Five Treatment Options to Consider for Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression are two distinct disorders, though they’re often experienced in conjunction with each other. In addition, they do share a few overlapping symptoms, including difficulty sleeping, irritability, cloudy thinking and, in extreme situations, telltale symptoms much more severe than these. It’s important to be able to identify the signs of depression and anxiety in order to put viable treatment options in place early on to fight these disorders. From transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy to simply eating more vegetables, here are five such important treatment options to keep in mind:

Psychotherapy

Never underestimate the value of simply talking it out. Of course, there are often forces at play with anxiety and depression that are much more advanced and can’t be solved via conversations with a therapist, but it’s a good starting point. Psychotherapy can allow a person a viable depression or anxiety treatment that takes his or her emotions and feelings into account as well as whatever might be going on in the brain. Speaking of which…

Medications

A common misconception is that anxiousness and depression come about as a result of bottling up too much negativity. While there might be a bit of truth in that, it’s certainly not the entire story. Sometimes, there are real chemical imbalances to blame in the brain, which prescription medications can often help regulate. All that said, however, you shouldn’t expect a “miracle drug” to relieve you of these symptoms. It’s actually more of a balancing act.

Exercise

One of the most prominent clinical signs of depression is fatigue or a waning lack of energy and interest in anything. A good way to fight this is to keeping the body active through plenty of exercise, especially movements that are beneficial to cardiovascular health. The more you move, the more endorphin gets released in your brain, which is a natural feel-good chemical. Also, regular exercise can help boost self-esteem and self-confidence, two very important depression-fighting tools.

Diet

This is one of the hardest things for Americans to hear, but eating junk food all the time actually won’t make you feel that much better. Junk food — primarily processed flavors and synthetic chemicals — gives you a quick boost, then leaves you feeling vacant and craving more. That’s because sugary sodas, fatty potato chips and salty cheeseburgers contain relatively low nutrient content, also known as the stuff that makes your body really feel good and thrive.

Other treatments

When simple lifestyle changes, medication and/or psychotherapy simply won’t help, it might be time to take your treatment to the next level. One of them is transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, a noninvasive procedure that involves harnessing magnetic forces to release certain chemicals in the brain to fight depression. There are also more atypical therapies, like music and arts therapy, as well as simple calming and stress-reducing practices you can implement in your daily life.

Whether you opt for transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy or choosing a healthier lifestyle, there are ways to manage your anxiety and depression. It just might take a bit of trial and error to find them.