Tips for Coping with Mixed Anxiety-Depressive Disorder
Mixed anxiety-depressive disorder, also known as MADD, is a difficult combination of disorders to treat. Depression disorder alone makes a person feel discouraged, sad, and hopeless. Anxiety can make you feel worried, agitated, and uneasy. Both disorders include numerous symptoms that can affect a person both emotionally and physically. Treating one disorder alone is not enough. Medical treatment can include both therapy and medications.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, comorbid anxiety and depression is often more resistant to pharmacologic treatment, and patients with coexisting disorders have a poorer medical prognosis than do patients with either disorder alone.
Whether you are receiving therapy, medication, or a combination of both treatments, managing anxiety and depression can be difficult. However, it is not impossible to try and learn to cope with both conditions by making some lifestyle changes.
Tips That Can Help a Person Cope With Mixed Anxiety-Depressive Disorder
By making some changes in your daily life, symptoms for anxiety and depression can be reduced. While severe symptoms that make functioning on a daily basis impossible require immediate treatment, the following tips can help those that may already be receiving treatment, or those whose symptoms are more manageable. Here are some tips you can start implementing:
Exercise regularly:
Exercising can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and disorder. When a person exercises regularly, their bodies produce endorphins. Endorphins are brain chemicals that send signals to the brain. They can help a person feel less pain and reduce stress. It’s like the body’s natural antidepressant and pain reliever. If you do not normally exercise, you can start with half-hour walks, swimming, or any other form of brisk exercise you may like best as long as it gets your blood circulating, and hearts and lungs pumping.
Balanced diet:
Staying active and having hobbies can help you cope with anxiety and depression.
Eating nutritious meals is very important, not just for everyone in general, but for people that suffer from mixed anxiety-depressive disorder, it is vital to eat well nourishing meals. Many of the symptoms of anxiety, as well as depression can affect a person physically. It can cause loss of appetite, or to eat too much of foods that may not be all that healthy when consumed frequently. Balance nutrition is best for overall health.
Stay busy with activities:
Keeping busy with activities or hobbies can help the mind from thinking of problems. Activities can be done alone, or with others. It can be art, DIY projects, or shopping. Any activities that are fun and can keep a person occupied in a happy way is good. Going out with friends to catch a bit of sun is good for you. It’s a great way to get some Vitamin D absorbed into the body, and helps increase levels of serotonin (which can improve mood).
Live for the present moment:
Many of the thoughts one has when depressed are associated to events from the past, while anxiety usually involve thoughts of the future, whether the next hour, next day, or some later time. Normally it’s hard not to think of past or future events. But, dwelling in either, only cause symptoms to worsen. Think of today, and do things that help get you through the day and enjoy the present moment.
There are many ways to learn to cope with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder to ease the symptoms, and improve your overall wellness. In combination with therapy, and/or medications that a medical professional may recommend, implanting the lifestyle changes above can help make your day more functional. It’s a good way to stay healthier, more energized, and focused on the present.
