Many depressed people experience anxiety and panic attacks. Does that mean the two are related? Does one cause the other? It is a common belief that depression causes anxiety and panic attacks. And that could very well be the case. But you really need to talk to a professional who can test you properly so that you can determine if you are depressed and then to see if the depression is causing anxiety and panic attacks. It’s likely that if you’re depressed, this is having a negative effect on your life so it may very well be causing the anxiety and panic attacks. But again, you need to get tested by a professional to determine if one is causing the other.
Are you depressed? Do you feel down in the dumps constantly? Do you feel like crying for no reason? Do you find yourself avoiding other people? Do things that once brought you happiness and joy now seem dull and uninteresting? Do you not feel like engaging in your favorite hobbies or do you find yourself avoiding even your best friends?
If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, it’s likely that you are depressed. Let’s take one of the examples above. You’re depressed so you’re being reclusive. Just going outside makes you feel panicked. In that example, it would appear that depression is causing anxiety and panic attacks. However, what if the opposite were true?
Let’s say you really like this girl or boy at school. You can’t get them out of your head. Yet every time you try and talk to them, your heart starts racing, you feel like throwing up and you feel light headed to the point of almost passing out. That’s called an anxiety panic attack and this information leads us to believe that talking to attractive people causes you anxiety. This really makes you feel bad. You want more than anything to talk to this person yet you can’t because you’re afraid you’ll look like a bumbling idiot as your body tells you to run away.
That’s essentially what a panic attack is; it’s your body’s natural fight or flight mechanism and it’s telling you to remove yourself from the situation ASAP. If not talking to that person makes you feel depressed, then it would appear as though your anxiety and panic attacks are causing depression.
So you see, depression could cause anxiety and anxiety could cause depression. Again, only a professional should make that determination and you should find out because knowing what’s causing brings you one step closer to getting rid of all of these feelings once and for all.