Have you ever thought you are suffering from anxiety or depression? Our understanding of these conditions can confuse what we feel we are experiencing. Nevertheless, although anxiety is an average part of everyday life, depression is not.

Anxiety lasts long and interfere with your life. Anxiety disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions; about 30% of young adults aged 18-29 have them. Also depression and anxiety quite often go together; 58% of people who have ever been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder also have an anxiety disorder. Sometimes, people with major depression have bad anxiety, though only when their depression is active.

Stressful situations create anxiety. Crimes and accidents are no exception.  We undergo physiological and psychological changes that can affect what we recall later when we see such incidents.  Anxiety can be described as a state of emotional and physical arousal. In a state of shock, it can become difficult to record what occurred in the scenario. When we are stressed, our brain is alerted that a threat is present and this triggers fear or an anxiety response. The emotions include having worried thoughts and feelings of tension. Physical changes include an increased heart rate and sweatiness. Most people experience this in childhood especially when trying to take exams. This is because we want to do our best and therefore feel let down when we don’t, such as a perfectionist who has very high expectations for themselves.

Panic attacks can be frightening. Just imagine a sudden gripping feeling or fear and helplessness that can last for several minutes, accompanied by scary physical symptoms such as breathing problems, a pounding or racing heart, tingling or numb hands, sweating, weakness or dizziness, chest pain and stomach pain. You may have heard of the term ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response. This is where we either deal with whatever issue we face, or run away from the problem. Most people have a tendency to do one or the other based on their personality.  When triggered, we become more alert and our memory of the event becomes stronger as we are more aware of cues in the situation. Basically, the more anxious we are, the more accurate our memory of this becomes.

Most of us would describe ourselves as feeling ‘depressed’ at some point in our lives and possibly may feel depressed relatively frequently. What we are usually describing is a feeling of being ‘a bit down’, a normal variation in mood. However, clinical depression can be a severe condition. Clinical depression, also known as major depression, is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts.

‘Depression is like a bruise that never goes away. A bruise in your mind. You just got to be careful not to touch it where it hurts. It’s always there, though.’ Jeffrey Eugenides.

Depression is different from feeling down or sad. Depression is when you are in a depressed mood, with a lack of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep of appetite, low energy and poor concentration. Untreated depression increases the chance of risky behaviours. For example, drug or alcohol addiction and also could ruin relationships, cause problems at work, and make it difficult to overcome serious illnesses.

To try and help improve your depression you could:

  • Reduce the time spent on social media like Facebook, Twitter etc.
  • Start living for yourself.
  • Keep a diary or express your thoughts in writing.
  • Stop comparing yourself to others.
  • Make sure you eat well and take necessary supplements.
  • Talk to someone, anyone if you can’t talk to family/friends.
  • Pick a goal or follow.
  • Try exercise like yoga/meditation.

When you are feeling anxious and stressed you could:

  • Take a break from normal activities, for example you could take a walk around Chislehurst or Scadbury Park and enjoy the nature.
  • Eat well-balanced meals.
  • Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can exacerbate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
  • Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
  • Exercise daily to help you feel good and maintain your health.
  • Take deep breaths. 
  • Count to 10 slowly.
  • Try your best.

Above all stay positive. 

Rhea Patel, Farringtons School