We all have heard words like depression, stress and anxietyat some point in our lives. We either suffer from any of these mental issues or have come across someone suffering from it. At times, people tend to use these words interchangeably and are not able to understand the exact meaning of these terms. This becomes a major issue when a victim tries to decode his problems.
Anxiety, stress and depression are three words that are quite different from each other but we tend to use them interchangeably. It is important to understand the difference between the three words. Anxiety is a state of nervousness and tension regarding something in future, that something might go wrong in the future. Depression and stress are quite different from each other as well.
Before understanding more about anxiety, let understand the difference between depression, stress and anxiety in brief so that we can help those suffering from any of these mental health issues.
Depression
Depression is a state of feeling low and exhausted all the time. It can be due to some hard situations in life, or something that happened in the past which haunts a person all the time. The person loses interest in everything he/she does and finds it hard to sleep as well.
Depression happens when a person feels sad or low for longer periods of time. We all come across hardships in life and feel low, and move on. But when this sadness and moody behaviour persists for long, it turns into depression.
The victim might find it hard to do follow his daily routine, and might also not feel the urge to do something he loves.
The feeling of going through is very intense, and at times the victim might have suicidal thoughts. There have been many cases across the globe wherein people have committed suicide due to depression.
Symptoms of depression are suicidal thoughts, loss of appetite, insomnia, finding it hard to concentrate, not willing to do anything exciting, feeling helpless and restless.
Stress
Stress is a situation of feeling overwhelmed all the time. This is a situation when the person might find it hard to cope up with the situations in life; the person is under stress and pressurised all the time. Good stress makes the person finish off the work, while bad stress leaves him distressed and exhausted.
Stress can be due to problems meeting work deadlines, financial crisis or even problems with the loved ones.
Major symptoms of stress are feeling low in energy, upset stomach, chest and body pains, and insomnia.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a situation when a person feels worried or tensed about what might happen in the future. It can happen to anyone and anywhere.
Anxiety can be caused due to being stressed for a long time. This makes the person very anxious as to what might happen in the future; making the person feel uneasy and assume things that might happen in the near future. Anxiety can also be caused due to money problems or due to problems with the loved ones.
Anxiety can be a regular feature for some, or might come and go depending on the situations.
Major symptoms of anxiety are feeling panicked or uneasy, sweaty hands, fidgeting and numbness of hands and legs. Heart palpitations, muscle tension and dry mouth are other symptoms of anxiety.
After reading the above points, one thought will definitely occur to you that the symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety and are almost similar to each other, but still these are different from each other. Yes, it’s like a vicious cycle. The symptoms maybe similar but the root cause of any of these mental health issues are different. For example, a person might be stressed due to an overload of work and tries very hard to complete his work by the deadlines given. But even though he tries to finish the work, he is not able to. This would make him feel stressed. Long durations of a stressed mind would make him anxious and worry that what will happen if he is not able to complete the work. Again, long durations of anxiety would make him fall into depression and make it worse for him. This is a vicious cycle, which must be broken at the earliest. People tend to hesitate to visit a therapist to resolve the issue, but it is quite important for us to understand that visiting a therapist does not mean that we are mad and need to go to an asylum! The therapists are there to help you and feel better, not to send you to an asylum over a minor issue.
Types of Anxiety
Anxiety can happen anywhere and anytime. It is difficult to differentiate the condition between anxiety, depression and stress. To complicate it further, there are types of anxiety which should also be looked into to help in better recovery. Read on for a brief introduction to the various types of anxiety.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder or rather panic attacks can happen anytime. The person feels a tornado of feelings and gets overwhelmed. The person also feels short of breath, chest pain and dizziness.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
This disorder happens when a person has some obsessions and compulsions which he needs to carry out at any cost. People at times have the habit of cleaning their hands every now and then as they have a fear of germs. Some might get irritated if the pen stand is placed at the wrong place etc.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
This disorder happens after a person experiences a traumatic event; loss of a loved one, unemployment etc.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
GAD is a disorder when a person feels anxious most of the time. They do not even know the reason of feeling worried; anxiety persists throughout the day.
Phobias
A person might have some phobias which might be life threatening or dangerous for him, but instead is not. For example, some might have a fear of height, enclosed spaces or claustrophobia, fear of injection etc.
Social Phobia
Social phobia is when a person feels anxious about being humiliated in public, and hence avoids all social gatherings. The person can be extremely shy which is why he/she avoids meeting anyone or going to any gathering.
Causes of Anxiety
The above-mentioned types of anxiety are the major causes of anxiety. But apart from the above-mentioned disorders, there are some other causes of anxiety. Read on to know more.
Genes
If someone in your family has suffered from any mental health condition, you are more prone to suffering from anxiety. It is not important that you will suffer; there are various other factors that come into play.
Personality
At times, people who are introvert in nature suffer from anxiety. Reason can be because they are not comfortable in talking to people, are very shy. It depends on the personality of the person as to how prone he/she is to suffer from anxiety. Even extroverts or perfectionist might feel anxious.
Other Factors
There are various other reasons for feeling anxious. Following is a list of such reasons:
Work Problems
Bullied at school
Problems in marriage
Financial crisis
Side effect of medication
Loss of a loved one
Suffering from a serious health condition
Verbal, sexual, physical, emotional or mental abuse
Pregnancy
Past incidences
Now that we know what anxiety is, what are the symptoms and causes of it, let’s move forward to know how anxiety can be treated easily.
Home Remedies
Stop Worrying
The foremost step to get rid of anxiety is to stop worrying. It is hard to stop it, but take baby steps towards and you will gradually stop worrying from time to time. Whatever happens in your daily life that makes you anxious, just think about good things like a flower garden or a range of snow-capped mountains. This will help you temporarily since you tend to worry again. If you keep thinking about good things forcefully, it will become a habit and hence you will stop worrying.
Visit a Therapist
Another important step towards getting rid of anxiety is to visit a therapist. One should not delay their visit to the therapist because it will be easier to eliminate further problems. The moment one feels that the anxiety level has been persisting for long, an appointment to the therapist must be taken immediately. Do not hesitate in opening up to the therapist, as he will be in a better position to help you out only when he knows everything.
Go out for a stroll
I clearly remember the day I had my first interview; being anxious was not an option but by default. My stomach growled, and I could hear sounds inside my head; which further made my situation worse. Walking is the best way to forget stress and anxiety. Just go out for a 5-10minute walk in fresh air while you’re at work, or tired of doing the mundane home chores.
Listen to Music
Music tends to calm down the brain and the heart. Be it instrumental music or soothing songs, listening to music when you feel anxious will distract your mind from the worry.
Exercise
Wake up every morning and go out for a stroll in the fresh air. This will help in boosting up the working of the brain, and make you feel happy and delighted. You can also do some yoga and meditation to help yourself calm down and clear your thoughts.
Sleep tight
Sleeplessness is a major result of anxiety and depression. The person suffering might find it hard to sleep, or sleep a lot. The disturbed sleeping pattern is common in depression and anxiety. Sleeping well will help the person feel relaxed and calm.
Book a spa or a massage appointment
Just thinking about a spa treatment or a massage, relaxes my mind. Imagine the level of relief you can get by actually getting one massage? Oh, somebody massaging that tensed forehead, those tensed muscles; a pathway to relaxation!
Aroma shower
Might sound odd, but this works. Oils like rose oil, lavender oil, lemon oil, cinnamon oil, fennel oil and chamomile oil help a great deal in relieving stress. Just pour a few drops of any of these oils on your shower floor, and let the amazing aroma relax your mind, body and soul. You can also use a scent diffuser in your office or at your home and let the aroma do its work.
Breathe
Take out a few minutes every day from your busy life and devote it to breathing. Just sit on your chair while at work, close your eyes and take deep breaths. Taking deep breaths helps in controlled breathing, gives some peace to the mind and heart. The tensed muscles also get relaxed by taking in deep breaths.
There are various other ways to relieve yourself from anxiety like going out on a holiday, taking a break from the daily routine to do things you love, playing with pets or kids etc.
Doctor Recommendations
There are some homoeopathic medicines suggested by Dr Mohit, a specialist in homoeopathy, which will help in overcoming anxiety and the associated troubles.
Acid phosphoricum (30/200) is a medicine that works for everything; be it stress, anxiety, sleeplessness or depression. This is very effective for people who suffer from hair fall due to stress. Acid phosphoricum is more of a lifestyle medicine; tends to soothe an individual from all kinds of lifestyle problems like stress, anxiety or depression.
Cofee Cruda (30/200) helps in calming the senses leading to a peaceful sleep. People with anxiety face disturbances in sleep, majorly insomnia. This medicine calms the patient and refreshes him, providing him with an undisturbed nap or sleep. Make sure you do not take this medicine in mother tincture form as the medicine contains caffeine.
Arsenic Album(30/200) is a medicine for a person who is anxiety prone. He keeps fearing of minute little things and is irritable in nature. This medicine works best for a person who is orderly in nature and gets irritated if things are not the way it should be.
The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Anxiety
We all have heard words like depression, stress and anxietyat some point in our lives. We either suffer from any of these mental issues or have come across someone suffering from it. At times, people tend to use these words interchangeably and are not able to understand the exact meaning of these terms. This becomes a major issue when a victim tries to decode his problems.
Anxiety, stress and depression are three words that are quite different from each other but we tend to use them interchangeably. It is important to understand the difference between the three words. Anxiety is a state of nervousness and tension regarding something in future, that something might go wrong in the future. Depression and stress are quite different from each other as well.
Before understanding more about anxiety, let understand the difference between depression, stress and anxiety in brief so that we can help those suffering from any of these mental health issues.
Depression
Stress
Anxiety
After reading the above points, one thought will definitely occur to you that the symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety and are almost similar to each other, but still these are different from each other. Yes, it’s like a vicious cycle. The symptoms maybe similar but the root cause of any of these mental health issues are different. For example, a person might be stressed due to an overload of work and tries very hard to complete his work by the deadlines given. But even though he tries to finish the work, he is not able to. This would make him feel stressed. Long durations of a stressed mind would make him anxious and worry that what will happen if he is not able to complete the work. Again, long durations of anxiety would make him fall into depression and make it worse for him. This is a vicious cycle, which must be broken at the earliest. People tend to hesitate to visit a therapist to resolve the issue, but it is quite important for us to understand that visiting a therapist does not mean that we are mad and need to go to an asylum! The therapists are there to help you and feel better, not to send you to an asylum over a minor issue.
Types of Anxiety
Anxiety can happen anywhere and anytime. It is difficult to differentiate the condition between anxiety, depression and stress. To complicate it further, there are types of anxiety which should also be looked into to help in better recovery. Read on for a brief introduction to the various types of anxiety.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder or rather panic attacks can happen anytime. The person feels a tornado of feelings and gets overwhelmed. The person also feels short of breath, chest pain and dizziness.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
This disorder happens when a person has some obsessions and compulsions which he needs to carry out at any cost. People at times have the habit of cleaning their hands every now and then as they have a fear of germs. Some might get irritated if the pen stand is placed at the wrong place etc.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
This disorder happens after a person experiences a traumatic event; loss of a loved one, unemployment etc.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
GAD is a disorder when a person feels anxious most of the time. They do not even know the reason of feeling worried; anxiety persists throughout the day.
Phobias
A person might have some phobias which might be life threatening or dangerous for him, but instead is not. For example, some might have a fear of height, enclosed spaces or claustrophobia, fear of injection etc.
Social Phobia
Social phobia is when a person feels anxious about being humiliated in public, and hence avoids all social gatherings. The person can be extremely shy which is why he/she avoids meeting anyone or going to any gathering.
Causes of Anxiety
The above-mentioned types of anxiety are the major causes of anxiety. But apart from the above-mentioned disorders, there are some other causes of anxiety. Read on to know more.
Genes
If someone in your family has suffered from any mental health condition, you are more prone to suffering from anxiety. It is not important that you will suffer; there are various other factors that come into play.
Personality
At times, people who are introvert in nature suffer from anxiety. Reason can be because they are not comfortable in talking to people, are very shy. It depends on the personality of the person as to how prone he/she is to suffer from anxiety. Even extroverts or perfectionist might feel anxious.
Other Factors
There are various other reasons for feeling anxious. Following is a list of such reasons:
Now that we know what anxiety is, what are the symptoms and causes of it, let’s move forward to know how anxiety can be treated easily.
Home Remedies
Stop Worrying
The foremost step to get rid of anxiety is to stop worrying. It is hard to stop it, but take baby steps towards and you will gradually stop worrying from time to time. Whatever happens in your daily life that makes you anxious, just think about good things like a flower garden or a range of snow-capped mountains. This will help you temporarily since you tend to worry again. If you keep thinking about good things forcefully, it will become a habit and hence you will stop worrying.
Visit a Therapist
Another important step towards getting rid of anxiety is to visit a therapist. One should not delay their visit to the therapist because it will be easier to eliminate further problems. The moment one feels that the anxiety level has been persisting for long, an appointment to the therapist must be taken immediately. Do not hesitate in opening up to the therapist, as he will be in a better position to help you out only when he knows everything.
Go out for a stroll
I clearly remember the day I had my first interview; being anxious was not an option but by default. My stomach growled, and I could hear sounds inside my head; which further made my situation worse. Walking is the best way to forget stress and anxiety. Just go out for a 5-10minute walk in fresh air while you’re at work, or tired of doing the mundane home chores.
Listen to Music
Music tends to calm down the brain and the heart. Be it instrumental music or soothing songs, listening to music when you feel anxious will distract your mind from the worry.
Exercise
Wake up every morning and go out for a stroll in the fresh air. This will help in boosting up the working of the brain, and make you feel happy and delighted. You can also do some yoga and meditation to help yourself calm down and clear your thoughts.
Sleep tight
Sleeplessness is a major result of anxiety and depression. The person suffering might find it hard to sleep, or sleep a lot. The disturbed sleeping pattern is common in depression and anxiety. Sleeping well will help the person feel relaxed and calm.
Book a spa or a massage appointment
Just thinking about a spa treatment or a massage, relaxes my mind. Imagine the level of relief you can get by actually getting one massage? Oh, somebody massaging that tensed forehead, those tensed muscles; a pathway to relaxation!
Aroma shower
Might sound odd, but this works. Oils like rose oil, lavender oil, lemon oil, cinnamon oil, fennel oil and chamomile oil help a great deal in relieving stress. Just pour a few drops of any of these oils on your shower floor, and let the amazing aroma relax your mind, body and soul. You can also use a scent diffuser in your office or at your home and let the aroma do its work.
Breathe
Take out a few minutes every day from your busy life and devote it to breathing. Just sit on your chair while at work, close your eyes and take deep breaths. Taking deep breaths helps in controlled breathing, gives some peace to the mind and heart. The tensed muscles also get relaxed by taking in deep breaths.
There are various other ways to relieve yourself from anxiety like going out on a holiday, taking a break from the daily routine to do things you love, playing with pets or kids etc.
Doctor Recommendations
There are some homoeopathic medicines suggested by Dr Mohit, a specialist in homoeopathy, which will help in overcoming anxiety and the associated troubles.
Acid phosphoricum (30/200) is a medicine that works for everything; be it stress, anxiety, sleeplessness or depression. This is very effective for people who suffer from hair fall due to stress. Acid phosphoricum is more of a lifestyle medicine; tends to soothe an individual from all kinds of lifestyle problems like stress, anxiety or depression.
Cofee Cruda (30/200) helps in calming the senses leading to a peaceful sleep. People with anxiety face disturbances in sleep, majorly insomnia. This medicine calms the patient and refreshes him, providing him with an undisturbed nap or sleep. Make sure you do not take this medicine in mother tincture form as the medicine contains caffeine.
Arsenic Album(30/200) is a medicine for a person who is anxiety prone. He keeps fearing of minute little things and is irritable in nature. This medicine works best for a person who is orderly in nature and gets irritated if things are not the way it should be.
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