Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has affected as many as seven million people living in the US today. That’s “7.6 percent of all patients who see a primary care physician have GAD” (Kallen, 2007) according to Kurt Kroenke. “Anxiety is the manifestation of an emotion, characterized by a physical and psychological discomfort described by individuals as a feeling of restlessness, nervousness, and excessive concern” (Sousa, Viveiros, Chai, Vicente, Jesus, Carnot, Gordo, and Ferreira. 2015). There are many ways to help lower anxiety, just to name a few are by taking medication or by doing yoga.
With generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) your mind is unable to recognize whether or not the situation you are seeing is in your head or if it is something that is external. When you begin to see these thoughts your body begins to react to the situation and it starts to go into a fight or flight mode. In generalized anxiety disorders your dependant variable would be your thoughts because they are the things that are controlling your disorder. The independent variable would be the situation or the life altering event that happened to you while you were younger.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is said to be the standard treatment for all the anxiety disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches one to think realistically so that all the fearful thoughts one has can no longer be turned into anxiety. Some therapist believe that long term talking is good for patients that have very deep thoughts and it gives them time to figure out what has triggered these anxiety attacks.
I believe Kallen was justified in the article to help show us points we had not known about GAD before. Kallen found that if people suffering from anxiety “would ...
... middle of paper ...
...ing stress can increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack or stroke. Repeated acute stress and persistent chronic stress may also contribute to inflammation in the circulatory system, particularly in the coronary arteries, and this is one pathway that is thought to tie stress to heart attack. It also appears that how a person responds to stress can affect cholesterol levels. The risk for heart disease associated with stress appears to differ for women, depending on whether the woman is pre- or post-menopausal. Levels of estrogen in pre-menopausal women appears to help blood vessels respond better during stress, thereby helping their bodies to better handle stress and protecting them against heart disease. Postmenopausal women lose this level of protection due to loss of estrogen, therefore putting them at greater risk for the effects of stress on heart disease.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, also known as (GAD) is one of the several types of anxiety disorders. GAD according to our textbook (Lahey) is an uneasy sense of general tension and apprehension for no apparent reason that makes the individual highly uncomfortable because of its prolonged presence. GAD is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day. Without provoking, it is chronic and exaggerated worry and tension. This disorder can involve anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family or work. Sometimes, though, just the thought of getting through the day brings anxiety.
2. By looking through the case study, the most prominent problem Sara struggles with, is her persistent worry about different parts of her life including her job status, health and her relationship with her husband. For the past six months, she has been anxious and worried excessively, leading her to have difficulty sleeping. As she admitted, “ I cannot shut my brain off anymore, I am worrying all the time”, therefore her condition met the primary criteria of generalized anxiety disorder which is the excessive worry for at least 6 months more days than not, about diverse events and activities. Being restless, irritable, having sleep difficulty and being easily fatigued are four factors of GAD that are apparent in this case. “I have always had lots of energy but now at times I struggle to get out of bed and drag myself thorough the work day”; it indicates the fatigue she recently experienced. Fidgets with her jewellery when speaking and a nervous laugh she has, shows her persistent anxiety. Moreover, she was recently diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome which has a high comorbidity with anxiety disorders. In conclusion, since she is persistently worried about different aspects of her life and she has the criteria for GAD, generalized anxiety disorder is the most likable disorder she has.
The onset of Generalized anxiety disorder begins in childhood or adolescents, and It can have a lifetime prevalence of 3-5% with a higher risk in women. One major effect of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive worry or anxiety lasting up to 6 months at a time, although individuals that have Generalized Anxiety Disorder don’t identify their worrying as excessive all of the time, but they will recount subjective distress because of a constant worry, or may have difficulty with control over the worrying, or even experience social impairment. Anxiety can be associated up to 6 symptoms which include inability to sleep, fatigued, lack of concentration, easily agitated, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances. Most of which can affect everyday lifestyle and greatly effect physical health, not only can they cause personal distress but may also cause distress in those around.
The six most common forms of anxiety are Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, is characterized by excessive worries about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations. People with GAD often have trouble identifying that specific fear and controlling it. That said fear is often unreasonable and not in proportion with what is expected in a normal situations. They normally expect failure and disaster is coming, and they normally can not lead normal lives. Phobias are an irrational fear of a certain object or situation. Most people will acknowledge their fear and know that it is unreasonable, but they can not control their anxiety. Another disorder is Social Anxiety Disorder. It is a social phobia, and their main fear is being judged harshly by others and the fear of do...
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy which can be used to treat a wide range of mental health problems. Cognitive Therapy is an active, directive, time limited, structured approach used to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders, for example depression, anxiety, phobias (Beck, 1967). It emerged as a rational amalgam of behavioural and cognitive theories of human behaviour and is based on the idea that our thoughts determine our behaviour and feelings (Kendall PC, 1979). On average a patient attends between 5 and 20 appointments with their therapist. (Blenkiron 2013)
Along with being the most widespread mental health disorder, women are more likely to be affected by most anxiety disorders than men. Anxiety disorders are often characterized by feelings of worry, uncertainty, anxiety, or fear, which can be so intense, it can interfere with a person’s daily activities. Therefore, it is likely for a person struggling with an anxiety disorder will find themselves unemployed, financially dependent on others and even have poor quality social relationships as well. As an anxiety disorder may affect other functional impairments, it is also important to be aware of its development considering an anxiety response affects various populations and individuals differently.
Social anxiety is a prevalent and common disorder amongst society. Social anxiety disorder is expressed as a fear in public and social situations for an individual (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). A person with social anxiety fears that a social appearance, outcome, or situation will lead a to negative response to their surrounding audience (Kashdan, Farmer, Adams, Mcknight, Ferssizidis, Nezelf 2013). However there are numerous treatments for social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most efficacious treatments that a patient may receive (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. Cognitive behavioral therapy has numerous techniques that can be used on patients. The result of using cognitive behavioral therapy on patients shows that it has long-term and short-term effectiveness (Hambrick, Weeks, Harb, & Heimberg, 2003. In conclusion a patient with social anxiety disorder should have the opportunity to try cognitive behavioral therapy.
Fear and Anxiety are essential functions that occur in the brain that allow people to respond to stimuli appropriately. These feelings as normal as they are can cause problems and in 3.1 percent of adult Americans approximately 6.8 million people it does cause problems (“Generalized anxiety disorder”, 2014). A problem can arise when people have too much fear and anxiety; a problem is evident when it interferes with their life and their ability to do things. This is known as general anxiety disorder (GAD). When someone is suffering from generalized anxiety disorder they normally experience excessive exaggerated anxiety and worry about normal life events that give no clear reason for worry (“Generalized anxiety disorder”, 2014). This disorder can be debilitating and rule over people’s lives if it is severe and a better understanding of the disorder can be gained by looking at historical views, current views, causes and symptoms, case studies, differential diagnosis considerations, and treatment.
The symptoms that one face during GAD include: worry all the time, irritation, feeling of insecurity, depression, dizziness, tension, restless, sleeping disorder, headaches, mental disorder, nausea, and muscle aches. It happens continually for more than 6 months. The symptoms of worry vary during General Anxiety Disorder, worry about family, finance, and always thinking about negative outcomes of any action. Although worrying about family is normal, but in GAD case, the patient think whole day about the way of living of his family, their future, their finance and calculate negative outcomes.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to a threatening situation and results from an increase in the amount of adrenaline from the sympathetic nervous system. This increased adrenaline speeds the heart and respiration rate, raises blood pressure, and diverts blood flow to the muscles. These physical reactions are appropriate for escaping from danger but when they cause anxiety in many situations throughout the day, they may be detrimental to a normal lifestyle. An anxiety disorder is a disorder where feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety are disruptive or cause distortions in behavior, (Coon, 526); they are psychiatric illnesses that are not useful for normal functioning. At times, an underlying illness or disease can cause persistent anxiety. Treatment of the illness or disease will stop the anxiety. Anxiety illnesses affect more than 23 million Americans with about 10 million Americans suffering from the most common, general anxiety disorder . (Harvard, 1). Common anxiety disorders are panic attacks (panic disorder), phobias, and general anxiety disorder (GAD). Panic attacks Panic attacks can begin with a feeling of intense terror followed by physical symptoms of anxiety. A panic attack is characterized by unpredictable attacks of severe anxiety with symptoms not related to any particular situation. (Hale, 1886). The person experiencing the attack may not be aware of the cause. Symptoms include four or more of the following: pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, depersonalization, numbness, fear of dying, flushes, fear of going crazy. Heredity, metabolic factors, hyperventilation, and psychological factors may contribute to anxiety causing panic attacks.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach used by psychotherapists to deal with emotional and behavioral behaviors. One of the issues associated with this type of therapy is the approach can be used in the treatment of other diseases related to emotional and physical stress. According to...
Cognitive therapy approaches of psychotherapy have proved to be one of the most effective psychological approaches for a wide range of behavioral problems. “CBT teaches anxiety reduction skills that people can use for the rest of their lives. Research shows the
The difference between normal worrying and generalized anxiety disorder are the accompanying symptoms as well as the length of time the worrying persists. To occasionally torment oneself with or suffer from distressing thoughts is classified as normal worrying. The symptoms of worrying may vary, but most people experience disturbed feelings and the mental fatigue of being overly concerned with a circumstance. On the other hand, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) one experiences excessive anxiety under most circumstances, expecting the worst even when there is no obvious or visible reason for concern. The symptoms are being agitated, on edge, easily tired, having difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and issues with sleep. GAD usually develops during childhood or the adolescent years and the symptoms last as long as six months as opposed to normal worrying which dissipates in a much shorter length of time. (Word count: 141)
This is when an individual suffers from extreme, irrational and uncontrolled worries. Certain situations cause feelings of apprehension and negative expectations, it is common for individuals with GAD to envision disaster or expect the worst case scenario, they also tend to worry continuously about everyday issues linked to family, work, finances etc. Headaches, irritability, nausea, breathing difficulties, insomnia, muscle tension/pain and fatigue are a few of the many symptoms caused by GAD.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Studying anxiety disorders. NIH Medline plus, 5, 13-15. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml