{"id":149893,"date":"2022-01-07T14:57:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T14:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/149893"},"modified":"2022-01-20T16:17:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T21:17:53","slug":"generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad-causes-symptoms-treatment-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/effectsofanxiety.net\/archives\/149893","title":{"rendered":"Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) – causes, symptoms & treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"Say you\u2019ve got a huge presentation in front\r\nof all your colleagues; you\u2019re nervous, you\u2019ve got quite a bit of stress leading\r\nup to the presentation. That stress is completely normal, and really\u2014probably\r\nuseful in certain situations since it can make you more alert and careful. After the presentation\u2019s over you feel the\r\nstress start to fade away, right? Well…for 3% of the population, the stress\r\ndoesn\u2019t go away, and maybe that stress isn\u2019t even brought on by a specific event and is\r\nalways just sort of always there. Either way, at this point it\u2019s considered\r\nto be anxiety. That anxiety might even get worse over time\r\nand causes things like chest pains or nightmares. Sometimes the anxiety\u2019s so severe that it\r\ncauses someone to be anxious about leaving the house or doing everyday things, like going\r\nto work or school. This anxiety may be a sign of Generalized\r\nAnxiety Disorder, sometimes shortened to GAD.\r\n\r\nGAD\u2019s characterized by excessive, persistent,\r\nand unreasonable anxiety about everyday things, like money, family, work, and relationships;\r\neven sometimes the thought of getting through the day causes anxiety. If the anxiety\u2019s persistent, then it doesn\u2019t\r\nseem to go away, if it\u2019s excessive, it\u2019s usually more than someone else might feel,\r\nand if it\u2019s unreasonable, they probably shouldn\u2019t have a reason to feel anxious\r\nabout it. People who have GAD might even understand\r\nthat their anxieties are excessive and unreasonable, but they feel it\u2019s out of their control\r\nand doesn\u2019t quite know how to stop it. People with severe GAD might be completely\r\ndebilitated and have trouble with the simplest daily activities, or they might be only mildly\r\naffected and be able to function socially and hold down a job. Sometimes the feelings might worsen or improve\r\nover time. In addition to having feelings of worries\r\nand anxiety, other symptoms include edginess and restlessness, difficulty concentrating\r\nor feeling like the mind just goes blank, and also irritability.\r\n\r\nThese psychological symptoms can also lead\r\nto physical manifestations of symptoms like digestive problems from eating more or eating\r\nless. They might also have muscle aches and soreness\r\nfrom carrying tension in their muscles. Finally, difficulty sleeping is a really common\r\nsymptom that can have a serious impact on physical well-being, since the body\u2019s not\r\nresting and can lead to issues of chronic fatigue. Although the decision that someone\u2019s worry\r\nis excessive and unreasonable has a subjective quality, diagnosing GAD is aided by the diagnostic\r\nand statistical manual of mental disorders, or DSM-V, this manual gives a list of criteria\r\nto meet in order to be diagnosed with GAD. First, the excessive worry and anxiety have\r\nto have been present for more days than not over the course of 6 months. In other words, a person should have the symptoms\r\nof excess or unreasonable worry on 90 or more days out of 180 days.\r\n\r\nGenerally, people can\u2019t quantify or track\r\ntheir feelings in that way, so again, this is meant to offer a general guideline, right? Okay second\u2014the person finds it hard to\r\ncontrol their anxiety, meaning that they have a hard time calming themselves or \u201cself-soothing\u201d\r\nto help themselves regain control over their feelings. Third, an adult must have three or more of\r\nthe symptoms listed previously. In children though, typically defined as \u201cschool-age\u201d,\r\nso between 6 and 18 years old, only one symptom is needed for the diagnosis of GAD. Another criterion is that anxiety causes\r\nimpairment in important daily activities like school or work. For example, they might miss deadlines or\r\nfind it difficult to even go to work because of their symptoms. Fifth, the symptoms are not attributable to\r\nthe physiologic effects of drugs or medication, or due to a medical condition like hyperthyroidism\r\nwhich creates an excess of thyroid hormone, which can sometimes cause symptoms of anxiety\r\nand worry.\r\n\r\n
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