What  are Depression and Anxiety?

Depression:

Sadness is a natural human emotion, and it is expected that at one time or another you may feel sad or overwhelmed. This may be due to the loss of a friendship, relationship, or even for no apparent reason. At times, however, these feelings can become overwhelming, intense and prolonged to such an extent that daily functioning can become difficult or even impossible. When this happens a person is described as "depressed."

Symptoms of Depression: Although each person may experience a depressive state differently, here is a list of common symptoms that many people feel when they are depressed:

* Crying spells or lack of emotional response (i.e. "I just feel numb")
* Helplessness and/or hopelessness
* Inability to gain pleasure, even from activities that used to feel good
* Loss of warm feelings towards family and friends
* Feeling like being alone or wanting to isolate yourself from important/significant people in your life
* Exaggerated sense of self blame and/or feelings of guilt
* Inability to focus or concentrate
* Not being able to complete everyday tasks and activities
* Change in sleeping habits (i.e.sleeping longer hours, difficulty falling asleep)
* Loss of appetite or increase in appetite
* Persistent headaches
* Feeling worthless
* Academic difficulties
* Lack of energy/feelings of fatigue
* Irritability, complaining
* Suicidal thoughts

Anxiety:

Anxiety is an emotional state in which people feel uneasy, apprehensive, or fearful. People usually experience anxiety about events they cannot control or predict, or about events that seem threatening or dangerous. For example, students taking an important test may feel anxious because they cannot predict the test questions. People often use the words fear and anxiety to describe the same thing. Fear also describes a reaction to immediate danger characterized by a strong desire to escape the situation.
Anxiety can help motivate people to prepare for an event or to keep them focused, however too much anxiety can cause problems. Abnormally high amounts of anxiety may cause you to feel overwhelmed, immobilized and unable to accomplish the task at hand. Anxiety disorders are quite common and make up the most common group of mental illnesses.

Symptoms of Anxiety:

* Sweating
* Sleeping problems
* Increased blood pressure
* Nausea
* Dizziness
* Rapid heartbeat
* Fidgeting
* Muscle tension
* Headaches