Anxiety and depression

                                                Depression & Anxiety connection to cerebral palsy

                Introduction: Do you fight with anxiety and depression? Do you know someone who does? Statics show that there are over 250 million people who struggle with these problems. Anxiety and depression just as any other illness does not discriminate.  You could be an abled-bodied person or a person with a disability, it does not care, it does not discriminate. Coping can be difficult but not impossible.

In todays busy world we find ourselves going and doing non-stopped, so it seems, what if that world as we knew it was slowed down. The pandemic has flipped everyone’s lives upside down as we know it to be normal living. It’s hard enough to adjust to a pandemic let alone adjusting outside a pandemic.  It is one thing dealing with our anxiety, stress and depression not being in a pandemic situation , because, we got our routines, the ability to go do what we enjoy, socialization with family, friends and co-workers, just to have that taken away and needing to adjust to a whole new way of coping. This is hard enough for someone who is abled-bodied and has no disability to cope with, however it is also, twice as harder for a disabled bodied person to adjust to.

                According to the research through the “Anxiety and Depression Association of America”, there are 264 million people who, struggle with anxiety and depression.”  Anxiety and depression are different; however, they display identical side effects. Some common side effects include, nervousness, insomnia, difficulty with concentration and agitation.   https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression

                Living with covid, being isolated from the world as we know it can be stressful, difficult outside a pandemic let alone in or during a pandemic. Our normal as we knew it is gone and has been replaced with fear, anxiety levels at an all time high, and depression all has been impacted by covid19 and life as we knew it. What are we to do? Is it impossible? No. There is help and steps we can take.

I’m writing on this topic because, its very dear topic to my heart as I to am one of the 264 million people. I live with depression and anxiety and I know first- hand what others are experiencing.  No one struggles alone. One may feel alone, but there are many people both children and adults who fight the same battle.

Anxiety and depression are different to a degree in children than in adults.

Not only do abled-bodied people struggle so, do disabled people. There are some high-risk groups that are more likely to struggle than others. Are you in one of these high-risk groups? Do you know someone who is? What comes to mind when you hear the word depression? Depression is a variety of different things to different people.

According to the (American Psychiatric Association, also known as APA) the definition of depression is, a medical condition that influences a way a person may feel, act and think. https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/associated-disorders/depression/     

                Depression expresses itself in different ways from weight gain, weight loss, change in eating habits, mood changes, showing no interest in hobbies and things once enjoyed.  Struggling in social settings such as school or work, thoughts of death and dying just to name few.   

Research shows us that children and adults that live with conditions such as cerebral palsy is at a high risk for depression. There are all kinds of conditions people struggle with that puts them in those high-risk groups. Research shows 1 out of every 2 children will struggle with depression. That is approximately 40 to 50 % of children with cerebral palsy will struggle with some form of psychiatric condition.  The reason for this high risk is due to children who struggle with c.p. and other psychiatric problems, tend to get bullied by others, struggle with a low self-esteem, they struggle with, standing up for themselves.  These actions create other problems such as sadness, depression, anxiety, isolation, anger, also, behavior changes occur when these feelings are not let out or dealt with. https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/associated-disorders/depression/

                20 to 25 % of adults struggle with depression. Different behaviors and side effects are demonstrated in children than in adults.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6439715/

                Depression can look the same in adults, however adults, usually come up with other ways to cope with the anxiety and depression.  Where children act out with behavior issues, adults turn to unhealthy habits to cope. (ex: tobacco, alcohol, food.)    Unfortunately, there is not one solution fits all for this issue. Some serve cases one may need to be treated with medication possibly due to a imbalance in the brain, where as someone else may be able to treat their anxiety and depression naturally such as with meditation or an all-natural diet by taking away processed sugars and thing to that nature. Believe it or not it’s all connected. It like having a child who is sensitive to red dyes, if they eat red dyes, they get hyper and even uncontrollable to where if you take that away the child is less likely to act out. If we are not eating properly and trying to exercise regularly that could play a part in the dynamics of our situation. Everyone is different which, means every treatment will be different.   

                Can vitamins play a role is anxiety and depression?

   As a matter of fact, vitamin deficiency can be a factor in depression and anxiety. If our bodies are low on zinc, omega 3’s this can contribute to symptoms one may present such as tiredness. There are alternative things one can do such as take a vitamin a day, look at alternative treatments such as taking omega 3 oils, the natural food stores have vitamins for depression and anxiety one could try. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/herbs-supplements 

Try not to get discouraged as it can be discouraging trying to find different ways that work to help control the anxiety and depression. Some may turn to meditation, essential oils, exercise, I personally take vitamin B & d, fish oil, and multi-vitamin daily along with a balance diet and exercise routine. Yes, what works for me may or may not work for you, but I put it here so if you want to try it feel free to.  My only goal is to share things in hope of helping someone else. I am a certified nurses assistant; I do have a degree in medical administration, and I have a lot of experience and training, but I only share my experiences.  I am not a doctor and I advise anyone struggling to speak to their doctor first. Happy reading everyone!