I Am Brenda | Signal For Help

It is quite common to experience both anxiety and depression at the same time. Whilst they are 2 different conditions, there is an overlap of symptoms. For example, in both depression and anxiety irritability, decreased concentration and impaired sleep are common. Depression is diagnosed when you have symptoms for at least 2 weeks and these symptoms interfere with your normal functioning. You are not alone. Depression affects 1 in 7 Australians. It is a serious medical condition that affects your physical and mental health.

Brenda’s anxiety is at its peak in the morning. This is when the thought of spending another day dealing with complaints is overwhelming. Her depression means she hasn’t the energy to deal with issues. For you, anxiety and depression may mean that your mind can’t stop focusing on the things that could go wrong each day, your sleep is impacted, and you are physically and mentally exhausted. As a result, you feel like you can’t get out of bed.

Depression is different from sadness or grief in the following ways:

Grief or painful, sad feelings come in waves. In depression, mood and or interest /pleasure are decreased for most of the time.
In grief, self-esteem is usually maintained. However, with depression, feeling of worthlessness and self-loathing are common.

Depression and anxiety can present in lots of different ways. For more examples of what depression and anxiety might look like, explore other bus worker scenarios on the website.

Being worried or stressed is normal. But when those feelings don’t go away for more than 2 weeks and they start to interfere with your ability to complete tasks as you don’t have the energy or motivation to get out of bed or you lose interest in things that were once pleasurable, or you can’t control your thoughts or worry it is a serious condition that makes it hard to cope with work, commitments, and daily life.

The great news is that there are proven treatments to help people manage their depression and anxiety. Your GP can diagnose your condition and then match you to the right treatment according to your diagnosis. To learn more about anxiety and depression, and how they can be managed, please click here.

HOW CAN I TELL IF I HAVE ANXIETY AND/OR DEPRESSION?

To help you understand if your symptoms are likely to be Anxiety and Depression Beyond Blue has a Mental Health Check-in. It is a short questionnaire that asks how you have felt over the past 4 weeks. The results are anonymous and will give you some recommendation on how and what kind of support you may benefit from:

Beyond Blue – Mental health check-in
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/mental-health-check-in-k10