Portraits of Anxiety and Depression
Stacy’s phone vibrates from an incoming text message. It’s her supervisor, wishing her good luck on her department’s presentation later that afternoon. She feels her face drain to an uncomfortable pallor: She’s completely unprepared. She’s known about the presentation for weeks, and has given many successful ones in the past, but since her last few pitches fell flat, it’s been difficult to overcome the self-doubt.
She feels weak and incapable. The thought of reaching out to her supervisor to explain her headspace makes her feel even less equipped for the task at hand. Her fear of failure has kept her from putting in the necessary work, and now she’s sure that disaster is eminent.
Damien has been married for 15 years. He and his wife have two children, and he feels like he barely knows them at all. Getting up out of bed early enough to properly prepare and get motivated for the day is challenging enough. Finding time to connect with his kids is another task entirely.
Today, he lies next to his wife and watches her sleep, thinking about last night’s argument about something that didn’t even matter — whether or not watching The Kardashians perpetuates societal maladies. “Why am I here?” he wonders. “What’s the point to any of this? Would it matter (or even be preferable) if I simply disappeared? Would anyone even notice the vapor?”
How Do I Know if I’m Anxious or Depressed?
Depression and its various forms are characterized by “down” feelings, hopelessness and a general disinterest your surroundings, while anxiety — depression’s similarly evil first cousin — is worrying about outcomes that have yet to (or may never) occur. Both mood disorders range in effect from mild, brief periods to months or years of debilitating emotional distress.
You might be experience depression and anxiety in tandem, as they can tend to feed into each another, or you might have a history of only one. In any case, we cannot stress this enough:
Being honest with yourself about how you feel is the only path to healing.”
It helps to know the terms, however. Your therapist at Thriveworks Boston Depression and Anxiety Counseling will discuss your past experiences, present realities and future hopes while educating you on mood disorders and on how others facing similar hardships have learned to acknowledge and overcome their problems.
If you’re experiencing some of the following symptoms, you might be depressed:
- Prolonged feelings of sadness and hopelessness
- Your thoughts focus on the negative
- You feel guilty without realizing why
- Concentration and decision making are difficult
- Knee-jerk irritability
- Forgetfulness
- Lack of energy
- Marked difference in sleep and dietary patterns
- Thoughts of death and suicide
With anxiety, you might experience:
- Restlessness
- Insomnia or oversleeping
- Muscular rigidity
- Inability to complete simple tasks
- Fear of future outcomes
- Feeling mentally and physically “slow”
- Ongoing physical ailments that do not improve with treatment
Don’t Let Anxiety and Depression Keep You Frozen in Life
Time will pass no matter what, and who wants to spend it wading through feelings of hopelessness and worry?
There are reasons why you’re having a difficult time, and we aim to identify what they are so you can stop giving them undue attention. You are worth more than your stressors and perceived failures.
Contact Boston Counseling today and meet with an anxiety or depression therapist this week, if not within 24 hours.