Generalized anxiety disorder: brief description and symptoms

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is described as a mood disorder, characterized by multiple and/or nonspecific worries. The fear associated with GAD disturbs the sleeping, thinking and some other mental functions. Symptoms of anxiety are even described in the word itself. The word anxiety comes from the Latin anxietas, which is translated as to choke or upset. The symptoms include emotional or behavioral spheres as well as ways of thinking.

Anxiety can range from the constructive kind to disorders of anxiety, when the individual suffers from a level of fear, angst, or dread that interferes with his or her ability to function. The most common anxiety disorders are specific phobias. Other anxiety disorders include separation anxiety disorder (children), selective mutism, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. GAD is quite common. It is the most common anxiety disorder among the most of the Earth's population. This disorder usually starts when individuals are in their early 20s. Studies indicate that men seem to experience different types of effects of anxiety compared to women. Men are mostly tend to exhibit more psychological symptoms of anxiety, like tension, irritability, and a sense of impending doom. In contrast, women are tend to develop more physical symptoms like chest pain, palpitations, insomnia, shortness of breath, and stomach disorders. What concerns the psychotherapy, it should be mentioned that the most common type of therapy used to treat anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This form of therapy is to help those with an anxiety disorder to identify and decrease the irrational thoughts and behaviors that reinforce anxiety symptoms. Behavioral techniques for decreasing anxiety include relaxation techniques and gradually increase exposure to situations that may have previously precipitated anxiety in the individual's mental life. Helping to understand and to handle with the emotional forces, is also effective in teaching an individual with panic disorder how to prevent an anxiety attack or to decrease or stop a panic attack. People with an anxiety disorder may also need treatment for other emotional problems. Depression has often been associated with anxiety, as have alcohol and drug abuse.

Anxiety symptoms and signs

Common symptoms and signs of anxiety disorder can include:

·         restlessness or feeling edgy,

·         becoming tired easily,

·         trouble concentrating,

·         feeling as if the mind is going "blank,"

·         irritability,

·         muscle tension,

·         sleep problems.

Anxiety, associated with specific (specific or simple phobia) or social fears (social phobia), may also result in avoidance of certain situations or an elevation of symptoms to the level of panic. Worry that is associated with a traumatic event (posttraumatic stress disorder) may also result in the following symptoms:

·         Avoidance of people, places, or situations that are reminiscent of the traumatic event

·         Re-experiencing the trauma in repeated nightmares, flashbacks, or pseudohallucinations

·         Difficulties with trusting others

·         Excessive attention to staying safe or keeping loved ones safe

·         A tendency to startle easily

·         A sense of a bleak or foreshortened future.

When anxiety intensifies to the level of becoming a panic attack, signs and symptoms can include both physical and emotional symptoms such as:

·         palpitations;

·         chest pain, chest tightness or other discomfort, feeling like one is having a heart attack;

·         shortness of breath or trouble breathing;

·         sweating of the palms;

·         some  stomach upset;

·         trembling or shaking;

·         feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint;

·         de-realization or de-personalization;

·         fear of losing control or going insane;

·         numbness or tingling sensations;

·         feeling like one is choking;

·         a sense of impending doom;

·         feeling like one is dying.