Anxiety-depressive syndrome is a common condition, but not always easy to recognize because sufferers have symptoms of both anxiety and depressed mood with varying intensity and degree.
- What is anxiety
- What is Depression
- What is depressive anxiety
- Symptoms of depressive anxiety
- How to deal with depressive anxiety
- How to cure depressive anxiety
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Sometimes anxiety and depression coexist and this type of bond can manifest itself in different ways and course. It often happens that a person who initially suffers from anxiety develops, at a later time, mood disorders up to real forms of depression .
In other cases, the opposite happens: partially treated forms of depression can lead to an anxiety syndrome.
When anxiety and depression occur at the same time, different terms are used to describe this mixed situation, including depressive anxiety, anxious depressive syndrome or anxious depression.
What is anxiety
Even before pathological anxiety, there is physiological anxiety , which allows us to react in the face of imminent danger. Instead, we speak of generalized anxiety disorder when the subject lives in a tendentially constant anxious state that leads to disproportionate and incongruous worries in different areas of the patient’s life. Those who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder tend to be constantly on the alert , to worry excessivelyfor anything, showing a significant reduction in the quality of life over time. Compared to other psychiatric conditions such as social phobia or panic attacks, which are often attributable to specific and circumscribed concerns, in generalized anxiety the concerns do not concern a specific theme , but are extended to the different areas of the patient’s life.
The typical symptoms are:
- restlessness or constant psychic tension
- feeling of emptying and chronic fatigue
- fatiguein concentration with consequent reduction of memory
- easy nervousness and irritability
- chronic muscle tensionwhich can concentrate in the limbs, neck and back muscles and generate pain
- difficulty falling asleep and maintaining sleep, or restlessand unrefreshing sleep .
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In addition, physical symptoms such as gastrointestinal upset, sweating, muscle tension, headache etc. are also generally present .
What is Depression
The depression can manifest itself in various forms (such as for example that bipolar or dysthymia, a chronic mild depression), in which biological factors, psychological and social factors involved in a different way.
In general, depressive disorder is not a consequence of a specific event, but derives from its interaction with an individual vulnerability . Depression should not be confused with the sadness or demoralization that we all experience in occasional and short-lived situations, as can happen with other moods such as anxiety, happiness or fear. Depression is a real disease in which the way we perceive ourselves and the surrounding world changes. Depressed subjects lose the pleasure of existence, lose interest and vital drive, have a mood on the ground all day, every day, do not know how to go on and have thoughts of death. The general malaise is accompanied by many other disorders: it ranges from loss of appetite and therefore weight, without having been on a diet, to its significant increase; from insomnia to hypersomnia; from agitation to physical and mental slowdown. Years (on average two) can pass between the first symptoms and the diagnosis and therefore the beginning of the therapies.
What is depressive anxiety
When anxiety and depression overlap and coexist there is a picture of depressive anxiety or anxious depression, which requires careful psychological and / or psychiatric evaluation to be framed and therefore to identify an optimal cure. Sufferers may feel sad, apathetic and without vital drive and at the same time be anxious, always tense and restless.
There are various theories on the association between anxiety and depression . In most cases, as statistics suggest, initially anxious patients may also develop depressive symptoms over time. In these cases, the depressed mood could be a consequence of anxiety.
More infrequently, the opposite can also happen, that is, a depressed patient may develop a form of anxiety . In general, in these cases, we are dealing with patients in therapy in which anxious symptoms may remain.
There are also those who argue that anxiety and depression are simply two independent and coexisting disorders. According to this theory, depressed patients and anxious patients have different characteristics with regard to personality, prognosis, social adaptation and ability to respond to treatment.
As for the possible causes , both biological and environmental factors would be involved. Among the possible risk factors are traumatic episodes, states of indigence, genetic predisposition for mental illnesses as well as the lack of social relationship.
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Symptoms of depressive anxiety
The anxious depressive syndrome is characterized, in fact, by a combination of anxious and depressive symptoms. As already mentioned, the main ones are difficulty concentrating, a sense of “light-headedness”, feelings of fatigue or low energy, hypervigilance , worry, ease of tears, tendency to negative predictions for the future, despair, low self-esteem or feelings of contempt for themselves.
These symptoms are also accompanied by more or less significant physical disorders , including gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal pain, dry mouth, tachycardia , tremors, dizziness and sleep disturbances.
This symptomatology causes considerable discomfort, with the risk of compromising social, family, working life, etc. in a more or less significant way. The lack of desire to carry out any activity, sadness and low self-esteem, in fact, not only make professional activities difficult, but can also put a strain on relationships with others and in the youngest performance at school. It can also cause further consequences, such as substance abuse .
How to deal with depressive anxiety
Recognizing an anxious depressive syndrome is not always easy, especially when the manifestations are apparently mild , but no less disabling if not treated properly. This is what typically happens in the so-called ” sub-threshold disorders ” or in cases of depression characterized by mainly physical symptoms (sleep and appetite alterations, dizziness, musculoskeletal pain, stomach ache, headache, etc.).
To be able to bring to light these mixed forms it is important that the family doctor discern their presence and refer the patient to a specialist to identify the most suitable treatment.
Anxious depression can only be cured through proper diagnosis and therapy . The first step in getting out of anxious depression is therefore to recognize that you have a problem and ask for help .
How to cure depressive anxiety
When a person is depressed and / or anxious, a simple effort of will is not enough to get better and avoid the reproduction of a negative attitude. The individual patient, with its nuances, must be carefully framed, to then personalize the treatment . The tools available include psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychosocial interventions as well as a wide range of drugs that act at different levels.
The choice of therapy depends on the severity of the anxiety-depressive syndrome. In the sub-threshold and mild forms, the psychological approach and behavioral interventions are often effective and sufficient, while in the more severe forms it is also necessary to intervene with drugs, choosing the right molecule for each patient.
The Benzodiazepines are drugs anxiolytics very useful to counter sudden anxiety attacks, but do not represent the treatment of choice in the long term of disorders characterized by chronic anxiety now. Antidepressant drugs are the most suitable treatment for mood disorders, but they are also often used to treat various anxiety states such as obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, phobias and, more recently, for a prolonged period. generalized anxiety disorder, a disease often associated with depression.
Once a drug therapy has been started, however, it is always necessary to take into account that, at times, it can take up to a few weeks to have effects. However, a fundamental prerequisite for a good response to therapy is that the patient follows it consistently and undergoes periodic checks .
During therapy, it is also important to review the patient’s lifestyle if all-round health results are to be achieved. In particular, regular physical activity, a healthy and balanced diet, and possibly the practice of relaxation techniques, yoga or meditation to reduce stress , are all measures that can help improve the patient’s state of mind and well-being. Among the useful tips also learn not to overload the mind and body on too many fronts, as in the typical case of women who are at the same time workers, mothers of families and wives.
To alleviate some symptoms, you can also use natural remedies that promote sleep or rest, such as preparations based on valerian , passionflower or melatonin , always on the doctor’s recommendation . Equally important are social relationships , trying instead to avoid bad habits such as alcohol and drugs that can complicate an already serious and difficult situation.
