Anxiety is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior (Seligman, Walker, and Rosenhan).
Everyone has felt anxiety at some point in their life, but for some, anxiety is much more severe and prevalent than the normal butterflies in the stomach. There are several types of anxiety disorders, including social phobia, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Each of these disorders has unique issues.
I will be discussing generalized anxiety disorder. A person that has generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, feels anxious daily about a multitude of things. They worry excessively about everyday activities, so much so that often they cannot perform these tasks, which disrupt their home, social, and work lives. Even when the individual realizes that these fears are irrational, they cannot overcome them (NAMI).
Exaggerated worry about health issues, death, family and interpersonal relationship problems, money, and work problems plague them (NIMH).
There are many possible physical symptoms as well, such as headaches, sweating, hot flashes, irritability, fatigue, trembling/shaking, and sleep problems. According to the World Health Organization, about 9. 5 million people over the age of 18 suffer from generalized anxiety disorder every year. The average age is 32. It has been discovered that GAD does not usually just appear one day. It gradually overtakes the individual, often getting worse as they get older.
The Essay on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Ocd People Problems
OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that effects nearly 5 million Americans, and half a million children. Its a disease that fills the brain with unwanted ideas, and worries. OCD is a diseases that effects the Cerebral frontal cortex. Unfortunately there is no cure for OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder can start developing as early as age five. In ...
Women are twice as likely to develop GAD as then men, partly because women are more likely than men to live in poverty, and are more subject to discrimination, and sexual and physical abuse (Schacter, Gilbert, and Wegner), factors that increase a person’s likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder. There is no single found cause for GAD. Researchers believe it may be passed down genetically through families, and that life experiences and stress also contribute to it.
Some heart conditions are also believed to be part of it, such as heart disease, hypothyroidism, gastro esophageal reflux disease, and menopause (Mayo Foundation Clinic).
There is also research pointing to dysfunctional amygdala processing in the brain as a possible cause, and substance use, including tobacco and caffeine (NCBI).
To be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states an individual must meet a certain criteria.
Several of the following symptoms must be present and constant for at least six months: excessive anxiety and worry about several events or activities most days of the week, difficulty controlling your feelings of worry, anxiety or worry that caused you significant distress or interferes with your daily life, anxiety that isn’t related to another mental health condition, such as panic attack, substance abuse, or post-traumatic stress disorder, restlessness, fatigue, trouble concentration, irritability, muscle tension, or sleep problems (Mayo Foundation Clinic).
Anxiety disorders cannot be cured by medication, but it does help keep them under control. Antidepressants, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclics, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, are used for treatment of depression and anxiety. Anti-anxiety drugs are high-potency benzodiazepines that fight anxiety, but people can easily become too dependent on them, so they are usually only prescribed for short amounts of time.
Beta-blockers are used to treat heart conditions, but can also prevent many of the physical symptoms that accompany anxiety. Besides medication, psychotherapy can be used at treatment for GAD, specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears, and how they react to anxiety-provoking situations (NIMH).
The Research paper on Generalized Anxiety Disorder Gad
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is much more than the normal anxiety people experience from day to day. GAD is more than the normal nervous response in stressful situations. Such as, the sweaty palms, a racing heart and the butterflies in the stomach one feels before a big test, a board meeting, or addressing a group for the first time. However, people with GAD ...
Anxiety is a large part of my life, which is partly why I decided to research and write about it.
Although I do not believe I actually have GAD or any other official anxiety disorder, I do have severe anxiety problems, and felt that researching it would not only be educational but personally beneficially. I was intrigued to learn that most researchers agree that anxiety can be hereditary, because my mother has suffered from it all her life, and I always thought that I may have got it from her, but wasn’t sure that was possible. Many of the same things make us anxious, such as social events/parties, and other prolonged social situations.
School also made both of us so anxious growing up, that we would skip class a lot because we would get physically ill just thinking about going. But it seems that many other smaller things affect me, such as my fear of driving. I’ve had my license for two three years, but cannot drive because I have panic attacks just driving around the block. I also panic a lot getting on the bus, ordering food, paying at cashiers, swimming, and have trouble making friends or staying in relationships because of my anxiety, among other things.
It is very frustrating, because these seem like small things, but they disrupt my daily life. I have never thought about taking medication or using other treatment I’ve learned about during my psychology classes because I don’t think my case is that severe. But it’s good to know my options in case it does get worse with age, as I have read that happens sometimes. I am aware that I need to work harder at controlling my anxiety. I know that it will affect my future greatly if I can’t handle getting a normal job or driving.
