Panic Attacks and Depression

[NOTE: This is transcript of a spoken presentation. Please excuse the conversational grammar.]

Many people suffering from panic attacks, and anxiety in general, eventually might experience a moderate level of depression. There's actually a very logical reason for this: With time, anxiety can instill a feeling of fear or malaise into your entire life. And this, of course, makes it difficult to enjoy the present moment.

But more significantly, the tendency of anxiety sufferers to worry to the point of slight paranoia, always fearing the worst.. Well, it can quite easily create a pattern of inaction in a person's life. "What if" thinking, and even simple worry, make life major changes more difficult, as the mental focus on the negative possibilities makes taking the necessary action not seem worthwhile.

So there you are, you're not feeling very good in the present moment, and at the same time it doesn't appear that anything you can do will make you feel any better. It's only natural that this combination would cultivate a mild depression. It's a type of depression that can make life seem empty and undesirable. I personally remember numerous occasions, years really, where I did a lot of thinking about the meaninglessness of life, considered the possibility of suicide, thought about how it would just be easier to be dead, sometimes wishing that I had never been born... because nothing in life seemed worthwhile or fulfilling.

But in the end, there's really a big difference between the mild depression caused by anxiety, and the more severe depression that can lead to suicide. An anxious person might imagine the possibility of suicide, but not actually have a true intention of going through with it. In fact, the anxious person will probably be just as anxious about the fact that they're contemplating suicide (and even more afraid of death) than they are afraid of their emotional predicament. That's the kind of feeling I often found myself with, and it's probably not uncommon for anxiety sufferers. It's a range of depression where you're not happy with present life, and not really excited about the future, but at the same time you're not really prepared to die either.

However, if you're feeling truly hopeless, and considering methods of suicide with true mental intention, then you should absolutely seek help from a professional. That's beyond the scope of what this program talks about. You can instead speak to a therapist, call a suicide hotline, or even dial your local emergency services for an appropriate referral.

For most anxiety sufferers, you know that you're not happy with your current emotional state, but you most likely also feel that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, searching for an alternative. The fact that you went online, did a search, and found this page is a good indication of some spark of optimism. Anxiety can be a major motivator for taking action to find alternatives to what you're going through. And it can no doubt be an extremely difficult experience. Sometimes things can get very dark, you may feel very alone for a while, and the future may appear gloomy. But it's just a temporary perception. Perceptions change when you change. And that's the good news. It takes a little faith in the beginning. But really, when you start to make progress in overcoming your anxiety, the mild depression that you're experiencing will almost certainly dissolve as well.

Stop Panic Attacks and Depression with Self Therapy