Living With Anxiety And Depression (the Mixed Anxiety And Depressive Disorder)

All in all, these two states coexist at the same time as two dark beings of the same coin: anxiety and depression. Learn more about Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder today.

Having to live under the absolute control of these two conditions completely limits the quality of life. For example, in this area of ​​mental health, the reality is that around 60% of people who suffer from depression also have an anxiety disorder.

This is not a mundane subject because, in fact, the clinical symptoms associated with this type of mental disorder can in many cases become chronic circumstances. Because many affected people do not seek specialized help and therefore do not have a valid and appropriate diagnosis, it often happens that many patients get to an extreme where suicidal thoughts are very common.

Irritation, malaise, anhedonia, feelings of guilt, negative feelings, despair, … The daily life of this person, which is full of anxiety and depression, gradually becomes a kind of quicksand in which it can be drowned at any moment.

These are very complex situations that require the best support and therapeutic approaches in order to respond as well as possible to this fact, which is undoubtedly becoming more and more common.

So one can say that in many of these cases it is a question of a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. It is a clinical reality where different symptoms come together, different characteristics that it is best for the specialized professionals to identify as soon as possible. 

The mixed anxiety and depressive disorder

The relationship between anxiety and depression is generally very well known on a psychological and psychiatric level. In addition, experts in the field, such as David Barlow, director of the Center for Mood Disorders at Boston University, say that these also share processes from a neurobiological point of view.

Studies such as those conducted at Emory University (Atlanta, USA) are very instructive in this regard. Both realities have their origin in our amygdala in the brain. That is, this structure in which our “center of fear” is located is sometimes too reactive. This means, for example, that every event or stimulus is experienced above average, which is accompanied by very intense negative emotions.

The depression has frozen our reality. We are, so to speak, exposed to a state in which we in turn feel helpless and hopeless at the same time. However, this excessive fear leads to the fact that we do not stop anticipating ideas and look forward to tomorrow with great fear and despair.

On the other hand, the reason why we develop such conditions, or why we are more prone to them, for many experts, is due to the genetic factors that are attached to the context in which we are surrounded. Likewise, a lack of tools to combat these circumstances can also be a trigger.

What are the symptoms of mixed anxiety disorder?

The first question that may come to mind is this: So if I have anxiety and depression, do I have some kind of mental disorder? Well, before we answer that question, we need to understand that we are all able to experience these realities at certain moments. 

The problem arises when these conditions become permanent and occur together. The clinical manifestations must be permanent (longer than a month) and coexist to the same extent. In addition, it is necessary that these characteristics appear one after the other:

• Concentration and memory disorders
• Constant feeling of worry
• Depressed thoughts, pessimism, and despair
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Anhedonia (lack of motivation, vitality, energy and courage, …)
• Irritability and constant bad mood
• Feeling of uselessness, feelings of guilt, low self-esteem
• Over-caution. The feeling of always having to be vigilant because something can happen at any time
• Digestive tract problems

On the other hand, the worst form of this condition that some patients can experience is: poor hygiene, social withdrawal, inability to go to work, … The epidemiological data show us that only 50% of those affected are diagnosed with the disease early enough in order to receive the appropriate basic care (either because they do not go to the doctor by themselves or because they are not referred to the specialist staff).

How can mixed anxiety and depressive disorder be treated?

The therapeutic approach always depends on many different variables, but if there is anything important in this context, it is the personal reality of each individual patient. For example, there are those who only have mild symptoms and could therefore benefit greatly from a psychological approach. In other cases, in which the situation is usually more serious, the psychological intervention is also supplemented by a pharmacological intervention.

Whatever the case , the patient can certainly best benefit from a multidisciplinary approach, which also includes social and psycho-educational support, for example. The person suffering from mixed anxiety and depressive disorder needs the greatest possible support they can get. So these would be the most common methods:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (based on cognitive restructuring to reduce hypervigilance, anxiety and anxiety)
• Relaxation technique
• Mindfulness
• Pharmacological treatment (antidepressants and anxiolytics)
• Psychoeducation: The patient is informed about the reality of his situation and learns exactly what depression is, what anxiety is and which strategies you can use independently to treat and also reduce it.

Finally, there is only one more important aspect that needs to be mentioned. We have to keep in mind that many people suffer from anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, it cannot always be adequately identified that these occur with the same intensity and give way to the mixed anxiety and depressive disorder.

For this reason , one should not hesitate to seek specialist help to always get the best response, attention, and guidance.