Anxiety and Depression!
It's absolutely normal to feel anxious occasionally or bit depressed sometimes, especially in response to stressors of daily life. However, when these feelings become prolonged, disproportionate, or apparent for no significant reason, there develops need to address them.
Thankfully science and psychological research have come a long way, with many public health campaigns, charities, celebrities, and individuals working towards bringing mental illness 'out of the shadows'.
The regular and sudden manifestation of anxiety and depression are common features of these two conditions. While behavioral, emotional, and physical symptoms may differ within the two, the fact remains that they are both an abnormal and unwanted states of psychological health.
Characterized by a constant devastating state of fear or worry, anxiety can be debilitating in its physical manifestations too. The symptoms of depression are very similar to unrelenting feelings of sadness or despair.
Scientifically the exact cause is still unclear; however, changes in brain chemistry, genetic factors, and hormone function are all believed to play a role. Regardless of the cause, psychological imbalance because of anxiety and depression requires and generally responds to specialized therapy.
How to deal with Anxiety and Depression?
As society our understanding of psychological ill-health has evolved over time, yet it still presents several challenges. Scientifically speaking, depression and anxiety primarily affects the way an individual thinks and feels, and in most cases then behaves; therefore, common understanding in these circumstances is that patient identify these changes themselves and seek help.
This is where the problem comes when dealing with these two issues of mental health as person him/herself are not able to notice these changes in majority of the cases.
In most case family members or close friends are able to identify vulnerable individuals and assist in requesting attention. This why we all need to know about these things. Once we know there is a problem, treatment can be quite successful using a variety of approaches; the most common of which are psychological therapies or 'talking therapies'. Such therapies are generally administered by a qualified professional and involve either behavior modification (MBSR or MBCT) or examination of intrapersonal patterns and behaviors.
In all therapies, work is done to identify and address key triggers, and ways of managing and eliminating future reoccurrences. Such therapies if combined with a focus on improved nutrition and regular exercise, which themselves can actively promote a healthy psychological state will help is speeding up the process of recovery.
We all know, a basic and effective step towards self-empowerment and healthy life is taking control over your diet. The benefits are both psychological and physiological. When we consciously reduce or eliminate the spikes caused by sugar-laden and stimulant-laden foods/drinks, such as coffee, coke, cigarettes, etc., will help reduce the draining feelings related with general anxiety.
Children and Young People are also affected
Unfortunately, children and young people are just as exposed to physiological illnesses such as anxiety and depression as adults. In children it is often hard to detect, but once identified, therapies scientifically designed for children are able assist the child in living a happier and balanced childhood.
If a child gets a happier childhood, he/she is better prepared to deal with the stresses of teen years and adulthood. The healthy and safe transition of young adulthood enables the individual to prepare for and live a life feeling in control, empowered and able to deal with everyday challenges.
As in any medical case, treatment is ideally specifically tailored to suit the individual, based on a thorough study of personal history of symptoms, responses, and environment, but Mindfulness is a very simple and powerful practice which can help children, youth and adults lead not only a stress-free life but a fuller life.
Finally, and hopefully after exploring other options, seeking medical may be required. This depends on the severity of the problem and is most often used in conjunction with psychoanalyses.
