When Low Mood and Anxiety Collide: What's Really Happening — and What Can Help

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that settles over you when you're battling both depression and anxiety at the same time. The anxiety keeps you revved — heart racing, mind spinning, that relentless hum of something is wrong that never quite resolves. And then the depression pulls you under — flat, heavy, disconnected, wondering if any of it is even worth the effort.

If you recognise yourself in that, I want you to know something: it makes complete se

nse. And it's far more common than most people realise.

Depression and Anxiety: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Depression and anxiety are often spoken about as separate things, and in clinical terms they are distinct. But in lived experience, they're almost inseparable companions. Research consistently shows that more than half of people with depression also experience significant anxiety — and vice versa.

Here's a simple way to think about it:

• Anxiety is future-focused. Your nervous system is bracing — scanning, anticipating, preparing for a threat that may or may not actually arrive. It's exhausting, because you're fighting a war that hasn't happened yet.

• Depression tends to look backward — or just inward. It's often a collapse: a kind of withdrawal, flatness, or heaviness that comes after prolonged stress, loss, or disconnection from what matters to you.

When both are running at once, you can find yourself in a truly awful loop — anxious about the future, depleted in the present, and hopeless about whether things will ever shift.

"You can only go as high as you are willing to go deep."

That was something a mentor of mine used to say — and I think it's one of the most honest things I've ever heard about healing. Depression and anxiety aren't signs that something is fundamentally broken in you. They're signals. They're your system telling you that something underneath needs attention.

What's Actually Underneath Depression and Anxiety?

In my work as a counsellor and psychotherapist, I'm less interested in the labels than in what's driving the experience. Depression and anxiety rarely exist in isolation — they tend to emerge from a deeper story.

Some of the common threads I see in my clients include:

• Unresolved trauma or grief that hasn't had a safe space to be processed

• Deeply held beliefs — formed early in life — that you are not enough, not safe, or not worthy of care

• A nervous system that learned to stay on high alert because it had to

• Chronic disconnection from your own needs, values, or sense of self

• Burnout from years of caring for others while quietly abandoning yourself

None of these make you weak. They make you human. And they are all workable — with the right kind of support.

The Body Keeps Score — And So Does Your Mind

One of the things I find so important to understand about both depression and anxiety is that they are not purely psychological. They live in the body. You feel anxiety in your chest, your gut, your breath. Depression shows up as fatigue, weight, a kind of physical heaviness that no amount of good intentions will simply think away.

This is why talking alone — while valuable — isn't always enough. For many people, what creates real movement is working with both the mind and the body together. Approaches like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) are particularly effective here, because they work directly with the nervous system to process experiences that have become stuck — the memories, the moments, the beliefs that keep running in the background, keeping you braced and depleted.

What Helps: A Grounded Approach to Depression and Anxiety Counselling

There's no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to depression and anxiety — and I'd be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise. What I offer is an integrative, trauma-informed approach that starts by actually listening to your unique story.

Depending on what's underneath your experience, we might work with:

• EMDR Therapy — for processing traumatic memories and releasing the grip of the past on your present-day nervous system

• Schema Therapy — for identifying and shifting the deep patterns and core beliefs driving your emotional experience

• Somatic and body-based approaches — because healing lives in the body as much as the mind

• Practical tools and real conversation — not just theory, but strategies you can actually use in your life

What I'm not interested in is giving you a toolkit of coping strategies that helps you manage the surface while the roots go untouched. Real change — the kind that sticks — requires going a little deeper. Not endlessly, not painfully, but honestly.

A Note for the People Who Feel Deeply

Many of the people who find their way to Zanti are those who feel things intensely. On the outside, they often look like they're managing — capable, functioning, holding it together. On the inside, they're exhausted by the weight of it all, wondering why they can't just be fine.

If that's you: you don't have to keep performing okay. The fact that you feel things deeply isn't the problem — it's actually one of your greatest strengths, when you have the right support around it.

Grounded support for people who feel deeply. That's what Zanti is here to offer.

Common Questions About Depression & Anxiety

Can you have depression and anxiety at the same time?

Yes — and it's very common. More than half of people experiencing depression also meet criteria for an anxiety disorder. Rather than seeing them as two separate problems, it's often more useful to understand them as two different expressions of the same underlying distress. In therapy, we look at what's driving both — and that's where real change becomes possible.

What's the difference between depression and anxiety?

Anxiety tends to be future-focused — your nervous system bracing for threat, scanning for danger, unable to settle. Depression often looks more like a collapse: flatness, disconnection, heaviness, loss of motivation or meaning. Both can stem from prolonged stress, unprocessed trauma, or deep-seated beliefs about yourself and the world. In practice, they often show up together.

How long does counselling for depression and anxiety take?

That depends on the person, the depth of what's underneath, and what you're hoping to shift. Some people notice meaningful change within a handful of sessions. Others benefit from longer-term work, particularly where trauma or deeply embedded patterns are involved. We'll always work at your pace — and I'll be honest with you about what I see and what I think will help.

Do I need a referral to see a counsellor for depression or anxiety?

No referral is needed to access counselling at Zanti. You're welcome to book directly. If you have a GP Mental Health Care Plan, you may be eligible for Medicare rebates through a registered psychologist — I'm happy to discuss your options and help you find the most appropriate path.

Where can I access depression and anxiety counselling in Port Lincoln or Adelaide?

Zanti Counselling & Psychotherapy sees clients in Adelaide (71 Angus Street), as well as online across South Australia. You can book through the website www.zanti.com.au/book or call 0408 405 149

Grounded support for people who feel deeply

You don't have to figure this out alone. If you're ready for real, honest support — the kind that goes beneath the surface — I'd love to hear from you.

Book a Session

Adelaide · Online  | 0408 405 149

Karie Rohrlach is a counsellor, psychotherapist, and EMDR practitioner at Zanti Consulting — supporting adults through depression, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions in Adelaide, and online. PACFA registered.