Most of us experience worry at one time or another, especially with big exams, business presentation, or first dates. However, Anxiety Disorders are different – they involve more than just temporary worry or fear. It’s pervasive and doesn’t go away. Anxiety starts interfering with mood and daily activities such as job performance, relationships with significant others and friends, school work. Anxiety often comes with other mental health “friends,” such as depression.There are several types of anxiety out there- Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, and phobias. Today, we’ll learn about Generalized Anxiety, a disorder that affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1 % of the total population.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD) is excessive worry or anxiety, most days, about many different topics. Some things that people might worry over are disasters, health, money, family, work, and other issues. The difference between worry and with GAD is that it’s more intense, pervasive, and not limited to a set stressor for a limited amount of time. When suffering from GAD, it’s difficult to control your worry, and there are many triggers. A common component is that people have difficulty tolerating uncertainty and try to control or plan situations.

Symptoms include:

• Persistent worrying or anxiety about different things that are out of proportion to the actual event.
• Overthinking plans and solutions to all possible worst-case outcomes.
• Perceiving situations and events as threatening, even when they’re not.
• Difficulty handling uncertainty.
• Indecisiveness and fear or making the wrong choice
• Inability to set aside or let go of worry.
• Inability to relax, feeling restless, or feeling on edge.
• Difficulty concentrating

Physical symptoms:

• Feeling tired or trouble sleeping
• Muscle tension or muscle aches
• Digestive Issues – nausea, diarrhea, Irritable bowel syndrome, vomiting
• Excessive sweating
• Increased Heart Rate

You may have noticed that we included both emotional AND physical symptoms above. While mental health disorders are their own category, it’s essential to recognize that mental health influences physical health and vice versa.

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