Harbor 1

Tyree Harbor
English IV Honors
La'Wanda Ca'stle
21 November 2016

Argumentative Outline Format

Thesis Statement: People argue that depression and anxiety are not serious illnesses like visible

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health conditions, however, mental illness is often just as severe, or more severe, than many
physical conditions.

I.

Depression and Anxiety can Lead to Physical Health Issues

A. Acne
1. Hormone Fluctuations
2. Sweat
3. Behaviors
B. High Blood Pressure
1. Emotional stress
2. Body surge of hormones
3. Junk food - overeating
C. Heart and Chest
1. Hyperventilation
2. Bloating
3. Psychosomatic
4. Heart attacks and strokes

II.

Depression and Anxiety can Lead to Other Mental Health Problems

A. Brain
1. Anxiety disorder
2. Panic disorder
3. Social phobia
B. Strokes
1. Blood pressure
2. Cholesterol
3. High heart rate levels
C. Mood Disorders
1. Major depression
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Persistent depressive disorder

III.

can run in families.

Physical and Inner Body Symptoms Caused by Depression and Anxiety
A. Stress
1. Nervous system weakens
2. Suppress immune system
3. Speed up of aging process
B. Cognitive Symptoms
1. Memory problems

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C.

IV.

2.
3.
Behavior Symptoms
1.
2.
3.

Inability to concentrate
Seeing only the negative
Oversleeping
Isolating yourself from others
Using alcohol, cigarettes or

drugs known as self-medicating.

Some say that Depression and Anxiety are not big Health Problems

Because They can be Controlled by the Person That is Experiencing the Symptoms.
A. Prevention
1. When someone is depressed
and has anxiety, he or she can choose to get over his or her bad mood only
if someone just tells them to cheer up.
a) That is incorrect because many times
depression and anxiety is caused by the malfunctioning of nerve
cell connections in particular brain circuits.
B. Depression nor Anxiety can cause death.
1. If not treated, depression and
anxiety is something that can cause death or suicidal thoughts. Some
medications can help out symptoms, but there is still a stigma involved
with antidepressants.
2. Depression and anxiety can
cause you to have heart problems and can cause heart diseases and strokes.
Stress is tied to depression and anxiety and being stressed or being
overloaded by stress can cause death.

C. Medication
1. Although many types of

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medications are available, sometimes many different types of drugs have
to be tried to find the best solution. This process can take a very long time
and can be very frustrating to the patients.
2. Many patients stop taking the
medications because of the side effects.
3. Antidepressants do not work
for all patients and bipolar patients will get worse if they take
antidepressants. Some medication that was initially approved for treatment
of depression have been found to be effective for depression and anxiety.
Yes medication for some people may work, but it does not cure all people.

Tyree Harbor
English IV Honors
La'wanda Cas'tle

Harbor 5
21 November 2016
Depression and Anxiety
Many people do not take depression and anxiety as seriously as other health conditions.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 15.7 million adults ages 18 and older in our
country suffered from depression in 2013 ("Depression & Anxiety"). Depression and anxiety
can affect adults, children and the elderly. People argue that depression and anxiety are not
serious illnesses like visible health conditions, however, mental illness is often just as severe, or
more severe, than many physical conditions.
Currently, many people are being diagnosed with depression, and often people think that
if someone has depression, they also have anxiety. In some cases, they could be right, but in
other cases, it is found to be false. Many people get very confused on what is causing their
problem; is it depression or anxiety? Usually, a person cannot get to the root of their primary
problem, and this can be very frustrating for the person it is concerning. This is where a person
needs to seek a doctor or a professional therapist for help and more information ("Depression &
Anxiety").
Individuals with anxiety disorders are seen to be or rather have characteristics of a sense
of doubt, the feeling of the weakness of themselves or feeling very anxious about future events.
People that suffer from anxiety fear many things and many times it is nothing they can do to take
control over this feeling. This fear is something they fear to happen in their future, and they fear
their future because they cannot control their future. They are scared that many things they have
done will not turn out for good and this will make them or anyone in general very nervous or
anxious ("Depression and Anxiety").

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Someone whose primary problem is depression is a person who usually does not show
signs of the same fear as in anxiety. People that suffer from depression do not worry about what
may come to them in their future whether it is a good or bad thing. It is known that people that
are always depressed have the confidence on what their future may bring to them and many
times they put their trust into whatever comes whether or not it is a positive or a negative
outcome for them. Many people get these illnesses confused for several reasons. One of the
reasons is that if someone is receiving medication for an anxiety disorder, they are usually taking
an antidepressant. A group of antidepressant drugs, also known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitors (SSRI), has been known to treat anxiety and depression disorders. People that have
been taking medication for their anxiety disorder sometimes come to the conclusion that they are
taking an antidepressant, so this makes them wonder if they are depressed as well, which in some
cases can be true but in many, it is not the case (Carbonell).
Depression and anxiety can also trigger health problems such as acne. Depression and
anxiety do not create acne, but it can cause acne breakouts to happen and increase acne
development. Sweat can cause acne breakouts; when someone gets very anxious, and when
someone gets anxious, it can make them start sweating. Social anxiety and depression disorders
will cause someone to sweat because they are overly nervous. For example, they may break out
if someone is screaming and blurting something out or if they are in an enormous crowd and do
not know half of the people that are surrounding them. Certain behaviors will also cause them to
break out such as stressing too much.
Depression is a condition in which one feels very discouraged in life, and they can feel
hopeless, sad, unmotivated, or even just not interested in life in general. Anxiety is when a
person is feeling very anxious for no apparent reason even when the person may even be in a

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comfortable environment. Sometimes, the brain will think otherwise, and this is not a good
feeling. Most people have experienced feelings of depression or anxiety, and can be caused by
getting fired from a job, an expectancy of losing a loved one, or even it may be someone not
having a good day. However, this does not mean a person has a depression or anxiety disorder.
It is normal to experience these symptoms now and then in life, but someone who suffers from
the disorders experiences these things in a more debilitating way.
Mental health professionals are not concerned with normal anxiety. Rather, they
attend to fear and anxiety that has somehow gone awry; that inexplicably reaches
overwhelming levels; that dramatically reduces or eliminates productivity and a
significantly intrudes on an individual's quality of life; and for which friends,
family, and even the patient can find no obvious cause. (Maser)
As Maser states above, people who suffer from the disorder are affected much more than
someone who periodically experiences feelings of depression or anxiety. Individuals often do
not know why they are feeling like this and it affects other aspects of their lives. Without
treatment, this disorder can make someone not do as well at work, school, and in their social
lives, and often feel as if this will not get better.
Individuals should get to know what depression and anxiety is. People who experience
these symptoms daily and for no for apparent reason are suffering. The feelings that these
illnesses bring to a person can be loneliness, sadness, and nervousness, even though these can be
just daily stressors for some people. Not being under stress or anything in that category, then
depression and anxiety are brought to our attention when someone is suffering these feelings for
no reason. When someone suffers from depression or anxiety, it is not uncommon for someone to
suffer from both. Almost half of the people in the world that are diagnosed with depression have

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also been found to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as well. Having one of the illnesses is
not a good thing but being diagnosed with both is a serious daily battle for someone to deal with.
Anxiety and depression are not the same disorders, but people are suffering from
depression and have similar symptoms of anxiety. There are many different disorders for both
depression and anxiety and choosing which one someone has can only be determined if someone
seeks a doctor for help. Research even shows many people who have developed depression had
already had some anxiety disorder before they developed depression. Many individuals who
have depression and anxiety may have difficulty with concentrating, memory problems, and even
may have difficulties in making a decision ("Depression").
When someone is under stress, it can cause the human body to create stress hormones.
Depression and anxiety are different in men and women. Women have hormone fluctuations,
and this is also linked with the reproductive cycle, which can affect a woman's mood.
Depressive symptoms for women can come from her monthly cycle period every month. Some
women become depressed when they first become pregnant, and they are worried that something
will go wrong. Depression can consist of several symptoms, and these symptoms can be
different in children, and they can be easy to ignored not knowing that these are symptoms of
depression and anxiety. It is normal to feel a little anxious on some days, but when someone is
feeling anxious every day, this is not a normal life thing (Pietrangelo).
High blood pressure has been connected with depression and anxiety. Depression and
anxiety can cause spikes in blood pressure. If someone has bad depression and bad anxiety
every day, it will cause their blood pressure to go up, and if someone's blood pressure is always
high, it can cause damage to blood vessels and also do damage to the kidneys and heart. When
people have anxiety and depression, they are prone to have very unhealthy habits such as

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smoking, drinking alcohol, and even overeating. Depression can have several symptoms, and
these symptoms can be different in children, and they can be easy to ignore not knowing that
these are symptoms of depression and anxiety. It is normal to feel a little anxious on some days,
but when you are feeling anxious every day, this is not a normal life thing.
Depression can make an individual very anxious which affects the Central Nervous
System of the human body. Someone that suffers from depression and anxiety can be prone to
the use of drugs and alcoholic beverages. Without knowing it, a person can cause more damage
and increase their depression and anxiety to become even worse. They may become reckless and
also could lead to being an abusive person. Depressed people may be having thoughts of suicide
or hurting themselves, and these ideas will take over the mind (Pietrangelo). The idea that
people smoke cigarettes or even drink to help ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety is
called self-medication. Smoking and drinking alcohol is misused many of times causing
someone to increase their anxiety and to bring on more tension to the human body. Many times
people smoke and drink in the belief that it reduces anxiety and stress. Also, as soon as someone
smokes a cigarette or drink a whole glass of an alcoholic beverage this is making withdrawal
symptoms making them want more. ("Smoking and Mental Health").
An individual that suffers from depression and anxiety is known to have the emotional
stress of worrying and being overly fearful which can be caused by the body surge of hormones
being all over the place which will cause a rise in blood pressure. This is mostly caused by being
overwhelmed with stress. Depression and anxiety will cause someone to overeat because some
people say that eating food is comforting for them. Eating junk food or overeating can cause a
person to eat too much which will cause their body to have too much sodium which can cause
someone to have high blood pressure ("Depression Complications").

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Sometimes people with depression and anxiety will have symptoms like their heart
pounding and even shocking chest pains, causing many people to assume that they are having a
heart attack. Chest pains can be caused by depression and anxiety and by just having a panic
attack may result in hyperventilation. Bloating will even cause the heart and chest to hurt
because when a person is bloated, they could also suffer from depression and anxiety and it tends
to cause horrible gas. Hyperventilation disorders can cause problems like bloating. Usually
being bloated causes pressure on the lungs and it will cause the heart and chest to start having
stabbing pains. Being psychosomatic can cause the heart and chest to have pains even though
there may not even be pains because the human mind is just wanting to convince the body that
they are having heart and chest pains. Heart attacks and strokes will cause chest pains, but
someone that suffers from depression and anxiety needs to know the difference between a heart
attack, stroke, and a panic attack. Depression can be a part of making someone very anxious
because the problem lay in the Central Nervous System of the human body. (Rodriguez).
Depression and anxiety will also cause a person to suffer from mental health problems.
Individuals who are diagnosed with depression and anxiety have different brain functions circuits
that control fear and other emotions than people who are not diagnosed with depression and
anxiety. Several studies have been shown that long term stress will cause a change in the nerve
cell circuits that transmit information from one side of the brain to the other. People who are
diagnosed with depression and anxiety have different brain functions or structures that cause
them to have trouble with remembering something memorable that was connected to a high
emotion. Anxiety disorders will cause stress in someone's life, and it will cause them to not to be
able to live a normal life. It is stated that anxiety disorders are a severe mental illness because
people who suffer from this are always worrying and fearing over something. Individuals who

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suffer from panic disorders have feelings that they will be harmed right then and there and will
have the feeling over and over again without any sign or warning. Symptoms of panic attacks
such as chest pains, sweating, different heart beats and a sense of choking which will make
someone feel like he or she is about to go insane ("Anxiety and Depression").
Social phobia will make someone feel overwhelmed in public and large crowds. Social
phobia is linked with over worrying and fearing of everyday social life and situations. The
fearing and worrying are related to wondering if society or others will talk about them or they
may have behaviors that might cause them to be embarrassed in front of others. Depression and
anxiety are linked with mental illnesses that can even cause strokes, high blood pressure,
cholesterol, and high heart rate levels. When suffering from mental illnesses, research shows
that more than likely someone will have mood disorders which could include depression and
anxiety, major depression, and bipolar disorder. Connected with depression and anxiety and
mood disorders, this can be dangerous (Thomas).
Depression and anxiety itself are far-reaching illnesses, but major depression is even
more severe. Major depression is common for people who also have an anxiety disorder. Major
depression will affect the ability to work, eat, study, and even sleep right. It is known that major
depressive episodes may occur only once or twice in a lifetime or they may even occur
frequently. This may happen when someone close to them has died; a romantic breakup
happens, or any sad life event occurs. Bipolar disorder, which is also known to be manic depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unexpected shifts or moods in someone which
affects their energy and their ability to think or function. The climate changes associated with
the disease can continue for days, weeks, or even longer and can be known by long periods of
being very irritable or constant feeling and emotions of sadness and hopelessness. Mental illness

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and persistent depressive disorders most of the time or if not all the time runs in families
("Depression & Anxiety").
Physical and inner body systems can also be harmed from depression and anxiety. Stress
hormones can make heart rate speed up and also make blood vessels tighten and also weaken our
nervous system making our body in an extended state of emergency. It is known that over time
this could lead to heart disease and also cause a suppressed immune system. It is argued that
having too much of depression and anxiety causes someone to put their body under much stress,
causing a weakened immune system. Research shows that depression and anxiety can speed up
the aging process, no matter when the symptoms began. Cognitive symptoms are also linked to
depression and anxiety. Research shows that those symptoms do not even get recognized as
much as other depression and anxiety disorders, and cognitive symptoms is a hard illness to deal
with just as any other disease. Cognitive symptoms include the sinking in people's mood,
fatigue, and loss of interest in something. Cognitive symptoms will interfere with work, school,
relationships, etc. because someone may have memory problems where he or she starts to forget
things. Their inability to concentrate will get harder, and poor concentration may cause problems
in communication and may strain relationships. The human body will be prone just to focus on
the negative and just seeing only the negative views in life. Behavioral symptoms may come
into effect for depression and anxiety and can cause people to oversleep or isolate themselves
from others. They may also use alcohol, cigarettes or drugs, and this is known as selfmedicating. Research shows that some people may not even be sad, that they may feel lifeless or
empty in general and just doesn't care about life (Tartakovsky).
Some say that depression and anxiety are not significant health problems because they
can be controlled by the person that is experiencing the symptoms. People argue that depression

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and anxiety can be prevented because they can choose to get over their mood only but however,
that is incorrect because many times depression and anxiety are caused by the malfunctioning of
nerve cell connections in particular brain circuits. Others may argue that neither depression nor
anxiety can cause death because there are medications that can help out and will help someone
live a happy life. Yes, there are medicines, but there is still a stigma involved in drugs as in
antidepressants that are most common for people to take for depression and anxiety. Stress is
tied to depression and anxiety and being stressed, or being overloaded by stress, can cause death.
Medications will often cure someone that suffers from depression and anxiety, and they will
work if the person that has depression and anxiety take the right medicines. Although many
types of medications are available, sometimes many different types of drugs have to be tried to
find the best solution. This process can take a very long time and be very frustrating to the
patients. Also, many patients stop taking the medications because of the side effects.
Antidepressants do not work for all patients and also bipolar patients may get worse if they take
antidepressants. Some medications were initially approved for treatment of depression and had
been found to be effective for depression and anxiety. Yes, medications for some people work,
but it does not cure all people (Davis).
A person should not wait for depression to go away because it can be very harmful to the
human body for some reasons. One reason is that if you let depression and anxiety linger, it can
become much more severe than before the delay, and the more it remains, the more harder to
control. Depression and anxiety can make other mental conditions worse if not treated. There
has been evidence that people that have depression and anxiety have died in high numbers than
those that don't suffer from these illnesses. Many individuals who seek help for these illnesses
can start to see life, in general, becoming much better and much more positive for themselves

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each day. On the other hand, if someone doesn't seek treatment that is one of the worst things
you can do because over time it will only get worse for the mind and body. People may avoid
getting depression and anxiety treated because they think that the disease itself is embarrassing to
have and they are scared of what society may think of them but these illnesses make someone no
different than someone who has been diagnosed with cancer or any other serious health
condition. If someone suffers from these illnesses, continuing to seek help for depression and
anxiety is only going to be the best option for someone who wants to find a happier life
(Orenstein).
Depression and anxiety can cause serious health problems. Depression and anxiety are
very severe mental illnesses like any other health disorder. It should be taken as seriously as any
other health condition. Depression and anxiety can affect adults, children and the elderly. With
proper medication, it can be managed carefully.

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Works Cited
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2015.
Carbonell, David. "Anxiety and Depression: Telling Them Apart." Anxiety and
Depression: Telling Them Apart. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
Davis, Jeanie Lerche. "Depression, Anxiety, or Bipolar Disorder - Which Is It?" WebMD.
WebMD, 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
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Magazine, n.d. Web. 2015.
"Depression Complications Can Affect Many Facets of Your Life." WebMD. WebMD,
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Geggel, Laura. "Severe Stress and Depression Increase Risk of Early Death."
LiveScience.com. N.p., 10th Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Hall-Flavin, Daniel K. "Depression (major Depressive Disorder)." Depression and
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Maser, Jack D. "Anxiety and Depression Fact Sheets." About Anxiety and Depression. N.p.,
2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Orenstein, Beth W. "What If Depression Goes Untreated?"EverydayHealth.com. Everyday
Solutions, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

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Pietrangelo, Ann. "The Effects of Depression on

the Body." Healthline. N.p., 30 Sept.

2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Rodriguez, Dianna. "How to Cope With Anxiety and Depression." EverydayHealth.com.
Everyday Health Media, LLC, 2015. Web. 2015.
"Smoking and Mental Health." Smoking and Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
Tartakovsky, Margarita. "The Cognitive Symptoms of Depression." Psych Central.
PsychCentral.com, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Thomas, Richards, A. "Social Anxiety Fact Sheet: What Is Social Anxiety Disorder?
Symptoms, Treatment, Prevalence, Medications, Insight, Prognosis." Social Anxiety
Association. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.