What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and
who does it affect?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), is an anxiety disorder in which the person experiences chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry, a sense of foreboding, and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke it.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects roughly 6.8 million adult Americans. The distribution is such that it affects about twice as many women as men. The disorder comes on slowly and can begin at anytime across the life cycle. Risk is highest between childhood and middle age. It can be diagnosed when someone spends at least 6 months worrying excessively about a number of ordinary problems. Other anxiety disorders, and depression, often occurs with GAD. Patients often self medicate with alcohol, over the counter sedating medications, or even street drugs such as marijuana. Initially, alcohol, over the counter sedating medications and street drugs such as marijuana work, but loose their effect over time often leaving the person with an addiction problem on top of GAD. According to research GAD may run in families.
Making Treatment More Effective
Joining a self-help or support group and sharing problems and accomplishments with others is often helpful. This includes Internet chat rooms, however advice received over the Internet should be taken with a double helping of caution; especially be leery of anyone who may have a hidden agenda such as "this brand name medication is the answer accept no substitute". Talking with trusted friends, family, or member of the clergy can also provide support, but is no substitute for care from a mental health professional.
Stress management techniques such as: meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis, and biofeedback can be very helpful. to calm and may enhance the effects of therapy. There is evidence that aerobic exercise may have a calming effect.
The family unit can be very important in the recovery process of patients with any anxiety disorder. Ideally, family should be supportive, but not help perpetuate the symptoms. Family members should never trivialize the disorder, or expect improvement without treatment.
About the Author: Donald W. Ahrens Jr, PMH-NP, A.R.N.P. is a
psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who provides full spectrum psychiatric service
(both psychotherapy and medication therapy) to the people of Wichita and the
surrounding metropolitan area.