Depression and Anxiety are two disorders that are commonly linked together. You might sometimes wonder why there are people who suffer from depression and at the same time, they experience panic attacks and manifestations of anxiety. The truth is, depression and anxiety are two distinctly different disorders. However, it is also true that depression with anxiety do always happen.
A Close Relationship
You might wonder why depression and anxiety are often linked together. In the past, people (and even the medical community) viewed depression with anxiety as merely a coincidence. They thought that there’s no real connection between the two disorders and that the reason why depression with anxiety happens is because a person may experience depression symptoms that are similar to that of anxiety such as: irritability, having problems with sleep, nervousness and difficulty concentrating.
Through the years, scientists and medical experts have given a lot of their time in the effort of cracking the so-called link between the two disorders. Fortunately, in the twenty-first century, the association between depression and anxiety has finally been revealed.
Years of Studies
There were a lot studies done by the medical community just to shed some light why depression with anxiety happens, and if this is really always the case. One study that was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry (June issue) revealed that there is indeed a strong relation between major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. The said study was done to a group of people born between the years 1972 and 1973 in New Zealand. There were 1, 037 participants – who have depression and anxiety at least seven times in different intervals. The participants were 32 years old and below.
The results showed that in the thirty-seven percent of the depression cases, these were coupled with anxiety disorders that emerged either before or at the same time as the depression did. In addition, 48 percent of the depression cases also had anxiety disorder while 72 percent of the anxiety cases had depression. These significant figures just suggest that depression and anxiety do happen at the same time, isn’t it?
Recent Findings
In another study that was published last April 2010, medical experts have already found the biological link between stress, depression, and anxiety. The highly evident connection between these three disorders were linked to the interaction involved in the brain’s chemical receptors. Stephen Ferguson of the Robarts Research Institute led the study in collaboration with Hymie Anisman from Carleton University.
This significant discovery about chemical receptors – that explains why depression with anxiety usually happens – is outstanding and it may even lead the way to the discovery of a drug which will address the action of the said brain receptors and therefore inhibit the rise of depression and anxiety.
Without a doubt, even if you’re not really an expert in terms of scientific studies, you will do accept that there is a strong connection between depression and anxiety. And with these findings of official medical studies given, you’ll notice that the medical community right now accepts that depression with anxiety is very likely to happen always. This article on how to deal with anxiety gives tips on how you can manage your condition.