What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (or GAD)?

All of us feel anxious at times. We may worry about things that might happen. Like all of the anxiety problems GAD is common. People with GAD seem to be worried that bad things are going to happen most of the time. They predict that terrible things will happen, even when there is a very low probability of bad things happening.

Because they feel anxious people with GAD take this as a sign that something bad is going to happen—that is, they use their emotions as evidence that there is danger out there somewhere. Many people who worry believe that their excessive worry may keep them from being surprised, or that worrying may prepare them for the worst possible outcome. If you are a chronic worrier, you probably notice yourself saying, “Yes, but what if . . . ?” This “what-iffing” floods you with a range of possibly bad outcomes that you think you have to prepare yourself for. There seems to be no end to the things that you could worry about. In fact, even when things turn out to be OK, you may say to yourself, “Well, that’s no guarantee that it couldn’t happen in the future!” In addition to worrying about things that might happen “outside of yourself,” you may think that “worrying will make me crazy” or “worrying will make me sick.” If you have GAD, you may be locked in a conflict between the fear that worry is uncontrollable and the belief that worry protects you.

People with generalized anxiety disorder often experience physical symptoms that interfere with their normal lives. These problems may include restlessness, fatigue, problems with concentration, irritability, muscle tension, and/or insomnia. In addition, these individuals worry about a variety of events, such as health, financial problems, rejection, and performance, and they find it difficult to control their worry.

Treatment

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy has demonstrated its effectiveness in treating GAD in many reaserach studies. It is often combined with learning how to relax effectively.