Depression And Anxiety Research Paper

Anxiety and Depression; Two Different Diseases
University Composition and Communication I

“Each Year more than 40 million Americans will suffer from and anxiety disorder and over 20 million will suffer from some type of depressive illness. The cost to the economy of these terrible diseases is billions of dollars each year; the cost in human suffering is immeasurable” (National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week”,yyyy, para. 1). Most cases of anxiety is accompanied with depression and vice versa; living with one is difficult, imagine living with both. They are among the leading causes of suicide, every year suicides are rapidly increasing. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline had reported to Medicalnewstoday.com that between 2010 and 2011 their volume of calls increased by 14% (Rattue, 2004-2103, para. 1). Anxiety and depression are two different diseases, but they both affect us mentally and physically, and
can very well lead to the other. There is no known evidence of what causes anxiety and depression, there are simply common triggers. For anxiety it could be a fear, a worry, an unconscious memory, or the fear of death. For depression examples of common triggers for depression are losing a job, getting a divorce, or having a stressed or rough childhood. Anxiety occurs when what is called the “fight-or-flight” response happens. Fight-or-flight is one’s physical response to stress as the body’s nervous system reacts to dangers or threats, regardless if they are real threats or not. Depression is an imbalance in neurotransmitters, and recent studies imply that the size of the Subgenual Prefrontal Cortex of the brain may be a culprit in hereditary depressive disorders. People can pinpoint anxiety better than what they can depression, because of the difference in symptoms. Depression has fewer and less noticeable symptoms; these include irritability, loss of energy, and a loss in concentration. Also during an episode of depression, an individual can experience a change in their sleeping and eating habits, as well as a loss of self-esteem. However, with anxiety there are more recognizable symptoms. Physically one can have headaches, dizziness, nausea, sweating, breathing difficulty, and tightness of the chest. The person could also experience pacing, trembling, restlessness, and hyperventilation. Emotionally he or she can feel tense, nervous, and hyper; they can have feelings of panic and terror. Some cognitive symptoms include obsessive thoughts, feelings of doom, and confusion. Both of these diseases can affect the body physically causing aches and pains where one had never had them before. Diagnosing these two diseases are not the easiest to do. There are no medical tests that can diagnose anxiety. Instead anxiety is detected by the doctor using the patient’s medical, dietary, work, psychological, and social histories to determine what type and how sever one’s anxiety might be. Depression is diagnosed by a person’s doctor or psychiatrists performing an interview that can help determine that patient’s depression levels and factors. The doctor can also run a series of clinical inventories and scales to diagnose depression. These will all include a series of questions and an evaluation on your behavior during the tests. Prescription medications are used in the treatment of both of these diseases. Depression is easier to treat than anxiety. For depression your doctor will prescribe you an anti-depressant such as Zoloft, Wellbutrin, or Prozac. However, for anxiety one’s doctor can chose to prescribe you an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety, or your doctor can prescribe both of these at one time for if you suffer from both diseases. Other medications they can prescribe are called beta-blockers. These are used to block stress hormones diminishing the fight-or-flight response. There are different types of therapies that one can use to treat these diseases. Psychotherapies are usually used in conjunction with medications. One method is cognitive therapy; this method is used to retrain the thought process, changing the patient’s negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Another is relaxation therapy; this is used to train the patient in techniques to help relax and cope with these diseases. An example of these techniques is deep breathing. The different types of psychotherapies are all used with the goal to help the person cope with these diseases. There are alternatives that one can practice to help cope with their anxiety or depression without the use of a doctor’s help. One can eat healthy, exercise, and get adequate sleep. There is also homeopathy, a natural alternative to prescription medications such as St. Johns Wort. An individual can use meditation, hydrotherapy, Chinese medicines, and acupuncture to try to treat anxiety and depression as well. If none of the suggested treatments work than one can turn to the last resorts. For depression, the last device would be electrotherapy; a series of pulses sent through your brain. After trying everything they could, a patient suffering from anxiety can utilize psychosurgery, or surgery on the brain. Anxiety and depression are two of the most common metal diseases, but many people may not realize how different these two diseases really are. Most people think that they have many of the same symptoms and causes. By having the capability of recognizing the differences, people will be able to identify when someone may be suffering from one, the other, or both of these diseases. They will not only recognize these two different diseases, but also they will be able to help them, their family, and their friends cope with them as well.

References 1.
Frey, Rebecca J., and Teresa G. Odle. "Anxiety." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 426-430. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Aug. 2013. a. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX1919600163&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w 2. Ford-Martin, Paula Anne, and Teresa G. Odle. "Depressive Disorders." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 1137-1141. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Aug. 2013. a. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3451600498&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w 3. National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week. (yyyy). Retrieved from http://www.freedomfromfear.org/NationalAnxietyandDepressionAwarenessWeek.en.html 4. Rattue, G. (2004-2013). Suicide rates highest in 15 years, US. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241911.php