Aili Hermann, LCSW

Anxiety is a generic name given to a variety of conditions characterized by unusual amounts of fear and worry, especially unrealistic fears and tension. People who suffer from anxiety often are aware that their fears are irrational, but that knowledge does not make the feeling of being scared and anxious go away. To qualify as anxiety, symptoms must last for 6 months or more and interfere with the way a person lives their daily life. Some cases may be mild, where, for example, a person simply avoids certain situations. Other cases can be severe enough to be disabling.

Some of the specific conditions covered under the general label of anxiety include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Social phobia
• Panic disorder

Everyone knows what it feels like to get the blues once in a while. But depression is a serious illness that is more severe than a bad day and lasts much longer. Symptoms of depression stop a person from being able to function and enjoy daily activities for weeks or months at a time. It can happen to anyone, and it isn't something that people can control by force of will or "snap out of it."

Some common symptoms of depression include:

• Feeling sad, guilty, empty or hopeless
• Fatigue and a lack of energy and motivation
• A loss of pleasure in activities that were previously enjoyed
• Unusual sleep or eating habits
• Mental fog -- trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• Physical aches and pains
• Suicidal thoughts or a preoccupation with death

Therapy, in a mental health context, includes a broad range of treatments designed to help people feel and function better in their daily lives. It usually involves talking to a professional to gain insight and coping skills for stressful life events. Some of the fields that may be included under mental health therapy are:

• Psychology, or the study of the mind and behavior, including the study of human development, cognition, mental health, memory, perception, and intelligence.
• Psychotherapy, where patients talk to therapists in order to solve problems and to learn new ways to handle difficult issues in their lives. Psychotherapy is frequently a long-term treatment that delves into a person's patterns of thought and past and present experiences. The goal of psychotherapy is to identify and analyze recurring behaviors and personality traits that may contribute to mental health problems. People may receive psychotherapy treatment for a number of years or even decades. Common forms of psychotherapy include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
• Counseling shares some similarities with psychotherapy, but is ultimately different. It is also a form of talk therapy, but it tends to be more short-term, and it can be provided by professionals without official credentials, such as spiritual advisors. Additionally, counseling tends to focus on current or recent problems people are facing. For example, counselors help patients identify goals and increase coping skills such as communication, self-care, and problem-solving techniques. The goal of counseling is to improve patient wellbeing by helping them navigate difficult situations in life.