794.