Living on the Edge: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

As this article is being written, I, the writer, am having a hard time swallowing, my palms are slightly sweaty and I feel tension in some of my muscles. The reason for the odd symptoms, is this author, along with 18% of Americans, is affected by an anxiety disorder. There are several different types of anxiety disorders but for the purposes of the article, we will focus on generalized anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder otherwise known as GAD has part of its definition in its name. It is a general feeling of anxiety and fear that is chronic, excessive and can significantly interfere with a persons daily life.

People with generalized anxiety disorder have feelings of fear and apprehension about most events in their lives. The hallmark of GAD is a feeling of “anticipatory anxiety“. In other words these individuals are constantly worrying about the future. They think or imagine the worst and believe most things will end badly. Its common for people to feel anxious about things in life whether it be a job interview or an upcoming test. In fact, some fear and anxiety is healthy. People with generalized anxiety disorder however feel fearful and anxious most of the time. They know they worry too much but they just can’t seem to control the constant stream of worries. They are rarely able to use logic to help them not torture themselves over a future event. They’ll usually have a hard time making decisions; thinking about a myriad of possible end results, most of which they imagine will be bad. Even when a person with GAD does finally make a decision, they’ll spend a huge amount of time worrying that they didn’t make the right choice. They may also have symptoms such as: feelings of restless, becoming tired easily, having trouble concentrating, being irritable and having trouble with sleep.

There are several theories as to why people suffer from GAD but we’ll just look at two: 1. Parenting styles- Some psychologists theorize the more a parent teaches a child to be confident in different situations, the more likely they’ll be able to handle frightening situations as they grow older. The opposite is also true. If a parent is over controlling and does not teach their children to master their environment, a child may become fearful and see the world as threatening and uncontrollable. 2. Positive Beliefs about Worry: Like we mentioned before worry has its place. However individuals with GAD seem to depend on worry. They believe worry will help prepare them for a negative event or some even think worrying excessively will make the event less likely to occur.

So how does one really know if they may have this disorder. Well the experts (psychologists) tell us a person must experience worry more days than not, experience this continual worry for at least six months and have extreme difficulty getting the worry under control in order to be diagnosed GAD. But before you go on and diagnose yourself, talk to a professional. Your healthcare professional may suggest cognitive behavioral treatment. Cognitive behavioral treatment can include: thought reconstructing: to make thoughts seem less stressful, exposure techniques to help the individual feel less anxious during certain situations and muscle relaxation because people with GAD can be tense; they’ll be able to tell you more about the disorder, determine if you really do have it and then lead you on the road to a life filled with a little less anxiety.
Artesia McNair is a Master’s level student interning under Dr Sadie Sheafe, Ph.D., LCSW, ABS