What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition that can affect all age groups and is characterized by a constant feeling of being overwhelmed and excessive worry about everyday things. This disorder presents with excessive, frequent, and unrealistic worry about everyday things.
How can I differentiate between anxiety and an anxiety disorder?
Almost everyone has experienced anxiety at some point in their life as it is a common emotion. For most of us, starting a new job, moving, and waiting to hear for news, can be things that result in us feeling tense or having worried thoughts. However, someone with generalized anxiety disorder might feel this way daily and so intensely that it affects their functioning. Generalized anxiety disorder is a chronic condition that involves excessive anxiety that interferes with daily life. That being said, someone with generalized anxiety disorder may worry about everyday situations or routine issues that others may be able to accept and ignore without a second thought. These ongoing worries that are difficult to control may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder.
Symptoms of GAD:
Excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of events
Restlessness
Feeling on edge
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension
Difficulty sleeping
Shortness of breath
Racing heartbeat
Headaches
Who is at Risk for Developing Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
Because there is no exact cause of GAD and it is likely a combination of environmental, biological, and genetic factors, generalized anxiety disorder can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, gender, race, etc. However, statistically, women are more likely than men to develop GAD. Someone might also be more likely to have generalized anxiety disorder if a close biological relative has it, they have experienced a traumatic event, they are in a constant stressful environment, they have experienced child abuse, or if they are managing a chronic illness.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment
GAD is typically treated with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both. For psychotherapy, the most common modality used by mental health professionals is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT works by understanding how thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are interconnected and how altering our thoughts can alter our behaviors and feelings and vice versa. A licensed mental health professional may use this treatment method to help someone identify their negative, worrying, or illogical thoughts to understand how they affect their actions and excessive worrying. They will then work with the client to unlearn these worrying thoughts and behaviors in exchange for learning more helpful thinking patterns. If you think that you or a loved one may have generalized anxiety disorder, or may benefit from this treatment, reach out to a licensed mental health provider or physician for help.