It seems to be an oxymoron to say that people can be both anxious and depressed, yet it happens regularly. There is a circular action to it, both in the physical response and the emotional response ~ the physical response goes something like this: you get anxious and wound up, your heart beats faster, maybe your breathing speeds up and drains your body of energy. Then your body feels worn out and all your energy is gone so your activity level plummets and you feel drained. The mental/ emotional side is the thought process that goes with it and it goes something like this: “I can’t stop thinking about…. Why can’t I think of something else, my heart is racing, I shouldn’t feel this way:” and then “I’m a failure, I can’t even control what I think, there is something wrong with me.” The result: anxiety and depression.
How do we get to that anxiety–depression cycle?
An over-arching trait is all about what’s known as “Locus of Control,” which is the concept that defines how a person looks at their ability to control or have influence over the events of their life. There is an external locus of control and an internal locus of control. If you have an external locus of control you believe that what you do doesn’t have much effect on what happens in your life. This can make a person both anxious and depressed if everyone else’s actions matter more than your own. This leads to feeling like victims. The other locus is the internal locus of control – people who are more likely to be resilient to stress yet may also feel like everything falls on their shoulders. Those with a strong internal locus of control are often high achievers and may tend to be more controlling than other people whose internal drive isn’t quite so strong.
There are seven types of Anxious–Depressed categories
· The Low energy person - looks most like depressed only: lethargic (works but sits at home a lot), sleeps a lot, no interest in hobbies, doesn’t return phone calls, ruminates –going over and over a past situation.
· Hopeless Ruminators - consistently worries especially about anxiety, pessimistic view of life, strong sense of responsibility at work but does not enjoy what they do; restrain their anger, may be passive aggressive.
· Panicky and Depressed – usually concerned about panic, but has an underlying sense of pessimism; can be worn out by people, panic attack may come after a sudden loss or stressful situation, pessimistic about getting better.
· Worried and exhausted - try to keep up with responsibilities, but has trouble getting good sleep; stressed out emotionally and physically.
· Quiet Avoiders - usually shy, and social situations cause them difficulty; avoid anxiety producing situations, avoid opportunities to advance or fill potential, may depend on close friends or loved ones to help them through an unfamiliar situation.
· High energy anxious depressed – high activity and productivity, history of trauma, tension related physical symptoms (TMJ, headache, muscle pain), perfectionist, heightened anxiety interferes with enjoyment in life’s activities.
· High anxiety- persistent high anxiety, feels it in the gut, depressed from being anxious, tends to be controlling and critical of others, tends to be excessively apologetic to others.
Can the anxiety-depression cycle be broken?
So being anxious and depressed at the same time is not an oxymoron. The circular action to it means one can lead to the other quite naturally. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can break the cycle and help make you feel whole once again.