YourTangowriter Rebecca Jane Stokes shares what it feels like to have both anxiety and depression.
If you’re anxious and depressed, you probably have too.
People who suffer from both conditions aresix times more likely to be hospitalizedfor psychiatric reasons than others.
Martin Dimitrov / Getty Images
It isn’t impossible.
you might do this.
I hope this will help.
Below, I’ve shared eight common struggles people who are both anxious and depressed face every day.
When you have anxiety and depression,sleep problems are really common.
For some it’sinsomnia, for others it’s sleeping too much!
Sometimes we just can’t do it.
Don’t beat yourself up about this if it’s something that happens to you.
Your real friends will understand if you’re honest with them about what’s happening.
Just double-check you continue to communicate.
Better to be honest and risk embarrassment then to stay quiet and potentially lose a friend.
Because of my depression, finding a job that makes me happy can be challenging.
As a depressed person it is hard to be excited about anything.
As an anxious person, having a job is great because the routine can feel really stabilizing.
I struggle with this one on a daily basis.
I love my job!
And I love the people I work with!
I remind myself when these feelings come over me that depression and anxiety LIE.
One way to combat this feeling is to do small exercises at home.
Even simple stretching can make you feel better.
Because of my anxiety, I constantly grind my teeth.
It’s a terrible habit.
I should go to the dentist.
I immediately confess my panic to my dentist now whenever I go to see her.
Take it from someone who has skipped years of visits.
My depression makes me rip myself apart.
I can stare in a mirror and seriously think I’m too ugly to exist.
This can lead toa lack of self-care.
I neglect myself, don’t take showers, don’t wash my clothes.
Breaking your routine down into baby steps can help with this a lot.
My anxiety makes me want to clean, it makes me want to fix everything.
My depression can immobilize me altogether.
Because of my anxietyI am constantly worrying about different members of my family.
Anxiety replaces normal love with worry and fear.
Checking in with them is hard and can strangely make me seem like I don’t care at all.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is another case of communication saving the day.
In my family, we’re big FaceTime fans.
Oh boy, this is a big one.
Finding a combination of drugs that work for you could be a lifelong struggle.
The pill you take to make you happy might exacerbate your anxiety.
The pill that stops your anxious brain from running in circles might make your depression worse.
Luckily, it’s a process and there are doctors and therapists who can help get you through it.
Anxiety can make you feel like you are running in circles and not getting anywhere.
Depression can make you feel like it doesn’t matter because nothing matters anyway.
This in turn makes you anxious.
It’s a snake eating its own tail, a horrible seemingly endless vicious cycle.
It was hard to sit down and write these things out.
That’s because I am (knock on wood) in a pretty good place.
I manage both my anxiety and my depression with medication and therapy as needed.
I’ve come a long way.
If you feel alone, remember that you aren’t.
Originally written by Rebecca Jane Stokes,YourTango
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