General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

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Mental disorder, two simple words that can stir up a storm of emotions. Habitually mistaken by general society as “deranged” or “unstable”, the words mental disorder, often, tend to have a negative cognition associated with them. This should not be the case. The misunderstanding that mental disorder is automatically equivalent of that to being psychotic and erratic leaves many individuals feeling isolated, and distressed to share their helplessness due to fear of social stigma. Further public education is required to eradicate this unfortunate social stigma. So what categorically is a mental disorder? Although it can range from minor to severe impairment, and include a vast variety of conditions, mental disorders can generally be defined as: a mental or behavioral pattern that causes distress or disability and which is not developmentally or socially normative (Raskin,2012). Standardly, to diagnose a mental disorder the International Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders (ICD), published by the World Health Organization, or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, are used (Bolton,2008). This essay will focus on General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). First the essay will discuss what GAD is and how it is diagnosed. The essay will then explore the differences of GAD between the general male and female populations, subsequently, look into brain activity and hormones, as well as lightly touch on other causes of GAD. Finally, an explanation of the gender differences of GAD will be discussed form a biopsychological standpoint.

The DSM-IV-TR defines General Anxiety Disorder, also known as chronic anxiety neurosis, in shorter terms, as “chronic...

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...-anxiety food solution: how the foods you eat can help you calm your anxious mind, improve your mood, & end cravings. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Spiteri, T., Musatov, S., Ogawa, S., Ribeiro, A., Pfaff, D. W., & Ågmo, A. (2010). The Role Of The Estrogen Receptor α In The Medial Amygdala And Ventromedial Nucleus Of The Hypothalamus In Social Recognition, Anxiety And Aggression. Behavioural Brain Research, 210(2), 211-220.

Tromp, D. P., Grupe, D. W., Oathes, D. J., McFarlin, D. R., Hernandez, P. J., Kral, T. R., et al. (2012). Reduced Structural Connectivity of a Major Frontolimbic Pathway in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. NeuroImage, 69(9), 1.

Vesga-López, O., Schneier, F. R., Wang, S., Heimberg, R. G., Liu, S., Hasin, D. S., et al. (2008). Gender Differences In Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 69(10), 1606-1616.

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