Approximately 1 in 5 adults struggle with mental illness. Mental health is a broad spectrum of emotional, psychological, and physiological responses. Therefore, many mental health disorders contain similar symptoms. That makes diagnosis and treatment so challenging.
Anxiety and depressed moods are critical indicators in determining a mental health episode. They have unique symptoms that might intensify one another. Let's discuss how to find the right balance between emotions and conduct with mental health problems.
What Causes Mood and Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety and mood disorders are unique because many factors can cause them.
Mixed anxiety and depressive episodes can be brought on by:
- Genetics
- Chronic Stress
- Illness
- Childhood Events
- Long-Term Side Effects of Substance Abuse
- Aging
- Exposure to Environmental Toxins
- And More
Most commonly, mood and anxiety disorders are brought on by traumatic events. However, trauma is different for everyone.
It can mean losing your job or a loved one, domestic abuse or a breakup, or surviving a car accident or cancer. How we adjust mentally can alter our day-to-day routine.
First, it's crucial to make sense of our emotions. Then, determine healthy ways to handle them.
Whether mental health issues are genetic, something that developed, or reactionary, situations will cause these emotions to amplify. The months that follow these events are known as an adjustment period, and how we respond can have a long-term impact on our mental health.
Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood
Personal traumas can cause long-term effects that alter our brain patterns. These types of adjustment disorders can bring about mental health issues sporadically.
Memories or uncomfortable situations may trigger episodes. Those who have trouble coping with these mixed disturbances of emotions can develop more severe mental health issues, like Major Depressive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder.
Other adjustment disorders can describe how a person reacts to trauma within the last three months. Usually, a life-changing event happens, such as a divorce or a family member's death.
These moments can shift the pendulum back and forth between an adjustment disorder with anxiety to one with depression.
For instance, the pending divorce talk can cause a ton of anxiety. Then, drafting the papers can promote a persistent depressive disorder.
How to Know If You Have Trouble Adjusting
Funks can last a lot longer than we realize. It is important to tune into yourself and address your mental health needs. Perform regular check-ins through exercise and meditation.
Listen to your mind and body to determine whether you're experiencing post-trauma mental health symptoms.
Symptoms of adjustment disorder are broken down by the type of disorder:
Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety:
- Racing Thoughts
- Jitters
- Lack of Attachment
- Restlessness
- Nervousness or Dread
Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood:
- Feelings of Hopelessness
- Severe Mood Swings
- Sleepless Nights
- Weight Gain
- Severe Sadness
Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Conduct:
- Verbal Use
- Physical Altercations
- Throwing Things
- Suicidal Thoughts and Tendencies
- Harmful Thoughts
If you experience any symptoms of adjustment disorder, anxiety, or depression, please speak to a mental health professional. They can help you access the tools within yourself to manage these symptoms.
How to Handle Anxiety and Mood Disorders
Mood and anxiety disorders are very specific, yet they have a lot of overlap. So, there are many things you can do in your daily routine to help bridge that gap and improve your mental wellness. Here are some tips!
Talk to Someone
You are not alone. There are millions of people who are going through similar experiences as you are. Lean on them for support.
There are plenty of resources available for veterans, children, LGBTQ+, and more. Google local depression and anxiety support groups. Hearing others' stories and how they learned to cope can inspire you or provide you with new tools to manage your mental well-being.
Also, consider getting one-on-one or family therapy. Talking to a professional and unbiased third party can help you get introspective on the events that happened and move forward healthily.
Get Some Sleep
Many studies connect mental health problems with hormonal imbalances. Hormones control everything. Serotonin provides us with joy, while GABA makes us feel calm.
Then there's the adrenaline that raises our blood pressure and cortisol that makes us react to daily situations.
Melatonin is the hormone that bridges this gap by allowing us to sleep. It slows down cortisol and adrenaline production at night. In the morning, melatonin production slows down, and the other instinctual hormones kick in.
However, stress stimulates cortisol and adrenaline production. So, we have an abundance of these hormones at night, keeping us awake. All night, we deal with anxious thoughts about the next day. The next day comes, and we're depressed that we didn't get enough sleep.
Hit the reset button with these sleep tips:
- Bathe in Lavender or Chamomile Petals at Night
- Diffuse Soothing Essential Oils, Like Ylang-ylang or Bergamot
- Use Tranquility Labs' Sleep Fast Enhanced Melatonin Spray
- Unplug From Devices At Least One Hour Before Bed
- Go to Sleep At the Same Time Every Night
Anxiety and Mood Supplements
Sleep patterns and talk therapy are excellent ways to handle stress in the moment. Supplements help fill in any gaps and help take care of the bigger picture.
It is essential that your brain cells have the energy necessary to communicate effectively. They rely on omega-3 fatty acids for this to happen. Omega-3s contain amino acids that help prevent brain inflammation caused by an omega-6-heavy Western Diet.
Fish oil is a rich source of brain-boosting omega-3s. Tranquility Labs' CogniDHA is fortified with DHA, an essential amino acid that promotes healthy focus, motor skills, and mood.
Support your healthy brain communication by getting your mental health hormones balanced. Tranquility Labs' Tranquilene Total Calm is formulated with vitamins and minerals that promote natural GABA and serotonin production.
With elevated GABA levels, you can handle stress with a clear mind. Meanwhile, serotonin helps improve your mood throughout the day. You might not find tedious tasks like work or going grocery shopping as dreadful and might even see the positives in these potential triggers!
Supplement a healthier mindset with the Tranquility Labs' Anxiety and Mood Support Pack. Bundle up on Tranquilene and CogniDHA and save. That's even less to stress about! You deserve this peace of mind.
Essential Takeaways:
- Events can cause us to slip in between anxiety and depression
- Assess how you adjust to trauma and seek help
- Seek help if your emotions and conduct are still altered 3 months after trauma
- Use talk therapy, sleep, and all-natural supplements to support a healthy mindset.
BONUS RECIPE: Bacon, Eggs, and Cheese Breakfast Cups
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (8-ounce) container of crescent rolls
- 6 slices of bacon
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded and distrubuted
-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. You want to get good coverage of the spray inside of each of the muffin cups so everything comes out nice and easy later on.
-Open up your package of crescent rolls and divide the dough into triangles. It’s easiest to just lay them out on a piece of wax paper.
-Take one triangle and place the widest part of it on the bottom of a muffin cup. A tail of dough should be hanging out the side.
-Take a sharp knife and cut off the “tail” of the dough. Then use it to line the part of the muffin cup that isn’t already covered in dough.
-Repeat this process for the remaining muffin cups. Then, put the muffin tin in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.Place your bacon on a microwave safe plate and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes-turn the plate-2 more minutes. (You could also cook it on the stove but this method is faster and you don’t have to worry about watching it in a pan).
-For 6 breakfast cups you only need 3 pieces of bacon—I made extra.
-Crack your 5 eggs into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup milk and scramble the yolks using a fork or wire whisk. Then, add salt and pepper to taste.
-Put your egg mixture into a pan and cook over medium-low heat for approximately 5-8 minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
-You want the eggs to be firm but slightly runny. The eggs will finish cooking later in the oven.
-You want the eggs to be firm but slightly runny. The eggs will finish cooking later in the oven.
-Take your cooked bacon out of the microwave and crumble pieces on top of the eggs.
-Top the eggs and bacon with some shredded cheese.
-Place the breakfast cups into the pre-heated oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the edges of the crescent rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
-Once the cups are finished, remove from the oven and run a sharp knife around the edges of each muffin cup.
