Are negative thoughts anxiety or depression?

[sun43]

hi does anyone know, if being plagued by a lot of negative thoughts, is part of anxiety, or depression?

when it happens, it might happen for 2-3 hours where i am stuck thinking negative thoughts which i can't shake off at all - and then it passes seemingly all by itself and i feel ok ('normal') again. (i don't encounter any physical distress such as sweating, increased heart-rate or breathing trouble etc)

[Fishmanpa]

They can be both in a way. Both cause a reaction that can lead to deeper depression.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

Both. Depression has always been seen as the more connected of the two but there are negative thinking styles seen in both e.g. Cognitive Distortions.

Then there are intrusive thoughts. Any one can experience these but when they become a problem to the point of needing a diagnosis of their own it splits between OCD & depression based on what other symptoms can be seen to determine which is the more appropriate diagnosis.

I've seen anxiety "gurus" sometimes talk about how you can't feel depressed whilst also experiencing the hyper feelings we get with anxiety. But that's nonsense because can any anxiety sufferer worldwide say they've never been upset or felt low due to their anxiety?

Is it rumination? (Worrying about the past) Or just feeling totally sick of everything? Do you have a period of heightened anxiety prior to this which triggers a low mood period? (That happened to me a lot, mood swings at times or just getting to the point of despair from feeling I couldn't take any more anxiety)

[AmyNelson89]

This is an anxiety, which can lead you of course to depression. Believe me, if it was a depression you wouldn't do anything. Literraly you wouldn't go out of your room, wouldn't do or feel anything.

[StilnotDead]

Both, but usually one is the cause of the other, i have infact had it both ways during my lifetime, sometimes i was so depressed my negative thoughts caused me great anxiety, other times the anxiety would chip away at my joy and eventually i would get depressed. Establishing which is the one that came first is crucial in how they would try to treat you from a medical and psychological point of view. Its also good to know as it can assist you in correcting and identifying your own negative self talk.

[pulisa]

This is an anxiety, which can lead you of course to depression. Believe me, if it was a depression you wouldn't do anything. Literraly you wouldn't go out of your room, wouldn't do or feel anything.

There is also agitated depression which is at the other end of the depression "spectrum".

[sun43]

thanks for the replies, it could be rumination yes, but then it seems to almost run a course of its own when it happens but then i could be wrong, im not sure really. i wouldnt say i have heightened anxiety before it happens. i had not heard of agitated depression so had a read about that. it does feel like i have that sometimes although it could just be regular anxiety, who knows, sigh

today i decided to switch from taking pregabalin before bed to taking it when i wake up. perhaps i will get lucky and that will help, will have to see