While and anxiety and depression are often considered to be two separate conditions, anxiety and depression symptoms can often be related and mimic one another. This can make the process of diagnosing these conditions that much more difficult. In fact, in some cases, one condition can actually be brought on by the other condition.

When seeking relief from these conditions it is important first to distinguish the presence of such symptoms from other possible conditions. Keep in mind that while it is normal for an individual to feel anxious from time to time and even experience stress, it is not normal to endure chronic anxiety that never seems to really go away. Likewise, while everyone feels down occasionally, depression is actually much more serious.

Individuals who suffer from an anxiety disorder, may experience the following symptoms:

• 6 months or more of excessive worry and anxiety regarding situations and events. While one person’s definition of excessive can certainly vary from another; traditionally, excessive would be classified as more worry or anxiety over a situation than would normally be called for.

• Individuals with an anxiety disorder also frequently experience significant problems in controlling their worry and anxiety.

• Experiencing a frequent pattern of other related symptoms such as irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbances, problems concentrating, extreme fatigue and restlessness.

Persons who are suffering from depression may experience the following symptoms:

• A depressed mood-with this symptom the individual my feel sad or even ‘empty’ frequently. This may be evidenced by frequent bouts of crying as well as an increased sense of irritability; particularly in children and teens.

• Decreased pleasure or interest-this symptom involves a marked decrease in pleasure of many or all daily activities.

• Weight changes can also signal possible depression, particularly when they are significant and when the individual is not trying to lose or gain weight. A weight gain or loss of 5% or more in a month can be a symptom of depression.

• Problems sleeping-individuals who suffer from depression often experience insomnia or may even find themselves sleeping far more than they once did.

• Restlessness and agitation-this can be another sign of depression; however, keep in mind that persons who suffer from depression may also show lethargy as well, including deep fatigue and a loss of energy

• Feelings of guilt or worthless-another common symptom of depression. The person may feel as though they have little value. Likewise, they may also experience feelings of guilt over something they really have no control over.

• Difficulty concentrating-persons suffering from depression frequently experience a decreased ability to concentrate and make decisions.

• Thoughts of death-recurring thoughts of death, including suicide (whether with or without a plan) is a strong indication of suicide.

Differences
The biggest difference between anxiety and depression symptoms as well as the two conditions is that depression often demonstrates a decrease in interest in activities and even in daily life. Conversely, an anxiety disorder often involves the inability to control fear, anxiety and worry. Individuals who suffer from anxiety disorder often experience symptoms such as racing thoughts and may feel keyed up while persons with depression generally experience lethargy and a slower pace of thoughts.

Due to the fact that depression and anxiety disorder can mimic one another and even co-exist it is important to receive a proper diagnosis. If you believe you may suffer from anxiety and depression symptoms it is important to see a health professional and begin a recovery plan immediately.

If you fear participating in public and social experiences you could be suffering from a disorder known as performance anxiety. This type of anxiety is related to social phobia, including social anxiety disorder, although there are some differences between generalized anxiety disorder and performance social anxiety. Social phobias are actually the third most common type of mental health disorder; affecting more than 10 million people. Generally, this type of anxiety is marked by a clear and distinct fear of social as well as performance situations. The individual may be fearful of becoming embarrassed in the situation. As a result, when the person is exposed to a social situation or a situation in which they must perform in some capacity they begin to experience anxiety symptoms. Over time this can lead to avoidance behavior, including complete avoidance of situations which seem likely to result in panic and anxiety related symptoms and attacks.  

One of the most interesting aspects of this type of anxiety disorder is that it is not caused by psychosis. To the contrary, individuals who suffer from performance social anxiety are quite commonly able to recognize that their fears are unreasonable and even excessive. Unfortunately, the ability to recognize this does not prevent the symptoms most commonly related to this form of anxiety. These symptoms may include: 

• Chest pain

• Hyperventilation

• Palpitations

• Dizziness

• Nausea

• Lightheadness

• Headache

• Faintness

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

In some cases the symptoms of this form of social anxiety can become so severe they result in a condition known as agoraphobia. In this condition, the individual experiences such strong fears regarding being in crowded places and social situations that they begin to avoid them completely.   Perhaps one of the worst aspects about performance social anxiety is that the individual must face their fears everyday; particularly in work and career related situations. Oftentimes, the individual will experience extreme anxiety when meeting individuals who are in authoritative positions. In these situations, anxiety levels can become very high and even result in other health problems due to high levels of stress such as high blood pressure.  Sadly, because most people who suffer from this disorder try to prevent others from knowing about their fear and work very hard to appear normal, they often suffer in silence. As a result, their condition may go undiagnosed for a long period of time or may even be misdiagnosed.  While it is possible to reduce the symptoms associated with performance social anxiety, appropriate treatment is necessary.  One of the most important steps toward recovery is recognizing that everyone is unique and different. Even though the term performance anxiety is often thought of in relation to making some type of performance in public or speaking in public, specific fears can vary from one individual to the next. It can be mild, from feeling uncomfortable writing in public, to quite severe and debilitating in all social situations.  The important fact about this disorder to understand is that it is treatable with appropriate therapy. Many individuals have found permanent, long-term success with treatment methods, such as cognitive behavior therapy. If you suffer from performance anxiety you owe it to yourself to find out how you can begin to unwind the cycle and achieve relief.