Anxiety and Depression

Depression is often secondary to anxiety. So another way to say it, depression is because of anxiety. There are types of depression that are not reliant on anxiety, but those are not the norm that I see as a clinician in my day to day practice. Often times a person is beset with difficulties in their life to the point to where they become overwhelmed and emotionally saturated. It is at that point that their body, i.e., psychic defensive structures say, "enough is enough" and begin the process of shutting down to protect the body from additional stress, anxiety and fears. It is at that point that a person will begin to experience depressive symptoms such as fatigue, low motivation, irritability, seclusion, feeling listless and empty inside and sometimes even suicidal thoughts. "I just don't want to be here anymore." It is important to get professional help when this occurs. Through psychotherapy, once you begin developing the coping tools to better manage stress and anxiety your depression begins to dissipate and you start to feel better.