Can You Have Both Depression and Anxiety?

Anxiety and depression are separate conditions with different symptoms, yet they overlap considerably. You can have both conditions, independently or together, and many of the treatments are the same for each.

Anxiety can be both a trigger for depression and a symptom of it. Depression often fails to respond to conventional treatments. When you struggle with both anxiety and treatment-resistant depression, it’s time to visit KETA Medical Center to learn more about ketamine-based treatments for each condition. 

Because ketamine uses different brain chemistry than traditional anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications, you may find startling results even when previous treatments failed. 

Identifying depression and anxiety

Both depression and anxiety are mood disorders. When you’re depressed, you feel sad or hopeless; things that once brought you pleasure now seem to miss the mark. Your energy may fall, and you may sleep too much or not enough. In extreme cases, you may have thoughts of suicide. 

Anxiety can create physical symptoms like a racing or irregular heartbeat. You may feel worried or nervous, with an impending sense of dread. Some people feel restless when they’re anxious, and they could be prone to hot flashes or perspiration. 

The overlap

While depression and anxiety have different primary symptoms, there’s plenty of overlap. In mental health circles, the two conditions often exist simultaneously. The way they overlap, however, can vary widely. 

You might experience an anxious episode that precedes depression. It may happen in the reverse order, or you could have both conditions occurring simultaneously. 

Both anxiety and depression involve certain neurotransmitters in your brain. Dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin are three common examples of these natural chemicals that influence mental health, and they’re also the targets of conventional antidepressant drugs. 

The ketamine difference

Ketamine is a medication first developed as a safer anesthetic. It was found later that, in low doses, ketamine altered the way that two other neurotransmitters, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), worked in the brain. 

This new approach produces different effects when compared with traditional antidepressants. Instead of weeks before you see results, ketamine-based therapies tend to work quickly. 

You may feel better before you leave our offices. Combined with psychotherapy and conventional antidepressant medications, you may notice an entirely different response to treatment, even if your depression and anxiety showed poor response to earlier medical intervention. 

You can receive ketamine-based treatments through an intravenous (IV) infusion or via a nasal spray that isolates a ketamine compound that delivers the same glutamate surge in the brain as the infusion. 

Find out more about ketamine therapy for depression, anxiety, or both by contacting KETA Medical Center’s nearest location by phone or online. We’ll review your history and give you our opinion of ketamine as an effective treatment for your depression and anxiety. Book your session today.