What is General Anxiety Disorder

To answer the question “what is general anxiety disorder” one needs to look at both an individual’s background and his or her current symptoms. Each of these factors plays a role in making up the disorder as well as how it manifests.

What is General Anxiety Disorder:  The Basics

In the simplest of terms, general anxiety disorder is identified by the fact that the sufferer experiences excessive amounts of fear and worry about things that do not require that much concern.  The fear that one feels about his or her health, for example, will far exceed what most people would experience regarding the same topic.  Someone with general anxiety disorder has fears and worries that are out of proportion with the cause.  The causes themselves are often everyday concerns that everyone encounters, but for some reason, this individual has developed an excessive, even irrational level of anxiety about it. Some common topics for general anxiety disorder include:

• Death
• Family
• Health
• Money
• Relationships
• Work

The amount of energy and concern that one puts into these fears would seem unrealistic to most people, but the sufferer generally finds that he or she has no control over the thoughts.  General anxiety disorder (or chronic anxiety) leads to mental and emotional symptoms that can include feelings of being disconnected from their bodies, an impending sense of doom, trouble concentrating and communicating, irritability, and racing and intrusive thoughts. General anxiety disorder can also lead to a plethora of physical symptoms that further complicate the issue. Chest pains, headaches, nausea, numbness, difficulty breathing, body temperature fluctuations, rashes, muscle pain, and fatigue are just some of the results.  It’s easy to see how someone with irrational fears about health or dying could become even more anxious and upset when there seem to be so many indicators that something is physically wrong. General anxiety disorder (or GAD) may be diagnosed when someone has suffered from several of these symptoms for a period of six months or more.  It is important to note that each individual will have a different experience, and will not necessarily suffer from all known symptoms in order to be diagnosed.

What is General Anxiety Disorder:  The Effects

Unfortunately, someone dealing with general anxiety disorder can suffer some very serious consequences.  This depends upon the extent of symptoms and the individual’s response to them.  Those whose anxiety remains at a fairly mild level will suffer some consequences, but they are usually able to manage day-to-day life, even if it is somewhat uncomfortable.  These people likely have jobs, although they may be more affected by work-related stress than those around them.  Work performance can suffer, too, as a result of fatigue, distraction, and other symptoms. Some common anxiety symptoms affecting daily life include:

• Headaches
• Digestive and bowel issues
• Depression
• Substance abuse
• Insomnia

When an individual’s anxiety has reached a severe level, even more serious consequences can come into play.  When symptoms culminate in panic attacks (also called anxiety attacks), the individual may begin to avoid any object or situation that he or she believe trigger an attack in the past.  This means that if someone has an anxiety attack while driving, he or she may determine that it was brought on by traffic and then begin to refuse to drive or even to ride in a car. Anxiety disorders can also affect relationships. Those who care about a person with GAD may grow tired of the constant worry that seems so unnecessary.  In many cases, the sufferer’s worry may even be for the other person.  A parent with extreme anxiety may become overprotective and smothering toward his or her child, for example.  Significant others may become frustrated and distance themselves.  If the sufferer’s anxiety revolves around being left alone or disliked, these responses can reinforce the beliefs.

What Is General Anxiety Disorder:  Other Concerns

An interesting point about general anxiety disorder is that it often coexists with other types of illnesses or disorders. It is commonly found alongside other more specific anxiety disorders and mood disorder, for instance.  Some of the most common include phobias, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and panic disorder. Substance abuse and alcoholism are also common. In many cases, the anxiety predates the advent of the substance abuse, but the use of drugs and alcohol (including caffeine and nicotine) actually worsens the GAD symptoms.

There are some identified risk factors for developing general anxiety disorder, although they do not necessarily predict who will suffer from one and who won’t.

Some of the factors include:

• Heredity – It is common for general anxiety disorder to run in families.
• Gender – Twice as many woman are diagnosed with GAD as their male counterparts.
• Childhood – Those who experience abuse or witness trauma in childhood are at greater risk.
• Personality – Both personality traits and personality disorders have been correlated to GAD.
• Health – Chronic health issues can increase anxiety to an irrational level.
• Stress – People with excessively stressful likes are at greater risk.

Once you can answer the question, “what is general anxiety disorder” you have a much better chance of identifying whether or not it is affecting your life.

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