A comorbidity is a disease that occurs with another primary diagnosis. One example is having both diabetes and heart disease. The two conditions share risk factors, and when they occur together, they are considered comorbidities.
Many conditions raise your risk of developing a coexisting health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Having PTSD increases the likelihood of developing depression, anxiety, or both.
Treatment from a provider experienced in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety is an important part of getting effective treatment. At Apex Medical Center, our team looks for overlapping symptoms of the three conditions in order to make a proper diagnosis.
If you look at a list of symptoms for each of the three disorders, you’ll find significant overlap. For example, all three conditions can cause difficulty sleeping, problems with concentration, and avoidant behaviors.
Depression and anxiety are often discussed together as if they are a single condition, and some people think that if you have PTSD, you also necessarily have depression and anxiety.
However, the three conditions are distinct, even though they share some symptoms and frequently occur together. Having one diagnosis increases your risk of developing another.
Although researchers know that the three conditions are distinct, they don’t fully understand why they so often occur together. A 2019 study used brain imaging to compare the brains of people with mental health disorders and healthy people while they performed cognitive tasks.
In total, the study included brain scans for more than 9,000 individuals, making it one of the largest studies of its kind. The research showed that the brains of people with conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety had regions that were more active than those of people without mental health conditions, as well as regions that were significantly less active.
The specific regions of abnormal activity had to do with processing and emotional control. By understanding the exact areas of the brain that are affected, researchers hope to improve outcomes with better treatments.
Symptoms are not the only thing these three conditions have in common; many treatments overlap as well. A comprehensive treatment plan that addresses the primary disorder as well as any comorbidities is most likely to have a good outcome.
At Apex Medical Center, we offer psychological and psychiatric services, and our providers understand the interconnected nature of comorbid disorders. If you’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, or anxiety, we encourage you to schedule an appointment to discuss your risk of developing another mental health condition, as well as treatments that may help.
