{"id":11761,"date":"2015-04-14T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2015-04-14T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=11761"},"modified":"2023-03-13T15:44:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T15:44:42","slug":"stress-vs-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/stress-vs-depression.htm","title":{"rendered":"Stress vs Depression – Do You Know the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: greg westfall<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Some stress, caused by regular life challenges, is unavoidable. And while feeling nervous about a work presentation or frustrated by a parent teacher meeting gone wrong is not fun, nobody would compare it to the challenge that is depression.<\/p>\n

Severe stress, however, is a different story. As anyone who has suffered chronic stress knows, with the resulting mood swings, sleeplessness<\/span><\/a>, and low of self-esteem<\/span><\/a> it can bring, the line between stress and depression can start to feel a little blurred.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what is<\/em> the difference, then?<\/p>\n

[Want to know right now which one applies to you? Take our ‘Stressed, Depressed, or Both’ Test now.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>]<\/p>\n

What is Stress?<\/h2>\n

Stress is the feeling that you are under too much mental or emotional pressure. It is triggered by something in your life happening that feels too much<\/strong> for you personally to handle, regardless of whether others can or can’t. This might be a work issue, dealing with relationship conflict<\/span><\/a>, or debt problems<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stress isn’t an illness or a disorder, but it can develop into one if it is left to become chronic.<\/p>\n

While a little bit of stress is normal and can have positive results like getting you motivated or taking useful risks in the workplace too much stress over too long of a period can begin to negatively affect all parts of your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might find it harder to function and concentrate at work, lose interest in your social life, and find yourself being irritable with those you love. Physically perhaps you aren’t sleeping well<\/span><\/a>, are under or overeating<\/span><\/a>, and have signs of muscle tension<\/span><\/a> including headaches and stomachaches. At worse, it can lead to high blood pressure and other serious health issues.<\/p>\n

Stress also affects neurotransmitters and hormones<\/strong> including cortisol that, while it can leave you sometimes ‘buzzed’ in a way that feels good, are taxing on the body and can lead to cycles of feeling high then crashing.<\/p>\n

What is Depression?<\/h2>\n
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By: Koshy Koshy<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Just like life challenges and chronic stress are different, low moods and depression are not the same beast.<\/p>\n

While everyone feels down now and then, depression is a serious issue that involves feeling low for several weeks <\/strong>or longer, even for years in some cases.<\/p>\n

It can be triggered by <\/strong>one difficult experience, a build up of things that become too much for you, or, often, seems to just arrive out of the blue with no explanation.<\/p>\n

Depression is often based on old, repressed emotions<\/strong> that are making their way to the surface. As such, it rarely responds to logic. You can’t just ‘fix it’, or achieve or finish something that will make it go away. For example, if you moved to a new village and started feeling low, it’s unlikely moving again will completely sort your depression.<\/p>\n

Because of its irrationality, depression can often feel out of control<\/strong>. You might feel like you are acting like someone else altogether, unable to connect to people around you.<\/p>\n

Depression tends to leave you feeling exhausted, even if you are sleeping<\/strong> (and often depression disrupts good sleep). It can feel like something is draining all your energy and like your head is filled with sand and you can’t think straight.<\/p>\n

One if the biggest symptoms of depression is negative thinking,<\/strong> which can spiral into destructive thoughts if support is not sought.<\/p>\n

[Want to know more? Read our comprehensive Guide to Depression<\/span><\/a>].<\/p>\n

You don’t have to face depression alone. You can get help from a professional, trained therapist<\/a> from the harleytherapy.com<\/a><\/strong> platform, where you can talk to a counsellor anywhere by online or book affordable therapy in person around the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do Stress and Depression Have in Common?<\/h2>\n