Sure, we all have things to worry about these days: the economy, the threat of terrorism and natural disaster, and loss of our homes and jobs. You don’t have to look far to find something.
But worry is not all bad. Worry also helps us plan for the future – like helping us to remember to pack tickets for a trip or study for an upcoming test.

But what if you find yourself worrying about everything and feel like you can’t stop?… even when you know it’s not helping you and is making the people around you miserable? Well that’s what it’s like for those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not over a 6 month period. Those who have it, find difficult to control or stop worry. And other symptoms may occur such as muscle tension, sleep problems, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and mind going blank.

Focusing attention on the task at hand becomes difficult as one’s mind quickly switches from crisis to crisis. As a result, some who have Generalized Anxiety Disorder may mistake it for Attention Deficit Disorder because they also have a trouble paying attention at times.
Although worry and physical tension are very common experiences for all of us, much fewer get Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Approximately 3% of the population will meet criteria during a given year. And women are twice as likely to be affected.

But what causes Generalized Anxiety Disorder? There may biological vulnerability and it appears that the disorder runs in families. Individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder also appear to be highly sensitive to threat in general – and this process appears to be out of their conscious awareness.

The field of cognitive science is showing us that people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder are so busy thinking about upcoming problems that they do not have time to think about what they might look like. In other words, they avoid the negative images that lead to emotions associated with their threat thoughts. Consequently, they are not able to work through their problems and find solutions. Thus they become chronic worriers with a great deal of muscle tension.

In the past, many people were prescribed benzodiazepines, which are minor tranquilizers. Though beneficial in the short term, they are highly addictive, making it difficult for people to stop taking them. For longer term drug treatments, today most people are prescribed less addictive anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications.

Cognitive-behavior therapy has been shown to be beneficial for generalized anxiety disorder. With this therapy, people confront anxiety-provoking images head-on while processing information at an emotional level. They also learn coping techniques and how to identify, understand, and modify faulty thinking and behavior .

Relaxation, yoga, meditation, exercise, and biofeedback techniques may also be of some help.

If you would like more information about this or other anxiety disorders, visit the Anxiety Disorders Association of America website at adaa.org

If you would like to know more about me you may go to my website at www.drgregcason.com

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