Ask HN: What's the difference between anxiety and depression?

Depression is when you've been under enough stress for enough time (which for many people takes the form of anxiety) that your body starts pressing "snooze" on those emotional signals that are trying to spur it into action. It feels hopeless that it can satisfy what they're asking of it, so it starts to suppress them.

While the two are different - opposites, in some ways - they very frequently coincide and feed into each other circularly. They're also extremely common and can be overcome through therapy, possibly combined with medication. If you're dealing with them, know that it's okay and normal, and see if you can find a therapist to talk with.

Anxiety is the constant, horrible, burning feeling I have when I know I have to do something I don't want to do, like fly on a plane. It raises my heart rate, I get very tense, and the slightest problem will make me very angry. It is an irrational response driven by certain biochemicals inside of you.

Depression is when I don't want to get out of bed because I feel everything is pointless and hopeless. You are waiting to die because you are not motivated to do anything. Instead of being over-stimulated, you are under-stimulated.

Interestingly enough, they seem to be related at a genetic level. [1]

For me, anxiety can trigger depressive episodes, but not vice versa.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1514877

anxiety means you are helpless, but still have some energy to react. but depression means you don't have any energy at all.