First of all, anxiety/depression and anxious/depressed feelings are not the same.

Everyone can experience feelings of anxiety and depression, as certain unhappy events or changes can lead to these feelings. However, healthy individuals may recover after a while. In contrast, those with anxiety or depression may remain trapped in these feelings for a long time, even trivial matters can cause them prolonged distress. Why is this?

We often feel that these individuals are overly sensitive and fragile, and we frequently advise them not to overthink or suggest that they are just too idle… and so on.

In fact, it is our lack of understanding of this illness that leads to this misconception. The reality is that it is the illness that causes them to be trapped, not that they willingly want to be tormented by their emotions.

It is important to clarify that the current medical understanding of the mechanisms behind anxiety and depression is unclear. Similar to cancer, it is hypothesized that certain factors may lead to it, but the exact causes cannot be definitively determined, which makes it difficult to prevent depression and anxiety in advance.

To explain depression, modern medicine has three mainstream theories regarding it: the monoamine hypothesis, neuroplasticity theory, and inflammation hypothesis.

1. Monoamine hypothesis:
In patients with depression, the levels of three neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine) in the brain are low, leading to abnormal signaling related to mood, motivation, sleep, and so on.

2. Neuroplasticity theory:
In depressed patients, the connections between neurons in the brain degenerate (decreased neuroplasticity), leading to functional impairment in brain areas, especially the hippocampus (memory), prefrontal cortex (decision-making), and amygdala (fear).

3. Inflammation hypothesis:
Chronic inflammation (such as long-term stress, obesity, gut microbiota imbalance) releases inflammatory factors that attack brain neurons, triggering depressive symptoms.

For example:
Insufficient serotonin: like a shortage of 'mood stabilizers', causing insomnia, anxiety, and recurrent negative memories;

Insufficient dopamine: similar to a 'reward system losing power', resulting in a loss of motivation to do things (even the enjoyment of food and hobbies feels uninteresting);

Hippocampal atrophy: long-term stress leads to elevated cortisol levels, causing death of hippocampal neurons (similar to tree roots rotting in saltwater), resulting in memory decline;

Synaptic damage: reduction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which prevents the 'wires' (synapses) between neurons from being pruned and reshaped, forming a negative thinking inertia;

Do you see? The individuals who are ill have problems in their brains, either with abnormal secretion of neurotransmitters or damage to several key neurons.

These abnormalities in neurotransmitters or neuron damage lead to various negative impacts and directly affect a person's emotions and actions.

The symptoms of depression are diverse. We can identify two of the most common manifestations of depression around us: one is often feeling down and falling into emo, and the other is laziness.

Let me illustrate:

1. The difference between emotions and illness is like the difference between a cold and pneumonia.

Everyone experiences anxiety and discomfort sometimes, just like everyone occasionally coughs a bit. Normal individuals can manage the 'panic button' (amygdala) with their brain's 'braking system' (prefrontal cortex) or chat with friends, and after a few days, they recover.

However, individuals with anxiety or depression have a 'emotion switch' in their brain that is completely broken: the default mode network (DMN) of depressed patients is active for 80% of the time (about 40% for healthy individuals), leading to repetitive recollection of painful experiences.

For example, for a small thing like a phone ringing, the 'panic button' of the patient reacts three times more intensely than that of a normal person, so those who are ill are usually more prone to panic.

The 'braking system' of the patient's brain is under-resourced, making it impossible to send out the 'stop overthinking' command.

2. It's not 'overly sensitive', but rather the brain is injured.

When patients break down over trivial matters or avoid seeing people, they are often labeled as 'overthinking' or 'lazy', which is actually a typical reversal of reality:

When a depressed person is zoning out, their 'painful memory area' in the brain works twice as much compared to a normal person, as if there were a tragic movie projector in their mind that cannot be turned off;

Patients not socializing is not laziness, but rather a lack of 'fuel for action' in the brain (insufficient dopamine), akin to a car running out of gas. This state of being unable to move is similar to the stiffness of Parkinson's patients' limbs, both stem from issues in brain signaling.

Although the mechanisms behind anxiety and depression are somewhat different, both involve problems with brain neurons. Anxiety is a 'malfunctioning safety alarm system' in the brain, while depression is a 'reward engine losing power'.

The two are like electrical faults in the same factory, causing different workshops to shut down—anxiety is the security department sounding alarms 24/7, while depression is a complete halt in production.

Now can you understand patients with depression and anxiety?

They have sick brains, not fragile minds.

Telling patients 'don't overthink' is like telling someone with a broken bone to run—it's not that they don't want to, but rather that their physiological function is impaired.

When your friends and family are also tormented by these illnesses, please do not advise them to just think positively. Instead, tell them: 'You are not being overly sensitive; something in your brain needs repair.'

The financial industry, especially in the cryptocurrency sector, has a high prevalence of anxiety and depression. If you exhibit symptoms of anxiety or depression (refer to the original post or accompanying images), please seek medical attention for proper treatment. Do not blindly trust psychological counseling or try to tough it out alone. The brain is malfunctioning and requires medication; relying solely on willpower is not enough, and external intervention is necessary to give you a boost.

I am not a doctor, so I will refrain from offering treatment-related advice here.

Of course, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, a strong body, and stable emotions can help prevent and treat depression to some extent. However, do not shy away from medical treatment, and do not avoid medication due to fears of side effects.

Finally, I wish everyone well.