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Recommended: Chapter 18 anxiety disorders
What is anxiety disorder and how do I know if it applies to me? It is not the same as your average feelings of anxiety. If you feel anxious at times it is quite normal, especially when you get really stressed. However, you might be suffering from generalized anxiety disorder if the anxiety you feel is ongoing and so severe that it interferes with your daily activities.
Both adults and children can develop this disorder. A lot of the symptoms of generalized anxiety are the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and other types of anxiety, but it is different from these conditions.
It can be quite challenging to live with this disorder for a long time. If you are suffering from an anxiety disorder, there is a chance that you might also have some other anxiety or mood disorder. You
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At times, you might not get completely consumed by your worries and there might not be any apparent reason, but you might still feel anxious. In order to comprehend what is anxiety disorder, you must also understand what causes generalized anxiety disorder.
What are the Causes of GAD?
Just like a majority of mental health conditions, it has not been fully understood what the cause of GAD is. Chemicals or neurotransmitters, like dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin that naturally occur in the brain might be the cause. Your genetics, the experiences that you have gone through in your life and stress are also some of the likely causes of the anxiety problems you are suffering from.
GAD is also associated with certain physical health conditions such as:
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Heart disease
- Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism
- Menopause.
How to Treat
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, also known as (GAD) is one of the several types of anxiety disorders. GAD according to our textbook (Lahey) is an uneasy sense of general tension and apprehension for no apparent reason that makes the individual highly uncomfortable because of its prolonged presence. GAD is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. Without provoking, it is chronic and exaggerated worry and tension. This disorder can involve anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family or work. Sometimes, though, just the thought of getting through the day brings anxiety.
Fear and Anxiety are essential functions that occur in the brain that allow people to respond to stimuli appropriately. These feelings as normal as they are can cause problems and in 3.1 percent of adult Americans approximately 6.8 million people it does cause problems (“Generalized anxiety disorder”, 2014). A problem can arise when people have too much fear and anxiety; a problem is evident when it interferes with their life and their ability to do things. This is known as general anxiety disorder (GAD). When someone is suffering from generalized anxiety disorder they normally experience excessive exaggerated anxiety and worry about normal life events that give no clear reason for worry (“Generalized anxiety disorder”, 2014). This disorder can be debilitating and rule over people’s lives if it is severe and a better understanding of the disorder can be gained by looking at historical views, current views, causes and symptoms, case studies, differential diagnosis considerations, and treatment.
Anxiety is a feeling of tension associated with a sense of threat of danger when the source of the danger is not known. In comparison, fear is a feeling of tension that is associated with a known source of danger. I believe it is normal for us to have some mild anxiety present in our daily lives. Everyday that I can think of I have some kind of anxiety though out that day. Anxiety warns us and enables us to get ready for the ‘fight or flight’ response. However, heightened anxiety is emotionally painful. It disrupts a person's daily functioning.
It may be shocking to learn that 21% of American adults suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder(National Institute of Mental Health Statistics). Do you know the differences between the two major types of anxiety disorder? The two major types of anxiety are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). While many may think PTSD and GAD are one in the same, you may be surprised that they vastly differ in cause and symptoms with their only similarity being their treatment.
The onset of Generalized anxiety disorder begins in childhood or adolescents, and It can have a lifetime prevalence of 3-5% with a higher risk in women. One major effect of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive worry or anxiety lasting up to 6 months at a time, although individuals that have Generalized Anxiety Disorder don’t identify their worrying as excessive all of the time, but they will recount subjective distress because of a constant worry, or may have difficulty with control over the worrying, or even experience social impairment. Anxiety can be associated up to 6 symptoms which include inability to sleep, fatigued, lack of concentration, easily agitated, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances. Most of which can affect everyday lifestyle and greatly effect physical health, not only can they cause personal distress but may also cause distress in those around.
About three percent of men and women in the U.S. suffer from Generalized anxiety disorder (APAA). It is one of the most common forms of anxiety and seems to be the most left untreated because people don’t know that it can be treated (McGradles). GAD, although it affects many, is a disorder that can be detrimental to the quality of life of an individual. With the regard to the quality of life, the level of severity that a person experiences is a great factor in determining more information. The accumulated information is a defining feature in figuring the dissimilarity of the normal fight or flight response and the diagnoses of GAD. The disorder itself is that of excessive worry (AnxietyBC) about everyday things like, financial situations, school, family, or health (APAA). Having three or more symptoms such as nausea, shaking, sweating, hot flashes, headaches, and many others, is what contributes to the diagnosis (Patel). By understanding what the disorder is and how it can be treated, Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a serious, yet gradually treatable issue.
Overall, generalized anxiety disorder is classified by excessive and uncontrollable worry over a large variety of daily problems. Besides anxiety, people with GAD also experience fatigue, irritability, restlessness, and muscle tension. GAD is quite common, and about three percent of all American adults are diagnosed with it every year. Several potential causes of generalized anxiety disorder are environment, genetics, brain chemistry, and personality. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication are used to treat GAD. However, the medicine comes with many side effects. Lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and supplements can also aid in helping the patient. If untreated, generalized anxiety disorder can be a long-term illness, although the outlook is generally positive for those who have treatment.
The symptoms that one face during GAD include: worry all the time, irritation, feeling of insecurity, depression, dizziness, tension, restless, sleeping disorder, headaches, mental disorder, nausea, and muscle aches. It happens continually for more than 6 months. The symptoms of worry vary during General Anxiety Disorder, worry about family, finance, and always thinking about negative outcomes of any action. Although worrying about family is normal, but in GAD case, the patient think whole day about the way of living of his family, their future, their finance and calculate negative outcomes.
Mental health is just as important as physical health in a person’s life. Mental health is critical to a person’s well-being, their ability to live a productive life and to keep a healthy family and interpersonal relationships. Mental health does not just affect the mind it also affects people’s physical health. Some physical health diseases can cause a mental health disorder and vice versa. Mental health disorders are associated with the occurrence, development, and outcome of some of the today’s most chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. When people go untreated from a mental health disorder are at a higher risk for many unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, violent behavior, and suicide.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. Every person experiences some form of anxiety in his or her lifetime. Anxiety helps us deal with tense situations like using our flight or fight reaction, study harder for an exam, or keep focus on important deadlines. Anxiety can be useful until it gets to the point of interfering with everyday life. Some people explain it as not being able to shut the anxiety off. When anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it becomes a disabling disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). Each year, anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). There are five major Anxiety Disorders they include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Phobias.
The difference between normal worrying and generalized anxiety disorder are the accompanying symptoms as well as the length of time the worrying persists. To occasionally torment oneself with or suffer from distressing thoughts is classified as normal worrying. The symptoms of worrying may vary, but most people experience disturbed feelings and the mental fatigue of being overly concerned with a circumstance. On the other hand, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) one experiences excessive anxiety under most circumstances, expecting the worst even when there is no obvious or visible reason for concern. The symptoms are being agitated, on edge, easily tired, having difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and issues with sleep. GAD usually develops during childhood or the adolescent years and the symptoms last as long as six months as opposed to normal worrying which dissipates in a much shorter length of time. (Word count: 141)
Everything suddenly becomes unfamiliar and I’m no longer comfortable in my own skin. I’m absolutely terrified and unable to collect thoughts properly. Tormenting-thoughts shoot left and right through my brain and after each hit I find my heart beating faster by the second. My chest becomes tight and it is hard to breathe. I’m paralyzed with fear; it is impossible to find the right words to say, and I have a sudden aura of loneliness. I am having a panic attack.
Anxiety is our body’s reaction to stressful dangerous or unfamiliar situations (“What is Anxiety,” n.d.). Everyone has anxiety at times and this is necessary in human beings but some people have it much worse than others. Anxiety disorder makes life more difficult to cope with, it keeps people from sleeping, socializing with their peers and it makes it hard to concentrate (“What is Anxiety,”n.d.). So, what is the cause of anxiety? How can we tell if a person is suffering from an anxiety disorder? What are the different types of anxiety disorders around us?
The definition of anxiety by the American Psychological Association is, “...an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure”(APA) Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 8 children, the largest source of the anxiety being stress. An article by the Huffington Post says, “31 percent of teens report feeling overwhelmed as a result of stress, 30 percent say that they feel sad or depressed as a result of stress, and 36 percent report feeling tired
Depression is a serious problem in today’s time world with everyone going through problems of their own, so one should wonder what depression really is. Depression is defined as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness. There are even different types of depression such as persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, postpartum, seasonal affective disorder, and etc.