ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION: UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES AND POSSIBLE REMEDIES

There is nothing really wrong with anxiety and depression when they do not interfere in a person’s everyday lives. Anxiety by itself may help spur a person in facing an upcoming task and depression may result in slowing down a person and thereby offer one time to pause and reflect.

Only Acute Bouts of Anxiety and Depression Need to be Worried About
The words anxiety and depression are used to describe moods which the average person is familiar with. The problem arises when the anxiety or depression appears out of the blue, does not go away for weeks on end and there is no relief as it interferes with normal daily functioning. In such cases, one may safely assume that the person is suffering from anxiety and depression that is out of the ordinary and needs to be treated through medical intervention. Anxiety and depression are forms of mental illness which, thankfully can be treated.





A person suffering from anxiety disorders will show signs of shakiness, have muscle aches, sweating, hands become cold and clammy, dizziness, very fast heart beat as well as dryness of the mouth. They will also be emotionally irritable and apprehensive, having dark feelings of bad things about to occur. On the other hand, depression is more common and may have occurred in at least 25 per cent of women and ten per cent of men at some point of time in their lives even though often, it is hard to recognize it.

Theories abound about what causes anxiety and depression as these may be caused by physical and environmental triggers that together give rise to anxiety and depression in some people. Anxiety and depression are illnesses for which successful treatments are available - using a mixture of psychotherapy as well as medication often helps. Anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants as well as other medications are aimed at alleviating anxiety and depression and these are available through physicians. Depression may also be treated through electroconvulsive therapy.





Anxiety and depression together, cause a person to feel lonely and frightened and may trigger thoughts of suicide, which is especially prevalent in depressed people. For treating anxiety and depression one can try out a number of remedies such as prescription drugs, herbal alternatives, dietary supplements, visualization therapy as well as cognitive behavior therapy. There are also people who feel very strongly that anxiety and depression may be treated effectively without taking recourse to prescription drugs. The bottom line regarding what causes anxiety and depression is that it results from a chemical imbalance that exists in a person’s brain.