The relationship between these emotionsand their associated clinical conditions, anxiety disorders and mood disordersis complex and somewhat idiosyncratic.
For one person, anxiety can lead to avoidance and isolation.
Isolation can result in a lack of opportunity for pleasurable experiences, which then leads to low mood.
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For others, the emotions may flow in the opposite direction.
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression share a biological basis.
While the biological underpinnings of these problems are similar, anxiety and depression are experienced differently.
In this way, the two states might be considered two sides of the same coin.
Anxiety and depression can occur sequentially (one in reaction to the other), orthey can co-occur.
When anxiety and mood problems reach the threshold for clinical diagnosis simultaneously, the specific diagnoses are consideredcomorbidconditions.
Mental Differences: Anxiety vs. Depression
Anxiety and depression have distinct psychological features.
Their mental markers (symptoms or expressions of the condition) are different.
Obsessions are unrealistic thoughts or mental impulses (sometimes with a magical quality) that extend beyond everyday worries.
They are the hallmark mental manifestation of anxiety in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor.
If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Physical Signs of Anxiety
The physical state of anxiety can be conceptualized overall as that ofheightened arousal.
Psychotherapy
For depression and/or anxiety problems, there are several types of talk therapy.
For both issues, CBT will teach you how to work with unhelpful thought traps.
And, for either problem, CBT is likely to ask that youdomore behaviorally.
For anxiety, the goal is to minimize avoidant behavior and to help you disconfirm a feared consequence.
Inpsychodynamic talk therapy, sessions for anxiety and depression may look more alike than different.
Do not despair if you think you are experiencing separate, co-occurring anxiety and mood symptoms.
There is an overlap in effective psychotherapies for these problems.
you could then use this information to determine which path forward feels best to you.
Watson D, Naragon-Gainey K.Personality, emotions, and the emotional disorders.Clin Psychol Sci.
David D, Cristea I, Hofmann SG.Why cognitive behavioral therapy is the current gold standard of psychotherapy.Front Psychiatry.
2018;9:4. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00004
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
