Understanding Depression and Anxiety
Depression and anxiety are two of the most commonly occurring mental disorders, with many individuals suffering from anxiety and depression. It is estimated that one in six American adults will have depression in their lifetime. 1
It is also estimated that 19.1% of the US adult population is struggling with an anxiety disorder.
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression are related and are often co-occurring. Both anxiety and depression are internalizing disorders, and both share functional and structural brain alterations in pathways involving emotional regulation, executive functioning, and cognitive control. Anxiety and depression typically occur during development, with anxiety emerging during preadolescence and early adolescence. Depression occurs a little later in development, usually following anxiety, emerging during adolescence and early to mid-adulthood.
Major Causes of Depression
Death or a Loss
Grief and loss, although natural causes, can increase the risk of depression. When grief is prolonged or leads to symptoms affecting life functioning, it can indicate depression.
Brain Chemistry
One of the most widely accepted causes of depression is changes in brain chemistry. These changes are related explicitly to neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Individuals with imbalances in these neurotransmitters can experience symptoms of depression.
Abuse
Abuse in childhood is a strong predictor of depression later in life. In a recent study of hospitalized individuals with depression, 75.6% of chronically depressed patients reported having a significant history of childhood trauma and abuse. Abuse in adulthood can also cause depression.
Hormone Levels
Hormonal imbalances can also cause depression. Hormones, specifically those related to the thyroid, can be factors in depression. Because of this, symptoms of depression are related to thyroid conditions. For women especially, conditions related to the menstrual cycle, which are hormonal in origin, can also cause depression.
Medical Conditions
Certain medical conditions can also be related to depression. Serious illness, thyroid conditions, cancer, chronic pain, heart disease, lupus, diabetes, HIV, and multiple sclerosis can increase the risk of depression.
Genetics
Depression is a heritable disease, meaning that it has a genetic component. Having a family history of depression can increase your risk. It is estimated that depression is moderately heritable, at 40%.
Major Causes of Anxiety
Stress at Work
Work stress can trigger anxiety. According to the 2021 Mind the Workplace report, 85% of respondents reported that job stress affected their mental health. Job stress can be due to keeping up with unrealistic demands, presenting, and interpersonal relationships. If the anxiety continues outside the workplace and is present on days off, it may indicate an anxiety disorder.
Stress from School
Similar to job stress, academic stress can trigger anxiety. Academic and peer-related pressure can cause stress for younger individuals. Additionally, anxiety is a disorder that appears in pre to mid-adolescence. If stress related to school is causing anxiety, and it doesn’t resolve when the individual is no longer in school, this may indicate an anxiety disorder.
Chemical Imbalance
Chemical imbalances have also been cited as the cause of anxiety. Anxiety is a disorder that affects neurotransmitters, including serotonin, norepinephrine, and gamma amino butyric acid. Individuals with anxiety typically show changes in the levels of these brain chemicals.
nvironmental Factors
Individuals with no genetic predisposition to anxiety can still develop an anxiety disorder from environmental factors alone. Unsupportive stressful environments over time can be overwhelming and trigger anxiety. Additionally, traumatic early life experiences or a neglectful, abusive home environment are risk factors for anxiety.
Withdrawal From an Illicit Substance
Withdrawal from illicit substances such as heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs can cause anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety from withdrawal can be lasting, especially in post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS), and can develop into an anxiety disorder.
Common Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety
- Irrational Worries or Fears
- Irritation or Frustration
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Changes in Eating Habits
- Difficulty in Concentrating
- Sadness
- Worthlessness
About the Creator
Christmas is Not Always “Beer and Skittles”
If you find the holiday season challenging, you’re not alone. I have never been a big fan of Christmas. I have always found it a bit pretentious. It is a time for kids, really. I have not had kids in my life, so the "children's influence" around this time of year doesn’t occur.
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From Surviving to Living: When Rest Becomes an Act of Courage
When Survival Becomes a Lifestyle — And You Forget How to Live There is a quiet shift that happens when survival lasts too long. At first, it’s temporary. You tell yourself, “I just need to get through this phase.” Then weeks become months. Months become years. And without realizing it, survival stops being a response — it becomes a lifestyle. You don’t notice the moment it happens. There’s no clear breaking point. Just a gradual narrowing of life. Your goals become smaller. Your dreams become practical. Your emotions become controlled, managed, muted. You stop asking what brings you joy and start asking what is necessary. What is efficient. What is acceptable. And slowly, living turns into managing. The Hidden Cost of Constant Coping When someone lives in survival mode for too long, their nervous system adapts. It learns to stay alert. It learns to expect pressure. It learns that rest is risky and stillness is unsafe. So even when external threats disappear, the body doesn’t get the message. This is why many people feel exhausted without knowing why. Why calm moments feel uncomfortable. Why success doesn’t bring satisfaction. Why peace feels strangely empty. It’s not because something is missing. It’s because your system was never taught how to receive ease. You learned how to endure. Not how to enjoy. Why Letting Go Feels Harder Than Holding On Letting go sounds simple in theory. But for someone who survived by holding everything together, letting go feels like failure. You weren’t rewarded for resting. You were rewarded for coping. For staying strong. For not needing too much. So your identity formed around function, not feeling. This is why slowing down can trigger anxiety. Why saying “I can’t” feels shameful. Why doing less feels like becoming less. Your worth became linked to effort. And effort became constant. Healing Is Not Becoming Softer — It’s Becoming Safer Healing from long-term survival is not about becoming fragile. It’s about becoming safe. Safe enough to pause without panic. Safe enough to feel without rushing to fix. Safe enough to rest without preparing for collapse. This kind of healing doesn’t happen through motivation or discipline. It happens through permission. Permission to stop performing strength. Permission to disappoint expectations — including your own. Permission to exist without proving anything. At first, this feels unnatural. Because survival trained you to believe that safety must be earned. But safety is not earned. It is allowed. Relearning What Living Actually Feels Like Living is not dramatic. It doesn’t always feel exciting or intense. Sometimes, living feels quiet. Neutral. Ordinary. And for someone used to survival, that can feel unsettling. But calm is not emptiness. It is space. Space to notice yourself again. Space to feel preferences instead of obligations. Space to choose, not react. You don’t suddenly become a new person. You simply return to parts of yourself that were postponed. A Different Measure of Progress Progress is often measured by how much you do. How fast you move. How productive you appear. But healing progress looks different. It looks like stopping before burnout instead of after. Like resting before you collapse. Like saying “enough” without explaining yourself. It looks like choosing sustainability over intensity. Truth over performance. Presence over pressure. This kind of progress is quiet. And because it’s quiet, it’s often overlooked. But it is real. A Closing Truth If survival shaped you, it’s not your fault. You adapted the way you had to. But you are not meant to live your entire life in adaptation mode. You are allowed to soften without losing strength. To rest without guilt. To live without constantly preparing for impact. You don’t need to become more. You need to feel safe enough to be. And that shift — from surviving to living — is not weakness. It is the most honest form of courage there is.
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