Life is full of stressful events and experiences, and sometimes the seriousness of those stresses can become overwhelming, leading to crisis-related anxiety and debilitating depression.
There are many triggers that can take you over the edge, including stress and personal issues. Sudden, drastic changes in your personal life, such as the death of a spouse or family member, marital separation or divorce, the loss of a job, incarceration or personal injury can result in emotional overload and overwhelming feelings of helplessness. Unexpected environmental challenges, such as extreme weather or natural disasters, can also make you feel like you’re experiencing a personal crisis.
Because personal crises are very difficult to deal with, they can lead to wide-ranging symptoms and consequences that are both emotional and physical. Depression, fearfulness and difficulties in dealing with day-to-day life are common signs that someone is in crisis.
The outward effects that someone demonstrates are related to the severity of the crisis and the person’s capacity for coping with personal troubles. It’s important not to minimize crisis-related behaviors or assume they are something that can be corrected easily. Solutions require external support from friends, family members and qualified practitioners.
Personal crisis can often lead to emotional overload. The sheer magnitude of sudden or accumulated stresses can make it difficult for you to deal with the problems you are having. You may experience:
Crisis-related stress can also result in physical troubles. Headaches and loss of appetite are common. Stomach and digestive upset, joint pains, fatigue and other somatic symptoms are often related to depression. Pain and depression are linked because a person’s mood is influenced by the same neurotransmitters that send pain signals.
Physical symptoms reinforce emotional disorders, so it’s essential to find resources that will help you break this unhappy cycle.
In the short-term, crisis-related anxiety can be crippling. You may feel too overwhelmed to make decisions or to take the normal actions required to keep life moving smoothly. Fears and irrational paranoia can keep you from seeking out support and assistance from others. Changes in sleeping and eating patterns can make you physically vulnerable and susceptible to illness. The depression that often accompanies crisis anxiety can lead to withdrawal, indecisiveness and suicidal thoughts.
Because of the severity of these emotional symptoms, someone who does not receive support to deal with crisis-related stress may suffer from many long-term consequences including:
It isn’t always easy for a person who is suffering from a personal crisis to realize what is going on. If your symptoms are not yet overwhelming or if you have experienced major life changes and are concerned that you may be prone to crisis-related depression or anxiety, there are self-assessment tests you can take.
Self-diagnosis will not result in a clinical assessment, but it can give you feedback on your current emotional state. If you find you are exhibiting signs and symptoms of depression, call to discuss treatment options.
If you are suffering from severe crisis-related symptoms, medication can offer an effective crisis treatment solution. There are several different antidepressants available that can be used to treat this disorder. The one your doctor prescribes will depend on the stage and severity of your symptoms.
Make sure you discuss the benefits and risks of all medical treatments with your doctor. Together, you’ll be able to determine which type of drug will best suit your individual circumstances.
The following classes of antidepressant medications are most commonly prescribed for crisis-related anxiety symptoms:
Each type of anti-depressant requires different monitoring and may result in different side effects. SSRIs, such as Zoloft and Prozac, are the most commonly prescribed medicines. Effexor and Serzone are examples of SNRIs. Antidepressant drugs of all sorts can be highly effective and might help ease your symptoms in as little as three weeks.