What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

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What is generalized anxiety disorder compared to other anxiety disorders?

Everyone gets worried or anxious sometimes. It is perfectly normal to worry about things like exams, bills, money or relationships. Worries and fears are a normal part of life, so how can you tell the difference between normal, everyday healthy worry and generalized anxiety disorder?(GAD)

Someone who is suffering from generalized anxiety disorder symptoms will experience worry and anxiety that is almost unrelenting and out of proportion with what is happening in their life. This heightened level of anxiety can make normal life difficult, cause sleeplessness and make it very difficult to relax.

You may well worry about exactly the same things as everyone else, but if you have generalized anxiety disorder you will invariably take your worry to the next level, always thinking things through to the worst possible conclusion

Aches and pains can suddenly feel as if they are potentially life threatening conditions… do something wrong at work and you can worry for days that you are about to get the sack… if you leave a message with a friend and they don’t get back to you straight away, you will convince yourself that you have done something to damage the friendship.

Most people who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder are able to function relatively normally or at least appear to on the surface.  They will invariably go through their day with an underlying feeling of dread, experiencing an exaggerated feeling of worry and tension even though there is nothing to provoke these feelings.

Interestingly, general anxiety disorder symptoms will fluctuate, you will experience good and bad days and even periods during the day when you feel relatively ‘normal’.

Not everyone will experience the same symptoms with a general anxiety disorder but most people with GAD will experience at least some of the following symptoms;

·           Aches and pains – muscle tension 

·           Feeling jumpy or unsteady, edgy or restless 

·           Have trouble sleeping, either getting to sleep or staying asleep 

·           Tiring easily 

·           Upset stomach or stomach problems 

·           Irritability, unable to relax 

·           Problems concentrating 

·           Feelings of dread and an inability to stop anxious thoughts 

Generalized anxiety disorder is surprisingly common with over six million people in the   USA suffering from it every year. Self help strategies can help a large proportion of those people. Remember that GAD is the result of learnt behaviour. Something has programmed you to worry like this and you can teach yourself to think differently.

• Make lifestyle changes to reduce your anxiety levels, cut down on caffeine and alcohol, improve your diet and get some exercise.   
• Try to find better ways to deal with your anxiety, think through some of the more irrational worrying thoughts and accept that there will always be a degree of uncertainty in your life no matter what you do.  
• Practice relaxation techniques.  As you get better at this you will find your body reacting better to worry and anxiety allowing you to cope better.  

There are a number of self help programmes for GAD available that will teach you the techniques that you need to overcome this debilitating condition and lead a normal life again but the most important thing is to get started and not allow your anxiety to take over.