An Overview of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

An Overview of Generalized Anxiety Disorder August 20, 2019 Generalized Anxiety Disorder Overview Symptoms & Diagnosis Causes Treatment Living With In Children In This Article Table of Contents Expand Who Gets GAD Signs and Symptoms Diagnosis Causes and Risk Factors Treatment Coping In Children For Loved Ones Anxiety disorders are a class of mental disorders that distinguish themselves from other problems with two key features: fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotion experienced in response to an imminent threat (real or imagined). Anxiety, on the other hand, is an emotional state experienced in anticipation of a potential future threat.?? Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)â€"despite its nameâ€"is a specific type of anxiety disorder. The hallmark feature of GAD is persistent, excessive, and intrusive worry.?? Verywell / Cindy Chung Who Gets GAD Though the median age of onset is 30 years, later than that of other anxiety disorders, GAD can occur at any point in the life cycle.?? Women are about twice as likely to develop GAD in their lifetime as men. GAD is among the three most common psychiatric problems  in youngsters  (alongside separation anxiety and social anxiety disorders). Early onset anxiety disorders can put children and teens at greater risk for a range of other psychological issues in adulthood.?? However, early detection and intervention can result in significant or full remission of symptoms and may protect against the development of other problems later in life.?? GAD is also the most commonly occurring anxiety disorder in older adults. New onset GAD in older adults is commonly related to co-occurring depression. In this age group, GAD has historically likely been  underdiagnosed and undertreated for a number of reasons.?? However, as the field of geriatric psychiatry grows, so too does research about GAD in older adults and its treatment (including ways to overcome typical barriers to mental health care).?? Signs and Symptoms To meet formalized diagnostic criteria for GAD, excessive anxiety and worry must be present most of the day more days than not for at least six months.?? Features of excessive worry include:?? worry even when there is nothing wrongworry about a perceived threat in a manner that is disproportionate to the actual riskworrying about something for the majority of your waking hoursasking others for reassurance about your specific concern, but continuing to worry anywaysworry that shifts from one topic to another Worries may manifest differently in adults versus children, but in both cases, they tend to be about typical life circumstances or stressors (e.g. health issues, financial matters, starting a new school or job). For people with GAD, the worry is very difficult to control and is associated with multiple physical or cognitive symptoms such as:?? restlessness or edginessfatiguepoor concentration (sometimes with memory problems)irritability (sometimes observable to others)muscle tension or sorenessimpaired sleep Many people with GAD also experience other uncomfortable markers of prolonged anxiety, including sweating, stomach upset, or migraine headaches. Symptoms Throughout Life People with GAD will often describe themselves as feeling anxious or on edge for most of their lives. The expression of symptoms appears consistent across age groups. However, the content of the worry does tend to change across the lifespan.?? Younger individuals may worry more about school and performance,?? while older people focus more on physical health, finances, and family’s well-being.?? For those meeting the threshold of the formal diagnosis, symptoms tend to be chronic but wax and wane between full- and sub-threshold forms of the disorder across the lifespan.?? Though remission rates are low overall, GAD symptoms are known to improve substantially when treated either with psychotherapy or medication. Treatment can provide the tools necessary to help individuals with GAD successfully navigate subsequent periods of high stress and transition. Diagnosis GAD can be challenging to accurately identify because anxiety is an emotional state that everyone experiences from time to time in response to the stresses of everyday life.?? In fact, moderate anxiety can be quite helpful in a range of waysâ€"for example, providing us with motivation to get things done or to respond to actual threats to our safety if they occur. The diagnosis of GAD occurs, however, when anxiety crosses a threshold of excessiveness and stays there for extended periods of time. The anxiety, worry, or other symptoms make it extremely challenging for an individual to fulfill responsibilities on a daily basis.?? This can result in a strain in personal relationships or problems at work or school. GAD is typically diagnosed by a mental health professional or a physician. During an evaluation, the clinician will ask you about your symptoms and may use clinical judgment or standardized assessment tools to make a diagnosis. You may be asked to undergo or provide records from a physical exam by a medical doctor to ensure that physical and cognitive symptoms are unrelated to other medical problems.?? Speaking openly with your provider is criticalâ€"it’s simply the best and fastest way to arrive at an appropriate treatment plan and get some relief from your symptoms. As part of a thorough evaluation, your clinician will ask a range of questions about symptoms or behaviors that may or may not apply to you. This might include questions about your mood, eating behavior, substance use, or history of trauma. Your answers will help your healthcare provider to rule out other psychiatric problems or decide that your symptoms are better explained by a different diagnosis. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Discussion Guide Get our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctors appointment. Download PDF Newly Diagnosed Receiving a diagnosis of GADâ€"or any psychiatric disorderâ€"is an important step towards feeling better because diagnoses are used to guide treatment recommendations. Participate actively in a discussion with the diagnosing clinician to understand your treatment options and evaluate the best place to start.?? If you are considering psychotherapy as a first-line treatment, educate yourself about evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy?? and  acceptance and commitment therapy  and about  what you can (and cannot) expect  from the talk therapy process overall. If you are interested in a trial of a medication to treat your GAD symptoms, talk with your prescriber to decide about the options. He or she will help you to evaluate the relative risks and benefits of taking a new medicine in light of your particular medical and psychiatric history.?? Differential Diagnosis It is not uncommon for individuals with GAD to meet criteria for another psychiatric diagnosis in the course of their lifetime. If multiple disorders occur simultaneously they are referred to as comorbid conditions.?? The most commonly co-occurring disorder with GAD is  depression. However, a substantial subset of individuals  struggles  with co-occurring GAD and other anxiety disorders.?? Your psychiatrist will be able to accurately differentiate between the conditions and treat each appropriately. How Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder Diagnosed Using the DSM-5? Causes and Risk Factors Like many other psychiatric disorders, GAD is thought to emerge in the context of particular biological and environmental factors. A key biological factor is a genetic vulnerability. It is estimated that one-third of the risk of experiencing GAD is genetic, but genetic factors may overlap with other anxiety and mood disorders (particularly major depression).?? Temperament is another associated factor with GAD. Temperament refers to personality traits that are often regarded as innate (and therefore might be biologically mediated).?? Temperamental characteristics known to be associated with GAD include harm avoidance, neuroticism (or the tendency to be in a negative emotional state), and behavioral inhibition. No specific environmental factors have been identified as specific or necessary to cause GAD. However, environmental features associated with GAD include (but are not limited to):?? observation of constant worrying by family membersoverprotective parentsmodeling of dealing with stress in an anxious mannerexposure to an unsafe setting (including trauma)periods of prolonged stress Again, no one factorâ€"biological or environmentalâ€"is understood to cause GAD. Rather, the disorder is thought to result from a perfect storm of environmental stressors that occur in an individual with a genetic predisposition for anxiety.?? What Could Cause Generalized Anxiety Disorder? Treatment Treatment for GAD typically falls into one of three categories: medication, psychotherapy, and self-help. The goals of any treatment are to help people with the disorder feel better physically and mentally and to make it more possible to fully engage in relationships, at work or school, or in other situations for which the worry previously seemed paralyzing.?? Treatment research is ongoing and encouraging, particularly with regards to the helpfulness of approaches like yoga and mindfulness.?? Because anxiety is a natural part of the human experience and treatments for GAD appear to offer far-reaching benefits on day-to-day functioning, even people with low-grade anxiety may benefit from treatment. The 7 Best Online Anxiety Support Groups Coping People with GAD have to cope with a variety of physical, behavioral, and emotional symptoms on a day-to-day basis. There are proven strategies to target each. Social coping strategies, for example, involve talking to someone and recruiting support, while emotional coping strategies like mindfulness and learning triggers can help quell intrusive thoughts and overwhelm.?? Every person has a unique situation, and not every strategy will work for everyone. Part of coping involves determining which strategy works best and optimizing it to get the most from it. How to Live Well With Generalized Anxiety Disorder In Children While there is no specific known cause, kids in challenging life situations from an early age are at higher risk, and factors like puberty exacerbate the situation.?? Up to 10% of children cope with anxiety disorders like GAD. A proper diagnosis can lead to proper treatment and strategies thatll help the child cope with the disorder throughout their entire life. Parents and caregivers also play a vital role in being able to recognize symptoms and seek help when needed. Understanding Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Children For Loved Ones Living with someone living with anxiety has its challenges, but there are several ways that you can help including learning about the problem, discouraging avoidance, limiting reassurance-seeking behavior, and championing successes large and small. If you have an anxious child or teen, review some of the unique aspects of helping youngsters with GAD.?? There will, of course, be limits to the ways in which you can be helpful to your loved one with GAD. This is when it is especially useful for your loved one to use the treatment resources (i.e., clinicians) available to them. If your loved one is reluctant to seek treatment for anxiety, or unaware of the severity of the problem, look for a quiet moment to have a nonjudgmental conversation about how treatment might be a way to feel better, faster. A Word From Verywell The challenge of GAD is that anxiety is a ubiquitous (and often helpful) emotion, and so it can be difficult to know when the worry has crossed the line to “too much.” However, if worry is persistent, uncontrollable, and associated with physical symptoms of anxiety, it is worth seeking consultation with a mental health professional to see what’s what, and to learn new ways of coping with stressors of any magnitude. How Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder Diagnosed Using the DSM-5?