Depression and anxiety are the top two most common mental health diagnoses in the United States. They also commonly co-occur. It might seem paradoxical that people would experience both depression and anxiety, since they are sometimes framed as opposite disorders, but they often go hand-in-hand and even have symptoms that overlap. Racing thoughts, insomnia, irritability, weight changes, fatigue, difficulty making decisions or concentrating, and mood swings are all symptoms of both mental health conditions.
Grappling with the effects of depression and anxiety can be incredibly difficult. The stress of these conditions can have long-term impacts on your physical health, alongside the impacts on your mental wellbeing. When unaddressed, these symptoms can interfere with your work, relationships, and ability to enjoy life. They can even make it harder to seek treatment for mental health, creating a vicious cycle of symptoms and struggles.
Is there treatment for co-occuring mental health conditions like depression and anxiety?
Yes! Because depression and anxiety often co-occur, and because they have symptom overlap, there are treatments for mental health that address both disorders at the same time. One such treatment approach is dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT.
The structure of DBT, including individual therapy, group therapy with DBT skills practice, and on-call therapist support for tough real-life situations between therapy sessions, is particularly helpful for depression and anxiety. Research has shown that the key to DBT’s success is the multiple layers of support combined with coping skills focused on mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. DBT’s structure and skills directly address depression and anxiety symptoms, and a comprehensive DBT program empowers people to ease themselves out of the grip of those symptoms.
Why do anxiety and depression co-occur?
A significant reason for co-occurrence is that depression and anxiety have common risk factors. Adverse childhood experiences and present-day stress both contribute, so stressed adults who had difficult childhoods can develop either depression and anxiety—or both.
Depression and anxiety also often arise in people whose brains show altered neural pathways linked to emotional regulation, executive function (or the ability to complete tasks), and cognitive control (how we make plans and choose options). Finally, there’s a genetic component. People whose parents struggle with anxiety or depression are more likely to experience one or both of these disorders.
How does DBT help with depression and anxiety?
Individual therapy helps you tackle the roots of depression and anxiety
The individual therapy component of DBT helps with depression and anxiety in two fundamental ways. The first is tracking the use of DBT skills in your everyday life. As you start to implement these skills, you’ll see that your relationship to your feelings and thoughts will change for the better. A more clear picture of how depression and anxiety symptoms are impacting you will form, and you’ll also be able to concretely see how using DBT skills reduces those impacts. Your therapist will be right there with you, celebrating successes and helping you process and regroup when you have setbacks.
Secondly, individual therapy helps support the rest of your DBT work because you’ll be encouraged to introspect and drill down into the roots of your current mental health struggles. You will support lasting healing by acknowledging and addressing hard memories, difficult behavior patterns, and emotional wounds. Self-awareness, self-acceptance, and recognizing you want to do something different will all help sustain your progress long-term.
Group therapy offers connection and understanding
Depression urges you to withdraw from social interaction and isolate yourself, and these mood disorders both make emotional regulation more difficult, so having a dependable space like group therapy can make a huge difference in healing.
In group therapy, you’re with people who understand you and are dealing with similar symptoms, so you’ll find it to be a space of genuine acceptance and connection. Group therapy members are also all there for the same reason, and that shared goal of practicing DBT skills so you can cope with life’s challenges gives you motivation and accountability to persevere.
Group therapy is a great way to break through the fog of depression and the emotional ups and downs of anxiety, giving you a safe space to engage with people who want you to succeed. You also get a chance to offer others support, building your confidence and proving you are useful, capable, and worth knowing!
DBT for depression and anxiety treatment offers a variety of supportive coping skills
DBT offers a range of supportive skills for managing depression and anxiety by improving mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Mindfulness practices like Loving Kindness help shift attention away from negative thoughts and foster compassion, while emotional regulation skills—such as Opposite Action—support healthier responses to overwhelming feelings. Distress tolerance tools like the STOP skill provide strategies to pause, observe, and respond more mindfully during emotional crises, helping individuals stay grounded. Interpersonal effectiveness, through techniques like the FAST skill, strengthens relationships by promoting self-respect and clear communication. Together, these DBT strategies empower individuals to navigate their emotions, build resilience, and lead more fulfilling lives.
On-call therapist support reduces anxiety and encourages real-life DBT skill use
Depression can push you to avoid challenging situations, and anxiety can make those same challenging situations unbearably stressful. DBT individual and group sessions can make a big difference in making life more approachable, but knowing you can call your therapist and talk through what you’re experiencing when you’re really struggling can reduce anxiety, and make it easier to overcome depression-driven avoidance. Knowing you have that small extra support anytime you need can help you engage with life more fully, without fear or avoidance holding you back..
Comprehensive DBT-based depression and anxiety treatment in Seattle can help
THIRA Health knows that depression and anxiety often co-occur, and that treatment for mental health must support clients to work through all concurrent mental health challenges in order to make sure they can sustain therapy progress long term.
THIRA’s DBT-based depression and anxiety treatment in Seattle helps women, teen girls, and gender non-conforming individuals shake off the weight of their mental health symptoms through care that considers the root of their issues, brings them together with others in reparative connection through group therapy, and helps them develop and use strong coping skills that empower clients to make intentional choices about how they respond to life’s challenges.
If you’re struggling with depression and anxiety, please know you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. You don’t have to go through this experience without support, and we welcome you to reach out to see how DBT can help you, today.
