Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management

In today’s hectic world of fast paced living and competitive work arena, it’s no longer a wonder that a lot of people suffer from the negative effects of depression, anxiety, and stress. These three issues have seemed to become a part of daily life for millions of people around the world –every day they deal with shallow breathing, rapid heartbeats, and the “feeling” of suffocation from the “choking fog” that surrounds them all through their normal daily activities.

Let’s take a closer look at what depression, anxiety, and stress really are, and what they do to the body. Depression is that emotion of being hopeless, “down”, or losing interest in doing things or activities. It may last for a short time such as several weeks, or last longer like months or even years; it may be triggered by significant events or biological reasons. It may disrupt one’s family life, as well as lead to alcohol and drug abuse, and affect one’s ability to work.

Anxiety disorders on the other hand, are disorders that entail apprehension and fear about future happenings. This can result to excessive worrying and can disrupt the life of a person –irritability, fatigue, restlessness, muscle tension, and impaired sleep and concentration.

Stress is the body’s reaction to events that confront it; on the whole, stress can be connected with anxiety and depression at times. When depression, anxiety, and stress unite overwhelmingly, it becomes a form of overstress. Overstress will take its toll on the body, both physically and mentally, and so it is essential that one takes action to manage overstress.

Depression, anxiety, and stress management is an important step to reducing or eradicating the negative effects that these three factors can give the body. There are various options for depression, anxiety, and stress management, and its effectiveness will depend on what works best for the individual’s need. Generally, the aim of depression, anxiety, and stress management, is to lessen the pressure load, help the individual to cope with their depression, anxiety, and stress, at the same time as helping the person get back to being “healthy” again.

Some helpful tips for reducing one’s pressure load includes: lessening the “pace of change” in one’s life; reducing school or work obligations; diminishing social obligations; saying “no” more often; reducing environmental toxins; postponing changes in one’s living situation; and eliminating possible environmental or food allergens. Keep in mind that the initial step to an effective depression, anxiety, and stress management is taking action before it starts to “take action on you”.