Situational anxiety/depression?

[kaybeee]

Has anyone suffered from temporary anxiety and/or depression? I'm pretty sure my depression is temporary as it has been getting better. I recently moved in with a new roommate for school so I moved three hours away from my parents whom I've been extremely dependent on my whole life until now. It scares me so much. My roommate is a good friend that I've known for practically my whole life so I can talk to her about how I'm feeling.

First I started feeling anxiety in July, about a month before the move. I couldn't stop wondering about how I'm going to pay my bills. Then I thought that I'll just get a job, but for some reason thinking about getting a job gave me anxiety so then I started thinking about how maybe because of the anxiety I won't be able to handle a job and then I won't have money to pay rent and I don't know what I'll do if that happens. Pretty soon (end of July/beginning of August) I fell into a mild depression where I had no motivation to do anything and I didn't enjoy playing piano anymore or singing. I used to love hanging out with big groups of friends, but now I'd rather hang out with only one or two close friends or just be by myself. I went to the doctor and she explained that many people experience anxiety when going through big life changes and she also said that I will experience depression as well because they are closely linked and are similar mental illnesses. Lately it's been getting better. I used to have a certain time of the day where I felt depressed for a few hours and then it would mostly go away if I kept myself busy or took a nap. Now that school is starting soon (2 days!) I'm really, really nervous. I don't know this campus (I'm a transfer student) and campus is HUGE. I don't know the area where I live and I'm too anxious to walk around by myself since I'm so dependent on other people. I'm home alone right now and that makes me anxious too since I'm in an area that I'm not comfortable with. Sometimes I don't know how to cope with it so I just sit in bed and do nothing. Sometimes I feel stronger and want to fight it so I clean my room or take a walk. I also used to think that if I died tomorrow I wouldn't mind because then all the stress and the anxiety would go away. I haven't thought that in a while, but sometimes it crosses my mind for a second. Has anyone gone through "temporary" depression like this? It feels like it's not going to go away even though it has been getting better. I think once I get into a routine and I get used to living here I'll probably be okay.

[Ankhsious]

I have mixed feelings about this. Research indicates that "Life situation" contributes only 10% to your happiness. 50% is genetic and 40% is cognitive/behavioural - you can say attitude and habits.

It's possible that your intuition identified something LEGITIMATE in your life situation and mobilized you to make changes and that the only way it could get your attention was by creating anxiety. If this theory is correct then theoretically, if you had been more AWARE you would have proactively made those same changes before the anxiety arose.

It's also possible that you have a latent underlying anxiety/depression of repressed emotion and that your life situation was a catalyst for bringing this out.

If the latter is true then it means that you still have some healing/work to do.

If I were you I would give yourself a big hug first and foremost and try to be more aware of what is going on inside. In other words, develop a spiritual/emotional practice so that the next time you have a life situation you don't like, you can make changes without anxiety/depression.

I hope this helps!

[kaybeee]

I have mixed feelings about this. Research indicates that "Life situation" contributes only 10% to your happiness. 50% is genetic and 40% is cognitive/behavioural - you can say attitude and habits.

It's possible that your intuition identified something LEGITIMATE in your life situation and mobilized you to make changes and that the only way it could get your attention was by creating anxiety. If this theory is correct then theoretically, if you had been more AWARE you would have proactively made those same changes before the anxiety arose.

It's also possible that you have a latent underlying anxiety/depression of repressed emotion and that your life situation was a catalyst for bringing this out.

If the latter is true then it means that you still have some healing/work to do.

If I were you I would give yourself a big hug first and foremost and try to be more aware of what is going on inside. In other words, develop a spiritual/emotional practice so that the next time you have a life situation you don't like, you can make changes without anxiety/depression.

I hope this helps!


Thanks Ankhsious. It's a bit discouraging to think that maybe the anxiety was in me all along because I like to think that once I get used to my new life and new school, I'll start to feel better. I only experienced anxiety once in high school and then I traveled for about a year after high school and never experienced anxiety. Then I started at a community college with no anxiety. When I moved, that's when my anxiety started again. I guess it's very mild anxiety because I've never experienced panic attacks while I've been at my new school, but I do wake up with nervousness in my chest and thoughts racing through my head. I'm talking to a counselor at school on Thursday over the phone to see if they can help me. I've been doing yoga and meditation every morning for 10 minutes before class. I also just try to remind myself that I'm in a new city, with a new campus and a completely new and independent life and anybody would be nervous in my situation. As far as my lifestyle habits go, I try to go to bed by midnight, wake up around 7:30, do some yoga, eat healthy, take magnesium, and meditate. One thing that I need to do is exercise more though.
Thanks for your answer!