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Do I Have Anxiety or Depression or Both?
You know something feels off, but putting a name to it is harder than it sounds. Constant worry, a low mood, or some combination of the two can be tough to tell apart, especially when they show up at the same time.
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common reasons people seek mental health support, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that around one in five adults reported symptoms of one or the other.
At Mind Space Wellness, LLC, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Caroline Bjorkman, DO, evaluates and treats anxiety and depression in patients aged 12 and older. While a proper evaluation is essential to diagnose anxiety and depression, this guide can help you unpack the overlapping symptoms.
Common symptoms of anxiety
At its core, anxiety keeps your mind stuck on threats and worst-case scenarios, and your body reacts as if those threats are real. That mix of mental and physical symptoms is part of what makes it so draining. You might notice:
- Worrying more than a situation calls for, with no off switch
- A keyed-up, restless feeling you can’t shake
- Your heart pounding, palms sweating, or muscles staying tense
- Thoughts scatter whenever you try to focus
- Lying awake at night while your mind keeps going
These symptoms tend to revolve around what might happen next, keeping your body and mind on alert even when there’s no real danger in front of you.
Common symptoms of depression
Depression works in the opposite direction, pulling your energy and interest down rather than ramping them up. Things that once felt worth doing start to feel pointless, and even small tasks can seem like too much. You might notice:
- A heavy, low mood that won’t budge
- Losing interest in the people and activities you cared about
- Exhaustion that doesn’t resolve with rest
- Noticeable shifts in how much you eat or sleep
- A sense of worthlessness or that nothing will improve
Unlike anxiety, which tends to keep you activated and on edge, depression often leaves you feeling slowed down and depleted, which is part of what distinguishes the two even when they share symptoms like fatigue or trouble sleeping.
Why anxiety and depression are easy to confuse
Anxiety and depression can wreck your sleep, scatter your focus, leave you exhausted, and make ordinary days feel like a slog. When the symptoms run together like that, you might assume you’re facing one when the other is involved too.
They also tend to fuel each other. Months of relentless worry can wear you down into depression, and depression can stir up anxious thoughts about your future and whether you’ll cope. That cycle is one reason the two conditions show up together so often.
When anxiety and depression occur together
Plenty of people have anxiety and depression together, a combination clinicians sometimes call anxious depression. Research suggests that 50-75% of patients with major depression also meet the criteria for significant anxiety. When they coincide, the symptoms often hit harder, and the conditions can be tougher to treat than either one by itself.
How an anxiety or depression diagnosis shapes treatment
Anxiety and depression don’t respond to the same treatments, so pinning down your diagnosis directly shapes your care.
Medication that eases depression won’t necessarily calm anxiety, and some antidepressants can even heighten anxiety in certain people. The same goes for therapy, where treatment for anxiety often focuses on managing worry and the physical stress response, while treatment for depression works on the thought patterns and behaviors that keep low mood in place.
Dr. Bjorkman reviews your symptoms, history, and how they affect your daily life before putting together a plan. That plan might combine medication, therapy, and lifestyle support, and she adjusts it over time as things shift. When you have symptoms of both conditions, she treats each of them rather than lumping them together.
Anxiety and depression treatment in Fort Lee and Manhattan
Anxiety and depression are both treatable, including when they happen at the same time. Contact our offices in Fort Lee, New Jersey, or on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to schedule an appointment with Dr. Bjorkman and our team, or book online today.