Most psychiatrists make a distinction between anxiety and depression, primarily because they need to prescribe different medications to their patients. Here’s how they are differentiated.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are characterized by a deep sense of doubt, feeling inadequate and vulnerable especially for future events. Fear, excessive worries, unexplained physical sensations, and lack of self protective behaviors are typically displayed. The attention of anxious people is usually focused on their future prospects, and they anticipate outcomes opposite from what they desire to see.
Depression
The key symptoms of depression include:
* Feeling sad, and/or hopeless
* Lack of interest and enjoyment in activities that used to be fun and interesting
* Physical aches and pains without physical cause; lack of energy
* Difficulty concentrating, remembering, and/or making decisions
* Changes in appetite and weight
* Unwelcome changes in usual sleep pattern
* Thoughts of death and suicide
Do they sound markedly different from each other? In my observation, they are very similar in a sense that anxiety/depression patients’ energy fields are far more susceptible to negative emotions than positive ones. I have not witnessed any anxious person who is not depressed, or vice versa.
For some patients, medications may be absolutely necessary. However, in a majority of cases, once their internal “imbalances” are fixed, anxiety/depression can be lessened relatively easily.