- So, think about the last time you took a big exam.
You probably got pretty nervous about it, right?
Anxious, maybe right before the exam.
Well, this is completely normal and might even
be useful in some situations because it could
make you more alert and more careful.
After the test though, you might kick back
and breathe a sigh of relief, and stress goes away, right?
For some people, about 3% of the population,
that stress doesn't go away, and at this point,
the stress is considered to be anxiety.
This anxiety also might get worse over time
and cause things like chest pain or nightmares.
It might even cause you to not want to leave the home.
At this point, where it starts to interfere with
your daily life like work, school and relationships,
we might even call it an anxiety disorder.
Now, one particular type of anxiety disorder
is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD.
This type is characterized by anxiety about
everyday things, things like money, health,
family, work and relationships.
Sometimes, even the thought of getting through the day
produces anxiety, and it's this anxiety
as opposed to normal anxiety that everybody feels
has three main pieces.
The first is that it's persistent, meaning that
it doesn't seem to go away.
The second is that it's excessive,
so it's usually way more than someone else might have
given that situation.
And third, it's typically pretty unreasonable.
As in, there really isn't any reason to worry about
whatever you're worrying about.
Now, people with GAD might even be aware
that these worries are excessive and unreasonable,
but they don't know how to stop feeling like this
or feel like it's completely beyond their control.
Some people with mild GAD might be able to
function socially and hold down a job.
But others with severe GAD might have trouble
with the simplest of daily activities.
So, what causes one person to have GAD
and one person to not have GAD?
Ultimately, as is the case with many psychological disorders
we don't know.
Genes, though, are thought to play a role
since sometimes, it runs in families.
Also, the environment you're in, especially if
high levels of stress are involved.
Also, several parts of the brain have been linked
to fear and anxiety, and continued research
into these areas may provide some clues in the future
about GAD.
All right, so how might we know that someone has GAD?
What are the signs and symptoms?
Well, the main symptom is frequent worry and tension
or stress, for little to no reason.
Other symptoms might include things like edginess
or restlessness, or an impaired concentration
or feeling like your mind just goes blank.
Then also, irritability.
These psychological symptoms can
even be severe enough to lead to physical symptoms
like difficulty sleeping, and this is
one of the biggest physical complaints
of people with generalized anxiety disorder.
Our bodies need to recharge when we sleep, right?
With that said, insomnia can take this serious
toll on your physical health, which means
your body isn't functioning at its optimal levels, is it?
Besides insomnia though, another physical symptom
might be digestive problems.
Chronic stress may lead to eating more or less
than normal, and many people even experience
diarrhea or constipation as a result.
Finally, muscle aches and soreness is also
a pretty common symptom of GAD.
This happens from increased muscle tension,
because people with anxiety carry around this tension
in their bodies, which can lead to tense
shoulders, back, jaws and muscles.
This can even manifest as clenched jaws
or teeth grinding.
Overall, these physical and mental symptoms
usually come about gradually.
Typically starting in the teen years
or young adulthood, but over time,
they have this serious impact on your well-being.
Additionally, there might be periods where symptoms
seem to get worse, or they might get worse
during periods of high stress.
Unfortunately, there aren't any tests that will tell you
whether you have GAD or not, and a proper diagnosis
will be based on a medical professional's questions
about your symptoms.
So, from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
for Mental Disorders, the Fifth Edition, or DSM5,
the following criteria given for a diagnosis of GAD.
Excessive anxiety and worry is present
and occurs more often than not for at least six months,
and is clearly excessive.
The other one is anxiety and worry is associated
with at least three of the symptoms that we went through
and in children, only one symptom is needed
for a diagnosis.
Once it's been diagnosed, we're going to look to treatments.
GAD will often be treated with psychotherapy,
medication or both.
Specifically, within psychotherapy, we'll often
try something called Cognitive
Behavior Therapy, which is really useful
for treating GAD, since it tries to teach you
different ways of thinking, behaving
and reacting to situations that reduce your
feelings of anxiety and worry.
The other form of treatment is medication,
and there are two types they are usually focused on.
The first, are anti-anxiety medications.
These tend to slow down our central
nervous system, so our brain.
So they have this, kind of, relaxing and calming effect.
Typically, anti-anxiety medications are benzodiazepines.
Apart from those, though, antidepressants
can also be prescribed.
These are approved for depression, but have also been found
to be effective for treatment of anxiety as well.
The most commonly prescribed antidepressants
are Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors,
or more commonly just called SSRIs.
These guys work to regulate seratonin levels in our brain
and elevate your mood.
Knowing that these treatments exist, some people
respond better to cognitive behaviour therapy alone,
and some respond better to medications alone.
While still, others respond best
when both are used together.
It totally depends on the patient, and so
it needs to be tailored on a case-by-case basis.