The Simplest Diagram Explaining Depression and Anxiety

Depression and anxiety are two illnesses that are so common in today's generation but it has been so underrated and has such a negative stigma that causes it to spread even more. According to BeyondBlue, anxiety is the most common mental condition in Australia, an average of 1 in 4 people - 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men - will experience anxiety.

With high levels of anxiety, panic attacks happen and trust me they are no fun. The tightening of the chest, that persistent lump in your throat and shortness of breath that sends your brain into full fear mode and you feel like you're about to faint or throw up. For me, a panic attack feels like I've had wayyyyyyy too much to drink - minus the fun parts.

People who have never experienced depression or anxiety will find it hard to understand why one can't just "snap out of it" or how simple every day tasks like driving to work or having a meal out can be blood curling terrifying. It feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel and all you want to do is curl up in bed and die.

Above is the simplest diagram you'll ever find, explaining why depression and anxiety happens.

The simplest explanation is that depression and anxiety happens when your mind is not in the present moment.

Depression happens when your mind is in the past

You know the saying "What's in the past is in the past". When your mind is stuck in a never ending loop wondering "Why did I do that?" or "Why didn't I say this?" or "What if I had done that instead?" you're gearing yourself up into depression. This is different from self reflecting where you think about the past to learn from it. Depression basically happens when you are trying to change the past- in your head. And you obviously can't go back in time so you just keep repeating the same scenario in your head and fall into a never ending loop of sadness.

Anxiety happens when your mind is in the future

You worry about things that have no happened yet. Let's face it, you can plan all you want and try and fool proof every single little thing you do but if it can go wrong, it will go wrong - AHA! But your mind is too smart for that so you try to prevent Accident A with Prevention A knowing that Accident B will most likely happen so you plan for Prevention B and so on... you get my drift? The brain is an amazing thing, it really is. But when you overload it to the point of no return, that bloody thing hardwires itself that way and you're stuck with panic attacks and an anxiety disorder until you find a way to program it back to normal mode. Of course it is important to have plans and goals for the future, but focus on achieving them by what you can do now in the present rather than what you need to do tomorrow.

The moral of the story is, balance is the key to having a healthy mind. We shouldn't forget the past, it makes us who we are today. We can't live without goals and dreams, it gives our life purpose. And we should never ever forget to enjoy the present.