Lori Streator (clinician) explains how depression and anxiety often co-occur and can resemble one another, making diagnosis and treatment planning challenging. She outlines typical depressive symptoms (e.g., fatigue, sleep disturbance, hopelessness, low motivation, possible suicidal thoughts) and common anxiety symptoms (e.g., persistent worry/fear, restlessness, muscle tension, digestive troubles, excessive worry), highlights symptom overlap (sleep problems, concentration issues, physical symptoms), and stresses the clinician’s role in determining which disorder came first to guide treatment and possible referrals. She urges viewers to seek professional help when unsure or struggling.
Chapters
A lot of people who develop depression also develop anxiety and vice versa. A lot of times when I'm working with a client who struggles with possibly both anxiety and depression, or we're trying to figure out how to best go about helping them, sometimes I have to figure out what came first, the chicken or the egg. What came first, the anxiety or the depression. Did they develop anxiety from being depressed or did they develop depress from being super anxious for a while? So a lot of the times, even to begin treating somebody, while therapy can look very similar, I need to know what came first, what the root of the issue is, if it's more of the underlying depression that we need to start with, or if it's more of the anxious feelings that we need to start with. And I specialize in anxiety, so I can usually figure it out fairly quickly. And. And if somebody really struggles with depression, I can refer them out or we can use other things to help them. But I'm trying to figure out if anxiety is the main issue and if it came from the depression or the depression came from the anxiety, if somebody is struggling with both. So I want to talk about the difference between anxiety and depression, because sometimes they can look pretty similar, and it's up to us as therapists to figure out what came first. Depression and anxiety are two different diagnoses. There are many diagnoses under depression, and there are several anxiety disorders. But we're going to talk about this in the general sense. So a lot of the symptoms of depression and anxiety can overlap, which makes this process a little complicated at times. And it can make the client or you stress, struggle, because you might not even know what the real issue is, because depression can look like anxiety and anxiety can look like depression, because depression can look like anxiety and anxiety can look like depression sometimes. So it's up to us to figure out, ask the questions, look at the symptoms, look at what's going on in your life, to figure out the best way to help you. So a lot of the symptoms can overlap, but there are some differences. We're talking about depression. We're talking about looking for symptoms that have lasted at least a couple weeks and many symptoms, like five of our criteria. And again, I'm not going to get into all of that because every diagnosis has specific criteria that need to be met in order for us as a clinician, as a therapist to diagnose somebody. So we definitely take that part seriously. Seriously. But again, in the general sense, usually depressive symptoms have been lasting a couple weeks, and there are many. And we're talking about things like fatigue, hypersomnia or insomnia. So sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, feelings of hopelessness, possibly suicidal thoughts or actions, low motivation, low or lack of interest in things that used to interest somebody. Low energy, depressed mood, all of the things that you would kind of think would go along with somebody who is struggling with depressive symptoms or a depression diagnosis. When we talk about anxiety or we're looking to figure out if that's the issue, we're looking for persistent feelings of worry and fear. Trouble concentrating, difficulty sleeping, maybe digestive troubles, muscle tension, restlessness, excessive worry. Again, all of the things that you think might go along with somebody who tends to be more anxious. So a few things do overlap in regards to the anxiety and the depression. Difficulty concentrating, issues with sleep, some physical symptoms. But there are the differences. The depressive symptoms tend to be more on the feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes there are suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and anxiety is more of the persistent worry, fear, restlessness, keyed up kind of feeling. So sometimes it can be difficult to determine if somebody struggles with anxiety or depression, but we're looking for specific things. If you have questions whether it's anxiety or depression, ask a professional, get help. That's what we are here to do. We're here to figure out what, what the issue is. Because somebody who struggles with anxiety for a short or long time can start to develop feelings of hopelessness, lack of energy, low motivation, depressed mood and things like that. So how we're feeling, if it's not treated, if it's not identified, if we don't learn how to cope, it can spiral into other things. So knowing the difference between anxiety and depression is really important. And I gave you some differentiators. But a lot of those things do overlap. So if you need professional help just figuring it out, ask for help. I always tell you if something's bothering you or you're thinking about it longer than you wish you were, ask for help. Just get some assistance and guidance so that you can go back to living how you want to be living. Instead of worrying about how depressed you feel or getting depressed about how anxious you feel. Let us help you based on what you're experiencing physically, emotionally and mentally, figure out how to best help you, how to give you the coping skills, whether it's anxiety or depression, so that you can feel like you're living a healthy, happy life and not again, developing depression from anxiety or anxiety from depression, or questioning what it even is in the first place. Let a professional help you. If this is something that you are struggling with. That's what we're here for, to help you deal with life in the moment, but also figure out what may be the root cause is if something is presenting as anxiety but you're really struggling with depression, or if you're feeling really hopeless because you felt so anxious for so long. So a lot of the symptoms carry over, but there are differentiators. Let us help you figure that out so that you can feel the best you possibly can.
