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What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD, is an anxiety disorder characterized by chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke it. GAD is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. It's chronic and fills one's day with exaggerated worry and tension. Having this disorder means always anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. Sometimes, though, the source of the worry is hard to pinpoint. Simply the thought of getting through the day provokes anxiety.
Signs and Symptoms:
- persistent worries or concerns
- worries are accompanied by physical symptoms, especially fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes
- feeling nauseous, lightheaded or out of breath
- inability to relax
- being startled easily
- difficulty concentrating
- trouble falling or staying asleep
About 2% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 54 (= 4 million people) have GAD during the course of a given year.
Treatment (combination of psychotherapy and medication(s) may be helpful):
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cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): learning how to identify, evaluate and modify distorted cognition by changing thoughts and behaviors can help the patient manage anxiety more effectively
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medications: some of the medications that have been used to treat GAD include:
- fluoxetine (Prozac)
- sertraline (Zoloft)
- fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- paroxetine (Paxil)
- citalopram (Celexa)
- escitalopram (Lexapro)
- venlafaxine (Effexor)
- imipramine (Tofranil)
- lorazepam (Ativan)
- diazepam (Valium)
- alprazolam (Xanax)
- clonazepam (Klonopin)
- buspirone (Buspar)
- Ask your doctor to tell you about the effects and side effects of the medication he or she is prescribing.
- Tell your doctor about any alternative therapies or over-the-counter medications you are using.
- Ask your doctor when and how the medication will be stopped. Some medications cannot safely be discontinued abruptly; they have to be tapered slowly under a physician's supervision.
- Be aware that some medications are effective only as long as they are taken regularly, and symptoms may occur again when the medications are discontinued.
- Work together with your doctor to determine the right dosage of the right medication to treat GAD.
Reference: National Institute of Mental Health