Which do you think is worse; anxiety or depression?

[nf1234]

As the title says which do you think is worse; anxiety or depression? I hate them both but I think depression is the worst. I'd rather feel edgy then just plain dark and hopeless.

Also does anyone get depressed for no apparent reason sometimes? There are no circumstances that could be causing it but you just feel blah in the brain?

[annakatarinas]

I'd rather be depressed. I also suffer from both, kind of, and depression to me equals feeling totally numb, while anxiety equals being stressed for no apparent reason. When you feel numb, things can only get better and more emotional, right?
But when you're anxious, to me, it's like you have all negative feelings at once, amplified. Then you take anti anxiety medicine to calm down, but then you feel this emotional numbness as if you were depressed. So therefor, I'd prefer depressed - things can only be better from there.

[annakatarinas]

Oh and also, I get depressed randomly as well. As you describe, I too experience this "blah" in the brain. It's extremely annoying because it makes me not want to do anything, but at the same time I physically feel the need to to things.

[needtogetwell]

Hi rf,

Interesting question. You have opened up a bit of a chicken and the egg debate, especially if you see that the two are often linked.

If I had to make a choice I would take the blah feeling over constantly being on edge. But neither in the long run is conducive to a happy, productive life.

Constant anxiety can definitely lead to depression, especially once the brain kicks into the viscous cycle of seeing the anxiety struggle as a hopeless life sentence.

In my humble opinion and from 25+ years of experience with this, the best thing you can do for yourself is work on changing your thought patterns. Sometimes a small shift in thinking can help more than you know. Recognize successes and build on them one at a time. It doesn't have to be a huge success, for some, just getting a 1/2 hour more sleep than the night before is a huge win! Everyone is different, start small and go from there.

Cheers!
Pam