Anxiety can be defined as excessive and frequently unwarranted fear or nervousness that serves to disrupt your engagement and/or enjoyment in a wide range of activities. Depression, in contrast, is an excessive and unwarranted sense of overwhelming gloom and sadness characterized by an increasing sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
They are so often linked because as anxiety increases, so does its influence on an individual’s social and occupational life. The individual can begin to feel sad about the observable decline in their enjoyment of life. The sadness can begin to increase to the point where the person feels hopeless about their future and utterly helpless about how to do anything to improve the situation. That’s why it can be so beneficial to reach out to friends and family as soon as someone notices a significant shift in their mood. And don’t be afraid to reach out to a licensed mental health professional for help. Our emotions are excellent at alerting us to the need for change, but both anxiety and depression are extremely self-perpetuating. The sooner we can interrupt their cycle and change direction, the better the prognosis.
If you’ve noticed a change in your mental health during COVID-19, it’s important to talk to your primary care provider about a treatment plan to help you manage your symptoms.