How to Distinguish Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders | #club5050 | by @lingkar-photo

lingkar-photo (62)25 SP Delegator💧Steemingzenin Steeming Community • 3 years ago

Hello Steemians and #SteemingCommunity friends, today I want to share information about health and with the theme I raised "How to Distinguish Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders".

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Almost everyone has experienced stress. Whether it's because of office work that is tight on deadlines, family or partner conflicts, to trivial things like the stress of dealing with traffic jams in the capital's streets. The suffocating fear, anxiety, and anxiety caused by this stress can be excruciating and feel like they will never end. However, have you ever wondered what is the difference between stress and depression?

This is where we have to start being careful. Severe stress that becomes increasingly severe and is not treated immediately can lead to a number of chronic psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders. And if these chronic disorders are not treated properly, then both can seriously damage our quality of life. It's also important for all of us to be able to recognize the difference between stress, anxiety disorders and depression in order to get the right help before it's too late.

1. What is stress?

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Stress is a form of self-defense reaction when you are in a stressful situation. While unwelcome, stress is actually part of our primitive human instinct to keep us safe and alive.

Once you are faced with a stressful situation. For example, the presentation of work projects next week, the body perceives it as a danger or threat. To protect you, the brain will begin to produce a number of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine that trigger a "fight or flight" reaction in the body.

Sometimes, stress can give you a boost of energy and concentration so you can respond effectively to the source of the stress. But more often than not, stress actually makes the brain flood the body with these three hormones so that you are constantly feeling frantic, anxious, and restless. At the same time, blood will be focused on flowing to parts of the body that are useful for responding physically such as the feet and hands so that brain function decreases. This is why many people find it difficult to think clearly when they are under stress.

2. What is an anxiety disorder?

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Everyone must have experienced stress and anxiety at least once in their life. The difference is, stress is the body's response to threats in random situations that could harm you. Anxiety is your reaction to stress.

Familiar with the sensation of heartburn, headache, pounding heart, rushing breath, and cold sweat when you are overwhelmed with anxiety before speaking in public? Or while waiting to be called for a job interview? These are some signs that you are stressed and/or anxious. Usually this series of symptoms will subside as soon as you feel relieved or finish your task. This means that the level of psychological pressure you receive is still "healthy" enough that you are still able to handle the situation appropriately.

Anxiety becomes a chronic psychological disorder when you are constantly plagued with irrational fears or fears of all sorts of things that you perceive as major threats, but do not pose any real danger. Anxiety is a psychiatric disorder that is recognized by the medical world. Anxiety disorders are conditions that can be diagnosed by a doctor based on the collection of symptoms you experience on an ongoing basis.

Living with an anxiety disorder keeps you under stress even after you've been through the threatening event for a long time. And even when you're not exposed to any stressors, that anxiety will always be there in your subconscious-haunting you with relentless anxiety throughout the day. Anxiety disorders can be experienced every day with the appearance of very obvious symptoms, such as social phobia, or come on suddenly for no reason such as panic attacks or anxiety attacks. This means, anxiety disorders do not have to surface as a response to a particular experience/situation.

3. What is depression?

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Depression is a mental illness characterized by a worsening of mood, feelings, stamina, appetite, sleep patterns, and concentration levels of sufferers. Depression is not a sign of weakness or character flaw. Depression is also not to be confused with feelings of sadness or grief, which usually get better over time - although in some cases, depression can be triggered by ongoing grieving or severe stress.

Stress and depression affect you in the same way, but the symptoms of depression are much more intense and overwhelming, and last for at least two weeks or more. Depression causes drastic changes in mood, leading to feelings of hopelessness, despair, and even an unwillingness to move on with life. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in today's society. It is estimated that one in five people in the world will experience depression at some stage in their life.

So, what is the difference between Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders?

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While there are some overlapping characteristics of stress, depression, and anxiety disorders, these three emotional turmoils come from very different places. The stress we experience in our daily lives is related to feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. Meanwhile, anxiety disorders and depression can be rooted in worries, fears, and hopelessness that have no definite cause. Although all of them may be triggered by many factors, including genetics, brain biology and chemistry, life trauma, to chronic ongoing stress. The main difference between the three is a sense of helplessness.

When you're stressed and anxious, you know exactly what you're dealing with. Those are challenges that you encounter everyday (even if they happen randomly) such as work deadlines, financial bills, or household matters. But sometimes, what makes you stressed can also come from within, triggered by an overactive imagination or not thinking clearly. Stress and anxiety will go away when you prioritize and deal with them one by one. In the end, you can find a way out of every problem and get back on your feet for the day.

Meanwhile, living with an anxiety disorder or depression leaves you powerless to know what your concerns are. The reaction is the problem. Both of these psychological disorders occur continuously without having to respond to certain experiences or situations. Both also tend to last a long time (often months or even years). Both can severely limit your functioning as a human being. You may feel constantly tired and lose motivation/enthusiasm for activities such as work, socializing, or driving like everyone else.

All three are psychological disorders that need to be addressed. Not only does it affect your mental health, but it can also affect your physical health in the long run. However, depression and anxiety disorders are not something you can get rid of on your own. So, it is important to get medical help as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are a variety of treatment options available to manage the symptoms of each. One of them I have discussed in my post.

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