Anxiety and depression, two disorders of mental illness, have different symptoms, although someone with depression also may experience anxiety. Anxiety, when it occurs often and at high levels, may interfere with a person's normal life because it can cause panic and elevated fear, even if no external source causes it. Depression, when it occurs for more than two weeks at a stretch, classifies as a mental illness. Nearly everyone experiences both anxiety and depression at points in their lives. For people without the illness, the bouts generally pass and the person returns to a normal emotional balance.
Alcohol Use
Long-term alcohol use can cause both anxiety and depression in a person. Alcohol changes the chemical make-up of a person after an extended period of high-level drinking, according to Depression-guide.com. Health factors occur such as liver, kidney and heart disease as a result of long-term alcoholism, as well. These negative health changes can contribute to anxiety and depression.
Environmental Factors
If a person does not feel secure in her environment, this can lead to anxiety as well as depression. For example, if she lives in a situation where abuse and violence occur frequently, she may feel threatened, which can cause fear and anxiety. She also may feel depressed because of her environment, believing there is no way out. Work environments, too, can cause anxiety, whether the individual feels fear of potentially losing her job, or her boss and coworkers cause her fear. She may feel depressed because she feels locked into a particularly bad job.
Death of a Loved One
People normally feel depressed when someone close dies. For most people, however, the depression gradually ends. A death can cause anxiety and depression in a person experiencing separation from someone who was loved and cherished. Feelings of separation and bereavement can last a long time and be difficult to endure. For some people, the anxiety or depression that results from the death of someone close can require medical treatment.
Detoxification
During withdrawal from alcohol and other drug addiction, the body's defenses come down in relation to psychological and physiological health. The person's body has become accustomed to having these chemicals in the system. In most cases, people drink or take illicit drugs to feel better. When the substances no longer exist in the body, this can send the person into depression with bouts of anxiety. As the person chemically detoxes, he also may feel depressed and worry about how he acted and what he did to other people while he was taking the substances, Depression-guide.com reports.
Health Problems
Severe health problems can trigger anxiety and depression. Chaos in the body's normal chemical makeup can cause the person to feel panicky and sad at the same time, Depression-guide.com states. Cancer in particular can cause a great deal of concern to anyone who suffers from it.
