Anxieties are different from a depression in the same way that a Scotsman is not the same as a man wearing a kilt

The variety of anxieties in all their forms contrasts with the simplicity of a depression.

Anxieties derives from a healthy but over sensitive and so malfunctioning amygdale (the flight or fight response) and can transform into many and varied manifestations.

A depression by contrast is a specific form of mental distress caused by excess worrying which leads to exhausting over dreaming which then collapses motivation and self confidence.

It is wrong to see anxiety and depression as close cousins and therefore at the opposite end of the same spectrum. Yes it is true that both can be fuelled by a life change which creates extreme difficulty - but they go in different directions.



Try this
There is an overlap between Scotsmen and kilt wearers. But not all Scots wear kilts and there will be non-Scots who do wear kilts.

And there are many more Scotsmen than world wide kilt wearers. And these Scots are all quite different from each other, whether they wear kilts or not.

Anxieties are the Scots and depressions are the men who wear kilts. And there are many more Scots than men who wear kilts.

Differences and Similarities between Anxieties and Depression

The world of course is never that simple even in Scotland, having just elected an SNP government.

There is no doubt that anxiety sufferers can find sleep patterns disrupted though these normally relate to difficulties in getting to sleep rather than feelings of exhaustion in the morning. And certainly both anxiety sufferers and those with depressions will tend to introspect, blaming themselves, and finding it very difficult to cope and aware and concerned that that their mind seems "out of control".

And seriously depressed people can unquestionably have trauma in their background – though it is often the memory of previous dark depressions. As a general rule though, de-traumatising and the use of Rewind is less important for the relief of depressions compared to anxieties where Rewind is almost always necessary.

What both anxious and depressed clients require is to be told a convincing story. That both depressed and anxious clients truly understand the physiological explanation of what is happening to them - that is scientific and credible and so takes pressure off them.

For anxious patients the argument is in terms of role of the limbic system and pattern matching in creating anxiety and for depressed patients the role of over dreaming and excessive worrying.

Of course there are many ways to communicate and reinforce these explanations.

Another common factor is the intermediate objective - to reduce levels of arousal by whatever means. This is because one of the central insights of the Human Givens approach is the realisation that arousal levels will calm when the anxious or depressed client feels in control and is taking action to get their essential emotional needs better met.

So effective action is a key to recovery for both depressed and anxious clients.

Go to Anxiety Symptoms
Go to Anxiety Treatment
Go to Anxiety Case Studies
Go to Depression Symptoms
Go to Depression Treatment
Go to Depression Case Studies
Back to Anxieties
Back to Depression

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