Grain of salt notice: in my case, I don't need medication, so my experiences may be mild enough not to translate well to anyone who does; I don't know. That is, I don't know if my anxiety/depression are sub-clinical. That said --
Another thought on depression and anxiety, besides those already expressed - sometimes, my anxiety manifests depression as a defense mechanism because the dropped energy/mood levels give me an out from doing what I'm anxious about - the depression hits as a defense against the thing that made me feel the anxiety. If you don't realize the anxiety's hitting and the depression comes up behind it, either as a defense mechanism or because anxiety is upsetting/depressing, it would be easy to think it was just depression you were feeling. (In my case, anxiety almost always manifests nasty tension cramps as well, so I have an advantage in spotting it. If you can call that an advantage. I'm not very appreciative of it when it happens, though.)
Maybe instead of trying to track 'mood' you should try to track 'energy levels' (mental as well as or more than physical) and 'avoidance of things'? Depression usually ties to lower energy levels, and anxiety will tend to cause avoidance of tasks tied to the anxiety (whether directly tied or indirectly).
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Date: 2009-03-01 05:40 am (UTC)Another thought on depression and anxiety, besides those already expressed - sometimes, my anxiety manifests depression as a defense mechanism because the dropped energy/mood levels give me an out from doing what I'm anxious about - the depression hits as a defense against the thing that made me feel the anxiety. If you don't realize the anxiety's hitting and the depression comes up behind it, either as a defense mechanism or because anxiety is upsetting/depressing, it would be easy to think it was just depression you were feeling. (In my case, anxiety almost always manifests nasty tension cramps as well, so I have an advantage in spotting it. If you can call that an advantage. I'm not very appreciative of it when it happens, though.)
Maybe instead of trying to track 'mood' you should try to track 'energy levels' (mental as well as or more than physical) and 'avoidance of things'? Depression usually ties to lower energy levels, and anxiety will tend to cause avoidance of tasks tied to the anxiety (whether directly tied or indirectly).