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What Is Anxious Depression?

Anxious depression is a combination of anxiety and depression. The two conditions exacerbate one another in a way that makes treatment difficult and lengthy. Defining anxious depression is also challenging insofar as depression usually has some characteristics of anxiety, and prolonged anxiety can produce a state of depression.

  1. Definition

    • Anxious depression is a general term that refers to depression that is combined with anxiety. A 2003 report by the Canadian Psychiatric Association provides a more detailed definition of anxious depression with its assertion that anxious depression refers to three types of patients: those with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, those with major depressive disorder and sub-threshold anxiety symptoms and those with sub-threshold depression and anxiety symptoms.

    Symptoms

    • Patients with anxious depression may exhibit symptoms of both depression (such as diminished energy, feelings of hopelessness and difficulty concentrating) and anxiety (symptoms of which include irritability and excessive worry and tension). A study conducted at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and published in the November 1991 American Journal of Psychiatry claims that one in three people who suffer from depression also display physical symptoms of anxiety, such as headaches and stomachaches. A 2002 article in Psychology Today says that anxious depression manifests such physical symptoms as loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, restlessness and agitation. A 2004 report by the Depression Clinical and Research Program of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston adds that those with anxious depression are likely to exhibit obsessive-compulsive behavior, panic and agoraphobia.

    Demographic

    • According to a 2002 article in Psychology Today, 40 percent of depression patients have anxious depression. A study published in the March 2008 American Journal of Psychiatry says that anxious depression is most common among minorities, the unemployed, and those with low incomes and low levels of education. The study by researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis published in the November 1991 American Journal of Psychiatry says that patients with anxious depression are likely to have family members who suffer from severe depression.

    Treatment

    • Anxious depression is difficult to treat. Those with anxious depression are not as responsive to antidepressants and may be more likely to experience unpleasant side effects than those without anxiety symptoms. Antidepressants with sedative properties are often prescribed, along with a recommendation to undergo psychotherapy.

    Drug Treatment

    • According to the study by researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis published in the November 1991 American Journal of Psychiatry, patients with anxious depression take twice as long to respond to treatment as those without anxiety symptoms. Although patients with anxious depression are less susceptible to treatment by standard antidepressants, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in a 2004 report, indicate that a drug called Gepirone Extended Release is effective in treating anxious depression.

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