Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety

Anxiety can be paralyzing. Fear grips our mind and convinces us there is potential danger on the horizon. The feeling becomes overwhelming, persistent, and seemingly out of our control. Our mind conjures up worst-case scenarios and we begin to experience our fears as reality. The expectation for negative social judgement may consume our thought process and hinder our ability to function. As our body continues to be flooded with stress hormones we struggle to see any possibility outside of our worst fears coming true.

This usually creates a desire to escape our experience in some form or fashion, distracting ourselves with whatever may provide a sense of relief. The need for immediate gratification inhibits our ability to question the reality of our thoughts. While we may experience a temporary reprieve, the tendency to avoid can convince the mind that our fears are true and serve to further perpetuate anxiety. It is important to learn how to “make friends” with the discomfort so it does not feel as though it is controlling you.

Calming the body is the first step towards managing anxiety. It is hard to recognize and challenge distorted thinking when our body is in a state of stress. Practicing grounding exercises and relaxing breathing techniques to calm emotional intensity helps to convince our mind we are safe. Once we can learn to “weather the storm” of strong feelings, we may begin to question the reality of our thought process and identify new and helpful perspectives for previously distressing situations. Learn to respond, rather than react. You do not have to believe everything you think.

Depression

An overwhelming sense of sadness is usually what people think of when they think about depression. However, depression is often experienced as “void of feeling” or numbness. The simplest tasks, such as showering or brushing our teeth, can feel exhausting or overwhelming. We suddenly stop enjoying activities which used to be pleasurable. Our thoughts become muddled as life feels more pointless and we begin to believe we are worthless due to our inability to perform. As the pattern continues, we sink deeper and deeper into the void.

It becomes a feedback cycle. Our negative thinking diminishes motivation, thus perpetuating feelings of worthlessness and further intensifying self-criticism upon each perceived failure. The brain begins searching for evidence to support our distorted beliefs and our awareness of positive experiences becomes buried under a mountain of negativity. Digging ourselves out takes self-compassion, hope, and determination.

Treating depression is multifaceted. Emotional processing, feeling heard, and recognizing you are not alone is important for healing to begin. However, we must also learn to shift our perspective. Focusing on the small victories throughout the day can help increase a sense of accomplishment. As we start to realize our capabilities, we begin to feel more confident taking bigger leaps and our motivation slowly starts to return.

The return of motivation opens the window to finding new perspectives. We must relearn how to recognize positive experiences in our lives by making a concerted effort to re-frame negative self-talk into more helpful sentiments and actively pursue gratitude. I believe it is important to separate depression from our sense of self and not let temporary emotions define our character. There is a point to life and you do matter.