Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Do you feel consumed by your worries? Do you find that you worry about a wide range of issues such as:

• work
• school
• money
• relationships
• natural disasters
• your own or your loved one’s health

Everyone worries, but people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) take worry to the next level of catastrophizing, often thinking of the worst possible outcome to any situation. If their friend or mate is late, they think they have been in a car accident.  When there is a bad storm, they imagine trees falling on their house.  When their child is sick, they imagine leukemia or some other life-threatening illness.

Common symptoms that people with GAD experience are:

• Feeling tense, restless, and keyed up
• Being easily fatigued
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Sleep disturbance – difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep

Children also suffer from GAD.  Their worries may center around their family getting sick or dying.  Any bad news they hear on the TV they assume will affect them.  They worry about grades or being late to school or getting sent to the principal’s office.

Treatment

Cognitive-behavior therapy can help people to think more realistically about their worries, learn to problem solve productively, accept uncertainty and feel more relaxed.