Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Symptoms and Treatment
All people experience anxiety from time to time. It is a normal reaction to stress. Anxiety helps to deal with difficult situation at work, study harder for tests or exams, practice more and better for competitions. However, sometimes it becomes too intense and instead of helping in stressful situations it brings despair and irritation, and makes life harder in general.
This stage of anxiety is called generalized anxiety disorder or GAD. While having it the person worries too much about ordinary, everyday life events without any obvious reason; he or she always expects the worst out of a situation, cannot stop worrying about health, money, family, and work. Eventually anxiety takes such big control over the person that normal life becomes impossible, the disorder ruins relationships and daily functioning like work, school, etc.
About 4 million Americans suffer from GAD during a year. Women experience it more often than men. The first symptoms of anxiety usually appear in childhood or adolescence, but it might start in adulthood as well. The most common symptoms are:
• Excessive, ongoing worry and tension
• Unrealistic view of problems
• Restlessness or a feeling of being “edgy”
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Headaches
• Sweating
• Difficulty concentrating
• Nausea
• Need to go to the bathroom frequently
• Tiredness
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Trembling
• Being easily startled
There are no laboratory tests which could prove that the patient has a generalized anxiety disorder, but a doctor can determine it by the above mentioned symptoms and by asking questions. The patient will have to fill out the form giving details on medical history and to undergo a physical exam.
There are several ways to treat anxiety disorder. If the doctor finds out that it is connected to a physical illness, the disease will have to be cured first. Any anxiety is usually treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist, who gives recommendations on medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Medications have temporary effect and help the person feel calm and relaxed while going through psychotherapy. Antidepressants were designed to treat depression, but work for anxiety as well. They are considered long-term use drugs and can be taken for weeks. The most common antidepressants are Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Lexapro, and Celexa. There are also special anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines or tranquilizers. They help to feel calm and relaxed quickly, but these medications are very addictive and therefore can be prescribed for a short term only. The most common benzodiazepines are Xanax, Valium, Librium, and Ativan.
In addition to medication patients go through cognitive-behavioral therapy in the course of which they learn how to cope with stressful situations, recognize the source of the trouble and deal with it without fear, despair or stress. The therapy usually lasts for 12 weeks and unites a group of people with similar problems. It helps fighting anxiety disorders as well as some types of phobias.
