What is the difference between depression and anxiety?

Both depression and anxiety are mental illnesses, but there are certain differences between the two. The main characteristics of depression patients are low mood, pessimism, and mental fatigue. Anxiety disorder is fear, constant fear and uneasiness.

1. Depression

The main characteristic of depression patients is low mood, and as a psychopathological state, the degree of depression must reach a level that causes a decline in psychological function or damage to social function. Specifically, depression has the following six main manifestations: ① decreased or even disappearance of interest; ② pessimism and disappointment about the future; ③ helplessness; ④ mental fatigue; ⑤ decreased self-esteem; ⑥ feeling that life or life itself has no meaning.

2. Anxiety

Anxiety disorder is a neurosis characterized by anxiety symptoms. Anxiety as a psychopathological phenomenon has the following characteristics: ① Anxiety is an emotional state, and the patient's basic inner experience is fear, such as anxiety, uneasiness, and even extreme panic or fear; ② This emotion is unhappy and painful, and there may be a feeling of imminent collapse or fainting; ③ This emotion is directed to the future, which means that some threat or danger is about to come or happen soon; ④ In fact, there is no threat or danger, or measured by reasonable standards, the anxiety-inducing events are disproportionate to the severity of the anxiety; ⑤ At the same time as the experience of anxiety, there are physical discomfort, psychomotor restlessness and mental dysfunction.

3. The two diseases can coexist

Although anxiety disorders and depression are different, the two conditions can co-exist. Surveys show that approximately 33%-95% of depression patients also suffer from anxiety disorders. Moreover, the symptoms of the two diseases overlap, such as decreased appetite, sleep disorders, cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal discomfort, irritability, fatigue, etc. The two do have many similarities in terms of pathogenesis and symptoms. However, the two must be distinguished and not confused. Because depression has a high suicide rate and is very harmful, when a patient has both depressive and anxiety symptoms, depression is the priority diagnosis. This principle is the result of many years of experience of many psychiatrists and experts.