You Think You’re Depressed - But Maybe You Have Anxiety
Did you know anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses? They’re considered different conditions but it is possible for people to have both. In fact, having both anxiety and depression at the same time happens quite a lot.
People who struggle with depression may feel really sad for a long time, usually more than a few months, and might sleep a lot more because they lack energy and motivation to do anything. Alternatively, people who struggle with anxiety are often worrying about the future, feeling on edge, and sometimes even deal with panic attacks. While there are scales of severity to both anxiety and depression, you can experience both feelings at the same time or during the same time period.
You may think you’re suffering with depression because you’re burnt out on work, exhausted all the time, or feel like you’re stuck in a rut. These are all common feelings associated with depression but what you might not know is that these symptoms could actually be indicating something completely different, like high functioning anxiety (HFA).
People with HFA struggle with unrealistic expectations of themselves, over-estimating how much they can get done, and constantly pushing themselves to do more. Sometimes, they push themselves a little too hard, to the point where they feel totally burnt out. If HFA goes untreated, it may even cause depression in some people.
Figuring out the root cause of your feelings of anxiety or depression can help you figure out what kind of help you need. For instance, a common treatment for anxiety is meditation because an anxious person may need to take time out of their day to relax. Someone with major depression, however, may need to find some motivation to get up and get moving.
No matter what you struggle with, you can always find help. To know what help you need, understanding the difference between anxiety and depression can help point you in the right direction.
What Is Major Depression?
Feeling sad after losing something or being disappointed is a pretty normal feeling for everyone. The difference between little d depression and Big D clinical depression is the length and depth of those feelings.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is when those sad thoughts and feelings are persistent for a long period of time. These feelings can also be a lot more intense than typical “sad” feelings. Most clinical definitions of MDD involve at least two weeks of feeling depressed for the majority of the time. When depression spans multiple years, it can become Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD).
It’s a healthy and normal response to feel sad, for example, when we lose a sports game or when someone says something hurtful. Over time we learn to move on and function in the real world, but that’s harder to do for people with MDD. In fact, that’s one of the key differences between being sad and having depression.
MDD often gets triggered by a significant event in our lives and is usually characterized by mental and physical changes. Examples of these changes could include:
You’re tired a lot more and don’t have the energy to do anything
You know you should eat but you have no appetite, even if you haven’t eaten anything all day
Your appetite increases a lot and you eat way more than usual
You start forgetting things, even really important things
You cry all the time and can’t seem to make it stop
You feel numb, like you can’t feel anything at all
Did you notice that some symptoms seemed like polar opposites of each other? It’s because MDD affects everyone differently. That’s why you should try to avoid comparing your symptoms to others and to also remember that just because someone isn’t exhibiting the same signs as you, doesn’t mean that they aren’t going through something, too.
What Is High Functioning Anxiety?
You may think you’re depressed because you feel exhausted and drained, as if you’re stuck in the same patterns and can’t get out of a rut. Well, you may be surprised to hear that people with high functioning anxiety usually feel the same way. People with HFA may even feel a lot of the same emotions as someone with MDD.
People that struggle with HFA make it seem like they have everything figured out and people see them as hard-working and successful people because they have a “go-go-go” mentality, which actually helps them a lot. In fact, a high performance workplace is one of the most common places to find people with HFA and I’ve seen it time and time again with my own clients.
Unlike with a general anxiety disorder, these people function really well but they also tend to over-function. This could mean forcing yourself to work even though you need a break, not calling in sick because you don’t want to feel or be perceived as lazy, or not taking a long overdue vacation because even the thought of not going to work makes your anxiety spiral.
People with HFA try to keep up a cool, calm, and collected facade on the outside but are actually extremely anxious and exhausted on the inside. They want to take a break and relax but their anxiety will not let up. On top of that, they always feel like they’re “stuck in a rut” because they’re stuck in a cycle of constantly overworking and overthinking but trying to make it look like they’ve got everything under control.
This cycle repeats over and over until you’re left completely burnt out, which explains why you feel like you’re stuck in the same patterns and can never get out.
Can You Have Both Anxiety and Depression?
Yes, you can have both anxiety and depression, in fact this is a very common occurrence. The clinical term is called mixed anxiety depressive disorder (MADD) and it’s usually signaled when someone struggles with equally intense symptoms caused by both anxiety and depression - but that isn’t always the case.
Sometimes the symptoms of anxiety can feel more intense than depression, or vice versa. It just depends on your situation and what triggers may arise from day-to-day.
In one study it was found that some people with MADD are more anxious and less depressed than people suffering with major depression. This could be the result of numerous factors, but one thing that I suspect impacts this outcome is high functioning anxiety, and here’s why.
People with HFA are constantly beating themselves up for not meeting the internal expectations they have for themselves. You know now that not meeting those internal expectations can cause anxiety to spiral, especially for over functioners, but what you might not know is that untreated HFA can cause depression in the long term.
So while you might think you have both anxiety and depression, the reality for some people with HFA is that your anxiety is actually causing your depression. This happens because you’re constantly forcing yourself to overwork, beating yourself up over mistakes, and setting unrealistic expectations for yourself.
The good news is that once you identify your HFA and learn how to overcome your overfunctioning tendencies, you may start finding some relief from the symptoms of depression that have been causing you so much grief.
Work Through Anxious Depression With An Anxiety Coach
Talking through your mental and physical changes with someone who understands the differences between depression and anxiety may be exactly what you need in order to figure out what you’re really dealing with.
If you find that you struggle with high functioning anxiety, you can use my coaching services to get the kindness, support, and strategy to work through your anxiety on a daily basis. You can also check out my self-guided course if you’re not quite ready to work one-on-one with an anxiety coach. The course is a great resource that helps you understand more about how your anxiety impacts you while also learning at your own pace.
Schedule a free consultation with me to learn more about anxiety and depression differences, take the first step towards finally breaking the never ending cycle, and getting your life on the track that you want.