Let’s talk about anxiety and depression. I am sure you have heard these words before. What I am about to say might surprise you. Anxiety and depression are not bad things despite what we have been led to believe. Now, I want to clarify that I am in no way minimizing the struggles that anxiety and depression bring. Rather, I am pointing out that anxiety and depression play important roles in our lives, but they can be harmful in excess.

Anxiety. Sometimes just reading this word can make us start to panic, clench our jaw, and furrow our brow. Anxiety can inhibit us from being our true selves for fear of judgement or doing the wrong thing. We can obsess over negative thoughts, feel sick to our stomach, the list goes on. Anxiety in excess can be damaging, but let’s think about the function of anxiety. If we were free from anxiety, we would live life recklessly without even knowing it. Anxiety is that little voice in our head that urges us to slow down the car when going around a sharp turn. It alerts us to danger that may be nearby. So, anxiety does have an important function in our life.

Depression. This is the kicker; depression is how the brain repairs itself. Think about a time where you were the most anxious you have ever been. Now ask yourself, is it possible to live in that state of anxiety 24 hours a day, seven days a week? The answer is no. Our brain cannot function at that high of a level of distress. At some point, the brain must come back down from anxiety-- this is where depression comes in. Our brain needs a rest; it needs to let emotions out in order to come down.

To put it plainly, anxiety and depression cannot exist without each other. Feelings of anxiety and depression are okay in small doses, but not in excess.

Allow yourself to feel your emotions. Next time you feel anxious or depressed, take a minute to thank your brain for trying to help and doing what it knows to do. Be vulnerable with yourself, your anxiety, and your depression. Once we accept that anxiety and depression are a part of our life, we can stop trying to get rid of them and work towards managing them. We are in control of our lives, not our anxiety and depression.

Kayla Droscha | MA, LLPC