As a sufferer of an anxiety disorder, but also as someone (very infrequently, and for at most a few days at a time) familiar with depression, if I had to choose between the two, I think I'd choose depression over anxiety.

Which do you believe would be worse (all else being equal)?

Steve

To me depression. I haven't ever had to go up to the hospital to visit a freind who's anxiety made them stop beliving in themselves.

Unfortunatly for many people anxiety and depression can be linked and it's not an either or.

These are both horrible conditions and people can have each to varying degrees. For me depression has been slightly worse because you don't feel like yourself rather a paper cut out of your former self. Depression is a hopeless state of mind with no windows and no doors. I've been depressed since 17 yrs old.

I have OCD which is an anxiety disorder.

And at one point in my life (early 20s) I suffered a 'major depressive episode' with time in the psych hospital on suicide watch.

I'll take the OCD, thankyouverymuch!

I feel 'normal' nowadays but even at my worst anxiety-wise (which was a hell) I still had bright spots in life. I still wanted to live. I still liked myself. I 'just' had this monster on my back that became a huge barrier... until I figured out how to deal with it.

When I had the MDE everything, everyone and myself were depressing, horrible and bleak. I hated life. I wanted to check-out. I had no hope. Every waking moment was sheer agony. I never ever want to experience that black pit of emotional pain ever again (and have not).

THB, I'd prefer 'multiple orgasmic bliss' over both though!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2012 12:24AM by spaghetti oh.

Anxiety wears you down, and depression kicks in.

I have experienced both.

Between being sad and being fearful -- I'll take sad every time.

Full-blown anxiety feels like something is literally killing you.

Amen to that.

My anxiety ALWAYS led to depression. I take pills that work quite well for depression. Pills for anxiety are scary.

Anxiety is worse.

My PTSD gives me both, but the anxiety is easier to handle. Anxiety is easy to identify right away, because the symptoms are acute. Depression would sneak up on me, and even the mildest symptoms were unbearable. For me, anxiety attacks are of relatively short duration--less than an hour--but depression can be protracted over months, or years.

Anxiety is awful--but with PTSD, my survival, "fight or flight" instincts kick in. It does feel like someone or something is killing me, but I fight back! I take a Lorazepam and get on the airplane, drive across the desert, go under the knife, and face down my abusers. Afterwards, I feel empowered.

My mild depression with PTSD was a hopelessness, a giving up--a self annihilation that scares me far more than my anxiety attacks. I live in fear that the depression will return, though it hasn't in the 7 years since I left TSCC. IMO, depression is tougher to overcome, because depression paralyzes you, and you can't really take action. I went to a cognitive/behavioral psychiatrist for several years. I limped through the days at work, and there were setbacks, nightmares, flashbacks. I felt like a ghost, living on borrowed time, after being beaten and almost murdered. I can't explain how LOW that makes me feel--like your life is worth nothing, and can be squashed at someone else's whim. I would prefer the screaming nightmares that end on awakening.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2012 02:33AM by forestpal.

They are both difficult but occurring together is the absolute worse! The pacing,restlessness and hopelessness is like a combination of severe jet lag and being hit by a Mack Truck.

Word. Thank god mine is disapating( don't judge spelling, I'm on my phone) :)

What's REALLY fun is to have both of them. I do. I don't know which is worse.

I have both and they are both debilitating in different ways.

The depression only seems to affect me in the darker months now, but during those months, I have to force myself to exercise, clean, and keep up with my artistic pursuits.

The anxiety comes and goes without warning. I'll be fine, then suddenly i start shaking and have a panic attack.

Depression is sometimes described as internalized anger. I agree.

Anxiety (for me) tends to respond better to treatment (meds, prof. therapy). Depression is more complex.

I highly recommend "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Bourne. It was recommended to me by wise rfm posters when I was going through a particularly bad time.

Another thing that helped my anxiety was identifying my triggers and limiting them. Triggers like watching or listening to certain news stories. I examined what I absolutely had to do, and what was optional (like listening to the news). I would remind myself that I had/have anxiety issues and need to be mindful of that (just like someone with a food allergy stays away from certain foods).

I'm passing the info along to my daughter who is dealing with both issues.

She recently had an anxiety attack where she was convinced her neck was broken. She felt her larynx moving around and thought the tiny bones were broken and keeping her from breathing.

The shortness of breath was actually a panic attack. It took three emergency room visits and $1500 to convince her with xrays etc, that it was a delusion.

She needs to get some better meds than just Lorazepam and maybe a workbook for some more tools to deal with perceptions which are unlikely to be factual.

Having anxiety and depression has kept her from working for a couple of years, yet she doesn't qualify in severity for Social Security.

I'm hoping she will get better help here than in Arizona (which doesn't even have charity for emergency hospital visits)


Anagrammy

i suffer anxiety with depression which i take medication for, so they go hand in hand for me, can't really choose between them, although as ava mentioned i have triggers also that i know to avoid, like certain tv shows (jeremy kyle, hate the man)

Being undiagnosed in either and still forced to be in the world, poor and marginalized. Only thing available is booze or drugs. What would be your choice. Would you self-medicate to end your distress.

Having a diagnosis and still no Mental Health assistance because your county doesn't have enough money for Medicare. Letting your general practitioner "guess".
Being on a medication without sufficient follow up and developing a toxicity to the drug.


The Metallica song "Unforgiven" comes to mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgrl9S6HtK8

wow, now I need to shake this off~!

added: Time for my meds! and count your blessings/advantages



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2012 10:08AM by mindlight.

I've found that the best way to handle my anxiety disorder is to seek out activities that scare me. Once I am finally engaged, it is rarely as bad as I imagined, and in fact I often have a lot of fun. I always get major anxiety attacks while getting ready for work, but once there, everything works out just fine.

I've had depression since age 25 (or longer)--first suicidal depression at age 25. I started having anxiety attacks on Lexapro about 8 years ago. I've never rid myself of them. They scare the hell out of me. I've never allowed myself to be hospitalized for depression, though maybe I should have been. I have definitely seriously considered going to the ER many times for anxiety attacks.

Having lived with anxiety (generalized) and low grade depression (dysthymia) for most of my adult life I will take the anxiety over depression any day. I've learned a lot of tricks and techniques to handle the anxiety and work through it, but when my depression really kicks into high gear I feel helpless and lost and just want to cry. Depression to me is like a black veil that drops over my life and colors everything with sadness and hopelessness. I hate it. I hate the anxiety too but it's a demon I know and I am familiar with how to deal with it. I cand control the anxiety, the depression controls me.

I've been horribly depressed about my crippling anxiety. When they take you in as a patient at a mental institution, the last thing on your tortured mind is ranking your symptoms, believe me.

I'm with you. It's a sick question.

Would you rather die of liver cancer or pancreatic cancer?

I'd have no choice in the matter.

You've got what you've got, you do the best you can do.

Alot of times it hurts, alot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2012 10:31PM by lulu.

Anxiety Disorder by FAR!

My sister suffers from both and I have been trying to understand it and learn more about it. You've all helped immeasureably.

I think anxiety because it can so commonly cause depression.

Mormonism...

Mormonism = Bi Polar precursor??

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2012 08:48AM by steve benson.

It's a question that has no answer for many reasons (subjective nature of what is easier to tolerate varying from person to person, not having a choice anyway in what type of horrible symptoms you are prone to, etc.)

However, as a person how has experienced both, in my case I finally rid myself of the depressive symptoms and self-hatred in one sweep when I suddenly realized that I didn't have to stay in the mormon church....that I could just walk away and that was fine. Until I had that realization 10 or so years ago, it's pathetic, but I had never seen walking away and leaving it behind as an option, though I had been miserable about church stuff since childhood. Of course everyone still has periodic times when they get down and I am no exception, but since I left I have *never again* felt that I am a worthless person or that I had nothing at all going for me and nothing to hope for. To me, to be finally rid of that self-hatred, feelings of complete worthlessness, is pretty much what I consider a cure. I consider myself cured of depression. I haven't had depression problems since leaving. Perhaps all of my depression was reactive or situational rather than having a strong biological component?

I have not been able to rid myself of anxiety problems, however. It's usually a baseline uneasiness and then there are relatively brief periodic, almost intolerable flare-ups. Medications made the symptoms worse(much worse!!!) for me so I just cope as best I can when it gets bad and know that it will eventually cycle back to just constant baseline uneasiness again, which I can tolerate fairly well as I am used to it. For me, the anxiety has been worse only because I haven't found anything super effective in alleviating it like the "cure" I found for the depression.

im only 16 and ive had both and i still suffer from anxiety and im starting to lose my from it i need help bad im terrified that i have schizofrenia or that im possessed or something plz someone give me advice

I think depression is worse, because there are all sorts of relaxation tapes and other relaxation techniques which can help you. But with depression, it would be so difficult to pull yourself out of it, because you lack the energy and effort to try to do something about it.

Unfortunately, my anxiety and depression cycle...

I get anxious... Then I get depressed... Which makes me more anxious... etc ad infinitum...

What always gets me is – I'll be having a panic attack the size of, say, antarctica or sub-sahara Africa, sitting ten feet away from my meds and I can't force myself to get up and take them...

What's worse, a heart problem or liver disease?

Impossible question to answer.