General Anxiety Symptoms

Generalized anxiety disorder (referred to as GAD) is a type of anxiety disorder that's distinguished by extreme, unrelenting and frequently illogical anxiety regarding daily situations. Individuals with GAD can be inundated with such great angst and fear that their functioning and overall quality of life is severely compromised. In addition to affecting a person's psychological state and thought process, people with GAD often exhibit a number of physical symptoms.

Psychological Symptoms

• Symptoms of GAD can be broken down into physiological and psychological. Psychological symptoms include: mood fluctuations, irritability, uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension, powerlessness against intruding thoughts, trouble focusing and excessive fear of things like rejection, inadequacy and loss. Individuals with GAD experience an amount of anxiousness that's disproportionate to the definite basis that their concern stems from. For example, they may worry about things that most people do (like relationships, work and health), however, their fears far surpasses those of individuals without GAD. Fears that would be typically regarded as minor can escalate into catastrophic and ruinous situations in the mind of someone with GAD.

Physiological /Physical Symptoms

• Physical symptoms of GAD include: trembling, shakiness, excessive sweating, weakness, heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, upset stomach, numbness, insomnia, gagging, difficulty swallowing, tightness in the throat, edginess and fatigue. It's important to note that not everyone with GAD exhibits the same symptoms, and symptoms can vary in terms of frequency, severity and manifestation. That being said, individuals beset with GAD all share the common trait of being plagued by persistent discomfort surrounding situations that most people wouldn't even perceive as posing a threat.

Diagnosis

• In order to diagnose a psychiatric disorder such as GAD, mental health practitioners use the Psychiatric Diagnoses Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (which is known as DSM-IV). The DSM-IV breaks different psychiatric orders into groups and lists specific things in the Axis codes for every disorder; used to correctly identify an individual's prognosis, symptoms and other relevant features and factors that play a role. Under the DSM-IV, the code for generalized anxiety disorder is 300.2. The manual offers specific criterion that one with GAD must meet (in order to make an accurate diagnosis. For example, the criterion dictates that an individual experiences extreme anxiety and apprehension which exists more frequently than not, for a minimum duration of six months

Therapy

• The treatment for persons with GAD includes things like therapy and medication. When it comes to GAD, therapy is regarded as one of the most successful and effective means of treatment. There are different types of therapy that are particularly valuable with GAD. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a practice where the distortions of one's thoughts are explored. People with GAD; tend to commit "thinking errors" such as: over generalizations and all or nothing thinking. A therapist who practices CBT helps the person identify such thoughts and take steps to change them.

  Behavioral therapy is another helpful tool for GAD. This therapy aims to help people confront their fear by exposing themselves to stimuli which may bring them out. Behavioral therapy seeks, in time, to desensitize a person to such worries so she won't carry such a burden.

Medication

• Medication can be helpful in treating GAD. The classes of medications that are frequently employed in treatment include Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs): Anafranil, Elavil, Ludiomil, Norpramin and Pamelor. Benzodiazepines which include: Ativan, Klonopin, Librium, Restoril, Valium and Xanax. Other medications such as Buspar have also been effective in alleviating the symptoms of GAD.