Anxiety & Depression
Is it all just too much to handle right now?
Anxiety and depression are among the most common – yet most treatable and manageable – mental health disorders. They’ve been around from time immemorial. Anxiety and depression are a common part of the human experience. You're not broken and you're not alone.
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Anxiety and depression are not the same thing, but they often travel together. They come in a variety of different "flavors" (following different patterns, frequencies, and intensities). They can affect your thoughts, feelings, and relationships, and even cause physical symptoms (proving it’s not all “just in your head”). Depression and anxiety are often most effectively treated with a combination of medicine and talk therapy and are nothing to be ashamed of.
Anxiety can affect:
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Emotions –
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Apprehension, nervousness, worry, panic
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Stress, tension, being keyed up or on edge
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Feeling disconnected, detached, unreal
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Thoughts –
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Fears – frightening fantasies or daydreams, fears of bad things happening to you or those around you, fears of looking foolish or inadequate
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Difficulty concentrating
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Racing thoughts
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Feeling like you’re losing control or going crazy
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Physical reactions –
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Fight, flight, or freeze
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Dizziness, trembling
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Pain, pressure, tightness in chest, racing heart
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Restlessness, tension
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Headaches
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Stomach discomfort, digestive issues
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Sweating, hot flashes, or cold chills
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Depression can affect:
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Emotions –
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Feeling sad, blue, or down in the dumps
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Feeling discouraged, hopeless, worthless, or inadequate
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Feeling angry, irritated, or out of sorts
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Loss of vitality or interest in people and things you once enjoyed
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Feeling unmotivated and disconnected
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Thoughts –
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Relentlessly negative thoughts about yourself, others, or the future
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Slowed thinking processes, difficulty concentrating
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Ruminating (thinking about the same thing over and over again)
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Dwelling on past hurts and mistakes
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Difficulty making decisions
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Suicidal thoughts, or thinking the world would be better off without you
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Physical reactions –
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Changes in appetite
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Sleep disturbance (too much, too little, insomnia, etc.)
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Harder to move, think, get out of bed
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Tearfulness
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Self-neglect, drop in self-care
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If these feelings and experiences persist for more than a week or two, reach out for help. Family, friends, clergy, counselors, helplines, and community services are there for you and want to help ease your pain. You may opt to get counseling, where you can talk and feel heard and understood, reset and reconnect, change your mindset, talk back to your problems, and learn practical ways to manage your mood and process emotions. I can help you understand and manage uncomfortable feelings, identify options, process and get rid of old pain, and expand your agency. Hope is just a few clicks away.
