Here's what I've learned after having problems with anxiety and depression for around 10 years:
Panic anxiety: Very related to stress, and often also related to other physical problems. For me I had a lot of trouble with my stomach. Really bad spasms etc. It could drive me completely nuts. And I mean I could feel like climbing the walls in public. Once on a train I had so much problems with the anxiety and the stomach, that I actually seriously thought about standing up and telling everyone that I must lock myself in on the toilet for 1,5 hours. And I'm a pretty shy guy, so doing something like that just meant that I was completely out of balance. But like many other times, I was sitting, counting every 2nd, trying to listening to music, trying to sleep, trying to distract myself, and nothing worked. I was living inside my head.
Right now I have no issues with panic anxiety though. I have regular anxiety at times, but for some reason it doesn't get very strong. I was taking antidepressant for a long time. I've stopped doing that, and haven't taken any for 2,5 years or so. For me it was also related to pressure. I demanded a lot from myself. And not heaving a steady job, not feeling well etc, it was hard to live up to all of that. I was living in the future all the time.
The key for me now is to avoid sugar, because I ate a lot of it when I got really depressed, I still do at times, although I'm more aware of the fact that it certainly doesn't help. I try to eat something else I like instead that is good for me, like grilled chicken or something. Although it's not ideal, it's a lot better than sitting with cookies, candy and potato chips. My stomach kept me from getting overweight though, since it just threw everything out
I'm grateful that I don't have the panic attacks anymore. Haven't had any for a long time. I don't get stressed about it anymore. I don't think "what if". I'm more calm now. So what have I changed? I've changed things to the diet, I try to eat more magnesium and vitamin-D. I try to eat more natural food. What I hated the most about those years, is that I got so stressed about everything. I mean if I just saw a queue of some kind and I needed tickets, my stomach and head would freak out. Same thing if I walked into a train that was crowded. "What if I don't get out of the train? What if my stomach gets so screwed up that I can't hold it back, and it happens in public? etc..."
Depression:
I guess I've been having depression on and off, but it was really really bad in 2006, I had to have contact with the health care daily basically, and had to promise that I wouldn't do anything stupid. I was climbing the walls basically, I couldn't eat, couldn't watch tv, I just laid in bed and tried to breathe, and counted the seconds and hoping that I'd find a way to get out of it. I had these really weird issues before it got really bad. I had no confidence at all and thought of myself as a complete screwup. I couldn't even do my laundry, because I thought that people would look at me and think like "hey, haven't seen this guy around here before". "Look he pushed the wrong button on the washing machine and screwed up, what an idiot!". And im my apartment I had this spot, I guess it was fat or something on a wallpaper. And I was afraid that the company that was a part of the local region in the area would get pissed and make me pay LOADS for it. For a while I was almost afraid to move because I thought I would get into so much problem. It was a freaking little spot on a wall, and it was consuming a lot of time for me in anxiety. Right now I don't get it. It sounds completely stupid to me to get stressed for such a little thing. But at that time....I also had these weird routines that I probably shouldn't admit ;D But I hated the light basically, and I had anxiety all the time. When I went to the toilet I shut down the lights and turned on the mp3-player. And the same thing there, today, I don't get it, it just sounds weird to me. But I was that guy.
And im not sure what it's like in Canada, but I assume that it could be faily close to Sweden weather wise. In Sweden it's really really dark during the winter. I mean the sun starts going down at around 2-3 pm in Stockholm basically. And a lot of the swedes lack vitamin-d. And when we grow adults always said "You must drink a lot of milk to grow up and become a strong boy". And I drank milk like crazy, and that I found out for a few years ago is that too much calcium can screw up the magnesium levels as well as vitamin-d, and therefore affect the nervous system in a negative way.
I'm still a bit lost though. My biggest problem now is that basically all feelings give me anxiety. So I try to avoid all situations where I could get feelings - which is basically all situations where humans are around. And I hate birthdays, funerals, weddings anything like that. Because people sometimes point out when I don't smile, or I don't cry etc. And then I get anxiety over it, because I do get a confirmation that people see it. And I don't really know how to get out of it. I mean I don't want to fake a laugh, just for the sake of it. I want it to be natural. But when people point out that I don't laugh and talk about it. It's like if I do laugh, people will talk about that too, or say that it's nice to see me happy etc. And then I would get anxiety over it, because then I know that people are watching me. And I don't like to be the centre of attention, and then it gives me more anxiety, and more reason for me to avoid people