Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

The sufferer often finds it very difficult to manage or control the bouts of worry. This problem causes more problems, including insomnia.

Other symptoms for GAD is that the sufferer worries constantly. Typically, three or more symptoms follow including feeling agitated or restless. They often feel fatigue, have difficulty concentrating, and feel irritable. They experience muscle tension, sleep disturbance, and constant worry over future events or activities. If this condition is not treated, it can lead to clinical distress and/or impairment in behavior or performance.

You are not alone!

Over 3% of the population suffers from symptoms of GAD. Most are diagnosed with anxiety disorders on Axis I. Typically, other mood disorders are present, including panic disorder, social phobia, PTSD (in some cases), major depressive disorder, and others.

The good news is that GAD is treatable. However, a sufferer seeking relief in alcohol, illegal drugs, sleeping pills, or tranquilizers, will often complicate the condition.

How is GAD developed

GAD is often developed from subliminal or unconscious conflicts that occur between the alter ego and Id impulses that a person has failed to deal with due to lack of defense mechanisms that have not been developed or have been broken down. The unconscious mind may have blocked out experiences over the years, which are now surfacing. Sufferers could have spent years punishing themselves, which then leads to anxiety disorder. In a nutshell, GAD can be conquered by dealing with the subliminal messages, finding resolve and help in building or rebuilding coping mechanisms.

Unpredictable and uncontrollable perceptions explored

Once a person has developed unpredictable and uncontrollable ideas about future events or activities, the anxiety and fear they have created becomes difficult to treat since this is now a behavioral problem. Experts suspect that people with GAD may have had a troublesome childhood, in which case childhood experiences must be dealt with.

What role does worry play?

Worry stems from superstitions. People plagued by superstition will often go to extremes to avoid catastrophe. They tend to believe that worrying about an event or activity will make it less likely to occur. Such people live in constant fear, and often avoid deep emotional problems by finding something else to worry about in order to distract themselves.

Furthermore, they believe that if they worry about predicted negative events it will help them to prepare for such occurrence.

The consequences

Worry produces negative consequences. Those who worry constantly build up other emotional and mental disorders, and put themselves at risk of physical health problems, too. They are regularly invaded by negative thoughts, and their resulting behavior affects those around them. Most people are not given to engaging with someone who constantly thinks negatively, and sufferers are therefore at risk of losing friends.

Intrusive negative thoughts often trigger more anxiety and worry, and sufferers lose their sense of control, so that anxiety becomes a vicious cycle in which intrusive negative thoughts dominate all thought.

Are there any biological factors to consider?

Yes. At one time people with chronic anxiety were given a mild tranquilizer, Benzodiazepine, to treat anxiety, and it found to be helpful in reducing the condition. The trial prompted further study of Gad patients to find if they had any deficiency of GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid). Experts concluded that Benzodiazepine likely stimulated GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain. Recently however, studies found that a lack of serotonin might link to GAD, although there is still no concrete proof of this. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter chemical that derives from amino acids tryptophan, and is widely distributed among the tissues. It is responsible for constricting blood vessels to the injury sites, and there is some evidence it could affect emotional states.

More studies are under way in which experts are finding deficiency in serotonin, GABA, and norepinephrine may have links to anxiety. Norepinephrine is a hormone and neurotransmitter that secretes via the adrenal gland, and is remarkably similar to epinephrine. It is responsible for supplying the major organs and skin, and it increases blood pressure and depth of breathing. When a person is upset it can cause blood sugar to elevate, and decrease the activities of the intestines.

Treatments are available

Most people with GAD are treated with medications. However, due to the increasing fear of medications, more and more people are considering cognitive behavior therapy as an alternative. Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT) has proven to be highly effective in treating those with GAD. CBT is used in conjunction with behavioral techniques and cognitive restructuring. Muscle relaxation, meditation, and other practices are used to help patients learn to recognize and accept their body responses. CBT is a process of techniques that are designed to help patients work through their distorted cognitions and remove bias.

Now that you have an overall understanding of GAD, and how CBT works, it is time to move toward the first GAD online therapy session. We recognized earlier on in the guide that self-control, self-esteem, confidence, and self-discipline are missing. Let's help you in the first session to start developing coping mechanisms to overcome Generalized Anxiety by using useful CBT techniques.

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