So, just think of the last time you took a major test. You probably got pretty nervous about it, right? Anxious, maybe right before the exam. Well, in some cases, this is perfectly natural and could even be helpful because it might make you more alert and more vigilant.
However, after the exam, you can kick back and breathe a sigh of relief, and tension disappears, right? For some people, about 3% of the population, that stress doesn't go away, and at this point, the stress is considered to be anxiety.
Over time, this fear can even get worse and cause things like chest pain or nightmares. It might even cause you to not want to leave the home. We might also call it an anxiety disorder at this stage, where it begins to interfere with your everyday life including work, school and relationships.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GA.D., is now one unique form of anxiety disorder. This type is characterized by anxiety about everyday things, things like money, health, family, work and relationships Often, even the idea of getting through the day causes anxiety, and it's this anxiety that everyone experiences has three main parts as opposed to normal anxiety.
The first is that it's lingering, which means it doesn't seem to go anywhere. The second is that it's excessive, because it's typically even more than the scenario might have provided to anyone else. And third, it's typically pretty unreasonable. There is actually no reason to think about anything you worry about, as in,
Now, people with GAD might even be aware that these worries are excessive and unreasonable, but they don't know how to stop feeling like this or feel like it's completely beyond their control. Some people with mild GAD may be able to work and hold down a job socially.
But with the simplest of everyday tasks, those with extreme GAD might have difficulty. So, what causes one individual to have GAD and one individual to not have GAD? In the end, we don't know about certain psychiatric problems, as is the case. Genes, however, are known to play a part since they often function in families.
Also, the environment you're in, especially if high levels of stress are involved. Also, several parts of the brain have been linked to fear and anxiety, and continued research into these areas may provide some clues in the future about GAD. Okay, but how do we know that someone has a GAD?
What are the signs and symptoms? Well, the main symptom is frequent worry and tension or stress, for little to no reason. Other symptoms might include things like edginess or restlessness, or an impaired concentration or feeling like your mind just goes blank.
Then also, irritability. These psychological symptoms can even be severe enough to lead to physical symptoms like difficulty sleeping, and this is one of the biggest physical complaints of people with generalized anxiety disorder.
Our bodies need to recharge when we sleep, when we sleep right? With that said, insomnia can take this serious toll on your physical health, which means your body isn't functioning at its optimal levels, is it? Besides insomnia though, another physical symptom might be digestive problems.
Chronic stress may lead to eating more or less than normal, and many people even experience diarrhea or constipation as a result. Finally, GAD is also a fairly common symptom of muscle aches and soreness. This is caused by increased muscle stress, and in their bodies, people with anxiety carry around this tension, which can lead to tight shoulders, back, jaws and muscles.
This can also show itself as clenched jaws or grinding teeth. In general, these physical and mental effects typically occur slowly. Typically starting in the teen years or young adulthood, but over time, they have this serious Impact on your well-being. In addition, there may be periods when symptoms tend to get worse, or during periods of high stress, they may get worse.
Unfortunately, there aren't any tests that will tell you whether you have GAD or not, and a proper diagnosis will be based on a medical professional's questions about your symptoms. The following guidelines for the diagnosis of GAD are therefore given in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, the Fifth Edition, or DSM5.
Excessive anxiety and worry is present and occurs more often than not for at least six months, and is clearly excessive. The other is anxiety and anxiety associated with at least three of the symptoms we have encountered, and only one symptom is needed for a diagnosis in children. Once we have been diagnosed, we will look for therapies.
GAD will often be treated with psychotherapy, medication or both. In psychotherapy, in particular, we will also try something called Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which is particularly good with GAD care, as it attempts to teach you different ways of thinking, acting and behaving. reacting to situations that reduce your feelings of anxiety and worry.
Medication is the other method of medication, and there are two forms on which they typically concentrate. The first, are anti-anxiety drugs. They appear to slow our central nervous system down, and so does our brain. So they have this, kind of, relaxing and calming effect. Typically, anti-anxiety medications are benzodiazepines.
Apart from these, however, it is also possible to prescribe antidepressants. These are approved for depression, but have also been found to be effective for treatment of anxiety as well. The most widely used antidepressants are Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or more commonly just called SSRIs.
These guys work to regulate seratonin levels in our brain and elevate your mood. Knowing that these treatments exist, some people respond better to cognitive behaviour therapy alone, and some respond better to medications alone.
While still, others respond best when both are used together. It totally depends on the patient, and so it needs to be tailored on a case-by-case basis.
I hope you enjoy reading this.
Thank you and have get a lesson to learned.