| The symptoms of general anxiety disorder |
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| Written by PanicJoe | |
| 12 July 2007 | |
 GAD or General anxiety disorder is often not regarded as a serious situation, because of the mildness of its nature and symptoms compared to other anxiety disorders or depression. The people who suffer from it may not be limited in their actions and social life, and may even not avoid the situation that worries them, as they are usually aware of the excess of their worry – but just can’t shake it off. Serious and continual GAD can eventually make it very difficult for the sufferer to carry out daily activities and it may impair their independence, thus making them a social burden. GAD is diagnosed when one worries excessively without relapse over a number of daily concerns for a period that is longer than 6 months.The first step to diagnose GAD is to trace a source of uncontrolled! Worry that a person experiences for a long period. This situation is called apprehensive expectation. The worry needs to be associated with three of the following symptoms in adults to strengthen the diagnosis of GAD. The symptoms need to be present on a daily basis, with the worrying symptom for at least 6 months. 1 – restlessness – feeling alert almost all the time. 2 – exhaustion – feeling fatigued all the time. 3 – concentration difficulties or mind going blank often. 4 – easily irritated. 5 – muscle tension. 6 – disturbances in sleep (falling or staying asleep) and unsatisfying sleep (wake up tired). Children have to answer to fewer criterions. The worry is not about getting s panic attack, or being embarrassed in public. (People tend to mix up between GAD and social phobia), it is about the concern regarding a certain issue that the sufferer sees in a pessimistic (exaggerated) light. Sometimes the source of anxiety is easy to detect (such as work, or school, money or health) and sometimes it is more abstract – just getting through the day may cause worry. The physical symptoms caused by this disorder may cause medical distress and limitations in occupational and social fields. It is through these limitations that GAD patients and their loved ones suffer the most. |
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