Problem Statement: How Do I Know If I Have Anxiety or Depression?

The key to differentiating between anxiety and depression lies in understanding the meanings we attach to negative situations and the underlying themes associated with each.

Anxiety 

When we feel anxious, we often perceive danger or threat that may or may not be happening in reality (anticipated threat). This threat can be directed at oneself, such as concerns about approval, achievement, or recognition, or it can involve threats related to comfort, control, or safety.

Depression

In contrast, when we feel depressed, it is often in response to lack (e.g. I am not as intelligent as someone else), loss (e.g. loss of people, property, fame, etc.), undeserved plight (e.g. a sense that I didn’t get what I deserved or got what I didn’t deserve), or failure (e.g.in goals and relationships).

Basic attitudes significantly shape how individuals perceive adversities. These attitudes act as a filter, influencing our specific emotional responses. For example:

• Rigid attitude: A demand for advanced certainty that the threat/danger won’t happen or once it’s happened, it won’t repeat.

• Awfulizing: An attitude of “awfulizing,” where one believes “it’s the worst thing ever if I am judged negatively,” can amplify the perceived horror of potential negative judgments, fueling anxiety.

• Self-Berating: A self-berating attitude, such as “If I am judged negatively, I am a worthless person,” can lead to hopelessness, self-blame, and resignation, contributing to depression.