Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by persistent, excessive and unrealistic worry about everyday things. This worry goes on every day, possibly all day. People with GAD feel their worrying is beyond their control and can't be turned "off." People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) go through the day filled with exaggerated worry and tension, even though there is little or nothing to provoke it. They anticipate disaster and are overly concerned about health issues, money, family problems, or difficulties at work. Sometimes just the thought of getting through the day produces anxiety.
People with generalized anxiety disorder can't seem to shake their concerns. Their worries are accompanied by physical symptoms, especially fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes. Common symptoms includes:
Restlessness Feeling of being keyed up or on edge Feeling a lump in your throat Difficulty concentrating Fatigue trouble concentrating irritability easy to startle procrastination Impatience Being easily distracted Muscle tension Trouble falling or staying asleep (insomnia) Excessive sweating Shortness of breath Stomachache Diarrhea Headache In general, anxiety disorders are treated with medication, specific types of psychotherapy, or both. Treatment choices depend on the problem and the person's preference. Before treatment begins, a doctor must conduct a careful diagnostic evaluation to determine whether a person's symptoms are caused by an anxiety disorder or a physical problem. Treatment options includes:
Medications - Medication will not cure anxiety disorders, but it can keep them under control while the person receives psychotherapy. Antidepressants - Antidepressants were developed to treat depression but are also effective for anxiety disorders. Although these medications begin to alter brain chemistry after the very first dose, their full effect requires a series of changes to occur; it is usually about 4 to 6 weeks before symptoms start to fade. SSRIs - Some of the newest antidepressants are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. SSRIs alter the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, which, like other neurotransmitters, helps brain cells communicate with one another. Psychotherapy involves talking with a trained mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or counselor, to discover what caused an anxiety disorder and how to deal with its symptoms. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, the first person you should see is your family doctor. A physician can determine whether the symptoms that alarm you are due to an anxiety disorder, another medical condition, or both. People with generalized anxiety disorder can adopt a number of effective self-help techniques. Using ?self-talk? to intervene in your own anxious thoughts forcing yourself to stop the cycle of anxiety and replace worried self-dialogue with practical dialogue can help you learn how not to worry.
Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the common anxiety disorders. There is relief for sufferers. Anxiety disorders are the term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fear, phobia and nervous condition, which may come on all of a sudden or gradually, over a period of several years and may impair or prevent the pursuing of normal daily routines.
The essential characteristic of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is excessive uncontrollable worry about everyday things. This constant worry affects daily functioning and can cause physical symptoms. GAD is usually difficult to diagnose for it lacks some of the dramatic symptoms, like unprovoked panic attacks, that are seen with other anxiety disorders. To be able to diagnose Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms must be present more days than not for at least 6 months.
The diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms are:
Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehension), occurring more days than not for a period of at least 6 months, about numerous events or activities.
The person with GAD finds it hard to control the worry. The anxiety and worry are associated with three or more of the following six symptoms, with at least some symptoms are present for more than 6 months in most days than not (at least one is required for children):
restlessness or feeling tense or on the edge; easily fatigued; difficulty concentrating or mind going blank; irritability; muscle tension and muscle aches; difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless; unsatisfying sleep; difficulty swallowing; trembling, sweating; nausea, light-headedness; feeling out of breath
The focus of anxiety and worry is not limited to, or the anxiety or worry is not about having a panic attack, being embarrassed in the public, being contaminated, gaining weight, having multiple physical complaints, or having a serious illness, and the anxiety, and worry do not occur exclusively during post traumatic disorder.
The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of everyday activities.
The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effect of substance, such as alcohol and drug abuse, or medical condition, and does not occur exclusively during a mood disorder, a psychotic disorder, or a pervasive developmental disorder.
When the anxiety level of people with GAD is mild, they can still function socially and keep a job. Even if they don't avoid certain situations as a result of their disorder, they may have difficulty doing the simplest daily activities if there anxiety is severe. The disorder comes on gradually and can begin at any age, but the risk is highest between childhood and middle age.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is commonly treated with medication or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Several drugs are used to treat anxiety disorders and these include: benzodiazepines and antidepressants, and Quetiapine.
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