DO YOU HAVE GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER?



In my outpatient psychology practice, I see eight things every

day--they show up again and again, presenting in one form or another.

One of the bigger and more negative experiences clients have is anxiety.

In addition, the first thing clients want to know is whether they have

an anxiety disorder, in this case Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Here

is a rather clinical description of what anxiety is, according to an

older but very accurate source, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

of Mental Disorders, Third Edition:

"...An apprehension, tension, or uneasiness that stems from the

anticipation of danger, which may be internal or external. Some

definitions of anxiety distinguish it from fear by limiting it to

anticipation of a danger whose source is largely unknown whereas fear

is the response to a consciously recognized and usually external threat

or danger. The manifestations of anxiety and fear are the same and

include motor tension, autonomic hyperactivity, apprehensive expectation,

vigilance and scanning. Anxiety may be focused on an object, situation,

or activity, which is avoided (phobia), or may be not focused

(free-floating anxiety). It may be experienced in discrete periods of

sudden onset and be accompanied by physical symptoms. When anxiety is

focused on physical signs or symptoms and causes preoccupation with the

fear or belief of having a disease, it is termed hypochondriasis."

And, here is how anxiety typically manifests (symptoms):

...Trembling, twitching, or feeling shaky, muscle tension and aches or

soreness (including chest pains), restlessness, easy fatiguing...or...

shortness of breath or smothering sensations, palpitations or accelerated

heart rate, sweating or cold clammy hands, dry mouth, dizziness or

lightheadedness, nausea, diarrhea, or other abdominal distress, flushing,

hot flashes, chills, frequent urinations, trouble swallowing, or...

feeling keyed up and on edge, exaggerated startle response, difficulty

concentrating or having your mind "going blank," trouble falling or

staying asleep, or being excessively irritable.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of many kinds or categories

of anxiety. I have written specifically about this and other versions

of anxiety in my ebook on How To Diagnose and Treat Your Anxiety.

This is a publication that shows you how to think about any anxiety,

disorder or not, how to assess your symptoms and more importantly,

what to do about it. Here is what I wrote about GAD:

"This category is characterized by an unrealistic or excessive worry

about two or more life circumstances (money problems, school grades, etc.).

Usually such worrying is chronic, not acute (as with panic attacks,

phobias or Post Traumatic Stress Disorders), and involves six or more of

the anxiety symptoms listed above and usually lasts at least six months.

Again, the individual symptoms need not be intense, although most people

probably would think the worry still is excessive. This category is

distinguished from the Worrisome Personality. Generally, there are more

symptoms and fewer areas of concern."

Anxiety pervades almost all of our experiences in every venue.

Most of the time, it is in the background. It turns out we need some

very basic "tension" to exist and a little more to be motivated to do

things. We psychologists call this ergic tension. You could not sit

up or read this article if you had no ergic tension. It is normal.

However, many people have more anxiety than this, which still could

be good in some circumstances, like in sports or just before an important

speech or even right before a major test in school. This keeps us

focused and helps us appropriately utilize the extra adrenaline that

accompanies such events. We are still in the normal range of anxiety

if we understand and can manage it during and then after the specific

event, presumably when our anxiety drops back to lower levels.

Some people have more anxiety than this, and it does not go back

to "mark headings." These are the folks who probably have an anxiety

disorder. Chronic worrying is in the second category. There are seven

major categories of anxiety disorders, depending upon the cluster of

symptoms and their manifestations. I also have written about these

in the same ebook referenced above. Here's the categories: Worrisome

Personality, then the more progressive and I think more serious clinical

categories follow: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Adjustment Disorder

with Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Panic Attacks,

Phobia Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I made up the first

category because I see this a lot in my practice, but it is not in the

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition

(the latest version of this manuscript, which is the Bible of mental

health professionals). The last six categories are clinical categories

and are found in the DSM IV.

GAD sufferers have a relatively minor version of anxiety disorder,

but one that can still cause some discomfort. You have to think about

your symptoms in a very specific and different way to diagnose whether

or not you have ANY anxiety disorder, GAD included. I show you how,

step by step, in my ebook.

Dr. Griggs