According to Merriam Webster online dictionary anxiety is “An abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it”. In addition, depression is defined by the Oxford online dictionary as “A mental condition characterized by severe feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, typically accompanied by a lack of energy and interest in life”.
Brendel (2008) highlighted, the relationship between anxiety and depression is a very close as the symptoms of anxiety disorders often overlap with depression. Furthermore, individuals with major depression are usually treated for an anxiety disorder, and major depression can lead to anxiety and conversely, anxiety can lead to major depression hence the strong relationship between the two according to (Brendel, 2008).
During the month of March of 2014, I administered a research under the topic “An Investigation into the Relationship between Anxiety and Depression among University Students”. Throughout this research, an anxiety test and a depression test was simultaneously administered to 30 students of the Northern Caribbean University (NCU), 15 being males and 15 females, all between the ages 18years to 34 years, and of various discipline or academic major.
This research aimed at discovering whether there is a connection between these two variables (anxiety and depression), and it seeks to answer the following three questions:
1. What is the relationship between Anxiety and depression for students at the Northern Caribbean University?
2. Do high levels of anxiety result in or influence high levels of d...
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...t Scale. Retrieved March 25th, 2014 from http://www.amtaa.org/scalewest.html
Eldeleklıoğlu, J. (2006). The Relationship between the Perceived Social Support and the Level of Depression and Anxiety in University Students. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice. 6 (3), 742-752. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://ezproxy.ncu.edu.jm:2151/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=d70df659-0056-4dfb-89e1-39f86198dee7%40sessionmgr111&hid=118
Heiman, G.. W. (2011). Basic Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences (6th Ed.). Boston, MA, Houghton Mifflin Co.
Merriam Webster. Anxiety. Retrieved March 22, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/anxiety
Oxford Dictionary. Depression. Retrieved March 22, 2014 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/depression
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An entire hoard of cases involving both disorders arise each year (“The Effects of Depression in Your Body”). While both disorders could have appeared without any correlation, depression can cause one to worry unduly. This worry could continue into something more. After a while, these worried feelings could evolve into a full-blown anxiety disorder (Singh and Mastana).
Depression is one of the many problems that International Students face. It's a problem that affects their day to activities and if left unattended can cause a lot of harm. It is called the 'common cold' of mental illness (Mental Health Info &Links, 2001). Depression was compared with 100 other diseases and it was ranked fourth in the global burden by the World Health Organisation (WHO). There is a fear that it might rise to second it diagnosis, treatment or prevention is not improved. Depression causes suffering and anguish for individuals, families, friends and communities. Families and employers expand both personal and economic resources to deal with the person’s depression and depressive symptoms. A major concern it that early depression signals a future recurrent or chronic depression that becomes increasingly debilitating (Greden, 2001). This paper is going to focus on the impact that depression has on International students and the triggers and causes of Depression.
Depression is a mood disorder defined by the prevalence of symptoms such as hopelessness, helplessness, personal devaluation and extreme sadness (Roesch, Roberta). Whereas, anxiety disorders is an overwhelming and inhibiting form of severe worry that conflicts with the likelihood of individuals being happy and successful in life (Kandel, Joseph). These ailments bear many similar symptoms such as: insomnia, fatigue, difficulty concentrating while awake. Whereas, a person with an anxiety disorder may experience pains, breathlessness, nausea and diarrhea, a person with depression will encounter thoughts of suicide, depressive mood and feelings of worthlessness.
Along with being the most widespread mental health disorder, women are more likely to be affected by most anxiety disorders than men. Anxiety disorders are often characterized by feelings of worry, uncertainty, anxiety, or fear, which can be so intense, it can interfere with a person’s daily activities. Therefore, it is likely for a person struggling with an anxiety disorder will find themselves unemployed, financially dependent on others and even have poor quality social relationships as well. As an anxiety disorder may affect other functional impairments, it is also important to be aware of its development considering an anxiety response affects various populations and individuals differently.
Although there are an abundant of characteristics that Depression and Anxiety have are extremely similar, they vary more than what the majority realize.
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
In recent years, it has become a well noted fact that the education system has become in many ways tougher, for better or for worse. Nevertheless, for anyone susceptible to an anxiety disorder, school often aggravates their symptoms. Today over 10 per-cent of European and American citizens suffer from an anxiety disorder, and it is an even greater number among young people (Points of View: FEAR NOT). As English-speaking countries move forward through time, testing becomes more stressful and more competitive, it should be expected that anxiety will increase. As well, according to Psychology Today the “[a]verage high school student [in the United States] has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s” (Psychology Today: How Big a Problem is Anxiety Today). This is logical considering that a similar study done in 2010 concluded that high school and college students were more than five times as likely to develop either depression or an anxiety disorder than a student fifty years ago (Psychology Today: The Decline of Play and the Rise of Children's Mental Disorders?). This excessive rise exemplifies the amount of stress students have. As the years pass, it is becoming increasingly evident that anxiety disorder is prevalent among a majority...
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Depression and anxiety among college students is something that experts have focused on for the past twenty years. The information they have been gathering ranges from the different stressors of college life to the effects of one's culture on how they deal with depression or anxiety symptoms. They have identified a few core characteristics of depression and thoughts of suicide. These are both serious concepts in which people need to seek help for. It is important for students to reach out to friends, family, or professionals to support them during this time. Many campuses offer counseling centers which are seeing many more people over the past few years.
There is a fine line between anxiety and depression. A line that is often times blurred. Although there are differences between the two, they also share many similarities, which can lead to false diagnoses for patients. It only gets more complicated when both illnesses are present. For example, The National Institute of Mental Health (2009) did a study of anxiety disorders and found that 53.7% of people reported they also experienced major depression as a secondary condition. These researchers also stated that people who are severely depressed do become anxious. In order to have a better understanding of anxiety and depression one must first clearly define the two conditions, understand the causes, look at the symptoms involved, and review the different treatment options available.
College students face strenuous workloads daily, causing them to feel more pressure about their schoolwork and academics and resulting in anxiousness. About 50% of college students today are suffering from depression, a larger number than most believe, but not all reveal that they have a depressive issue (Deroma, Leach, Leverett 325). Researchers suggest that academic stress plays a big role in a college student’s depression. Most people know that college is a lot harder than high school ...
In general, anxiety has an effect on emotions. People of all ages with anxiety have common symptoms because anxiety affects the same parts of the brain. Although “moodiness” is a popular emotion that people have frequently, when it repetitively comes up it can be defined as a symptom of anxiety. Hand in hand with “moodiness,” a routine of irritability is another symptom that has been recorded for anxiety. Anxiety is also seen when one is unable to relax, feels overwhelmed, have a sense of loneliness and depression. Even though depression is a symptom of anxiety, it can also be an end result to a critical case of anxiety. Along with emotional, physical symptoms also come to the attention of those who diagnose anxiety.
Many people feel apprehensive and miserable every now and then, but when does it take over their whole lives? Losing a loved one, doing poorly in school or work, being bullied and other hardships might lead a person to feel sad, lonely, scared, nervous and/or anxious. Some people experience this on an everyday basis, sometimes even or no reason at all. Those people might have an anxiety disorder, depression, or both. It is highly likely for someone with an anxiety disorder to also be suffering from depression, or the other way around. 50% of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Mounsey.R, Vendehey.M, Diekhoff.G. (2013). Working and non-working university students: anxiety, depression and grade point average. College Student Journal, 47.2, 379-380.