Anxiety and Depression Honors Project

Anxiety & Depression

Anxiety and depression are both types of mental illnesses which affect many people around the world. Anxiety and depression can be caused by many different things and can have a wide range of different symptoms.

Statistics

Every 7 years, a survey is done in England to measure the number of people who have a type of mental illness. The latest one published was in 2016 and shows that:

5.9 in 100 people suffer from Generalised Anxiety Disorder

3.3 in 100 people suffer from Depression

and a massive 7.8 in 100 people suffer from mixed anxiety and depression.

These statistics are from only some people in the England, so the percentage would be much higher if everyone had taken part, and this is not a good thing. Over the years, this number is increasing quite a substantial amount. More people are now staying quiet and suffering in silence, which is not good for anyone. People who have a mental illness can be affected in many ways and make them have bad thoughts. In the latest survey:

20.6 in 100 people have suicidal thoughts

6.7 in 100 people have attempted suicide

and 7.3 in 100 people self harm.

These numbers are only from people who live in England, so when thought about, there are many more people suffering all over the world.

10 million people in the UK affected.

15% of those with mixed anxiety and depression are receiving treatment.

0.21p is spent on research each year for every 1 person affected in the UK

Information

Anxiety is a mental health problem, which affects many people all over the world. Anxiety can affect people in different ways as there is more than one type of anxiety. It can create things like OCD, phobias, social anxiety and many more!

Depression is also a mental health problem, which also affects so many people across the world and in many ways. Depression can affect one person in one way and another in a completely different way. Some people can have very similar things happen for them, but no two people might not have the exact same feeling as another person.

Both anxiety and depression can cause problems in relationships for many reasons which can make things harder for both, the person suffering and others.

Symptoms

General anxiety symptoms can include:

Constant restless

Feeling on edge

Tiredness and low energy levels

Lack of sleep/ trouble sleeping

Difficulty focusing/ concentrating on a task

Obsessing over negative and anxiety causing thoughts

Panic attacks

Irritability

General depression symptoms can include:

Loss of pleasure in usual activities

Feeling helpless, guilt, worthless

Crying, hopelessness, persistent pessimism

Persistently sad. Anxious, empty moods

Decreased energy

Loss of memory, concentration, decision making capability

Sleep disturbances

restless , irritability

Change in appetite or weight

Thoughts of suicide, death

Thoughts of harming yourself

Poor self image or self esteem

Treatments

Some types of treatments can be either the same or very similar as it can help both types.

Anxiety:

-Benzodiazepines. These medications are sometimes referred to as "tranquilizers," because they may leave you feeling calm and relaxed

- Buspirone: Buspirone is typically used to treat chronic anxiety. It's not related to benzodiazepines.

-Antidepressants

Depression:

-Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor is a types of medication which increases the amount of neurochemical serotonin in the brain. People who have depression often have low levels of serotonin in their brain, so this medication works by blocking the reabsorption of the serotonin, so it stays around.

-Dual-action antidepressants are one of the newer antidepressants and appear to have particular robust effects on both the norepinephrine and serotonin system. This is called dual action. This can be very helpful, especially for those with more severe and chronic cases of depression.

-Atypical antidepressants. This medication is named this because they work in a variety of ways

-Mood stabilizers and anticonvulsants

-Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are type of a medication that was developed in the 1950s/1960s to help treat people with depression. They work by increasing the level of norepinephrine in the brain. This types of medication is safe and well tolerated when properly subscribed.

Therapy/consultations with professionals. This can help with both anxiety and depression as it allows you to talk about anything you want to with them and can help relieve things that are on your mind.

These are just some facts about medication related to anxiety and depression, not advice. It is always best to see a doctor about it!

My story

-Warning! Some things included may be found triggering-

For me, it all started around 4-5 years ago. Growing up from a young age, I used to get bullied. I feel that may have also affected things for me later in life. I can not remember the exact year, but I remember finding out about anxiety and depression, looked it up and then read things about them. Later on, I did a few tests online for them and all the outcomes said that I had a type of depression and anxiety and to seek medical help. As I was under 16 at this point, I was not able to go to the doctors by myself, so I kept it to myself and kept going on doing the odd test now and then. Then, I started to tell a few close friends. In school, at that point, I just started to smile in a fake manner, so no one was to suspect anything. Only a few people knew, some were supportive and some was not. While a this was going on for a long time, I had suicide thoughts and self harmed. All this carried on for around 4 and a half years with only a few friends knowing certain parts of it all. I made plans to go to the doctors with friends after I become 16, but it always got put off. Then one day, a quite few months ago, it finally came out about how I had been feeling all that time to my family. My mum told me I had to go to the doctors about it, so I could get the help I needed, but I was always too scared, so I always refused. Eventually, around 1 month after that, I felt a lump in my throat. It scared me, so finally after a few days, I asked my mum to book me a appointment at the doctors. I spoke to the doctor and had a check with a few questions. It turns out that it was caused from a panic attack I never knew I even had, so I was given tablets to use and had to go back in two weeks time. In the two weeks, I improved a massive amount and am now on tablets for both depression and anxiety. I can still have bad days, I mean who doesn't? My bad days used to be every day, but now, there not.

If you feel like you may have a mental illness, please talk to someone about it. Keeping it all bottled up in the long run can make things worse for you. Telling someone and going to see someone about it can be the best decision of your life and can help you improve in many ways! I really hope my story can help you see that getting the help, care and support you need can help you so much!!

Conclusion

Anxiety and depression can affect anyone no matter what, and there is no certain look for it. If you see someone who may be feeling down, go and talk to them because that can help them and even be the highlight of their day! If you ever see someone getting bullied, please never ignore it ,and tell someone, so they can get the help they need, and stop it before it gets into something more serious! Being non judgemental can be helpful because you never know what that person is really going through or has gone through! I hope that this may have helped at least one person. Please never suffer in silence! There is always a light at the end of the tunnel even if you don't think there is!!

Thank you so much for taking your time to read this! It means a lot to me! If you ever need anything, I am only a message away!!

Some discussion questions:

- Would you like to talk about your story?

- Have you or someone you know ever had an anxiety or depression experience?

- Do you have anything that you do to help you?

References:

Mental health facts and statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2018, from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/#.WkL2Fbp2vmS

7 types of anxiety disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2018, from https://www.eatthesunlight.com/blogs/news/6-types-of-anxiety-disorders

Anxiety disorder - what is anxiety and what are the signs and symptoms? (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2018, from

https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/mental-health/conditions/anxiety?gclid=CjwKCAiAmvjRBRBlEiwAWFc1mLipbVxT5_5ucRxQ1TJpr-z4nSpxn7IHoj4zH1VIU1tXgJcA8STRChoCZJcQAvD_BwE

Depression . (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2018, from https://www.webmd.boots.com/depression/guide/depression-diagnosis

What about Prescription Medication and Treatments for Anxiety and Depression? (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2018, from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-about-prescription-medication-and-treatments-anxiety-and-depression