Hello I m Darren Magee and todays topic is looking at Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Now,
if you like this video, if you find it helpful, please consider subscribing to my channel
for future updates on mental health related topics. But just as a reminder, this video
is not a substitute for support from a mental health professional. Nor is it a tool to be
used to diagnose someone.
Now first of all anxiety is a normal thing to feel. It's our way of keeping ourselves
safe, it's our way of saying to ourselves, somethings happening or something is going
to happen. I need to be careful, I need to be ready.
It's something we feel when we feel a lack of control over something really important
to us, or if we feel uncertain or helpless. And if we didn't feel anxiety, think of the
mad, silly, crazy, reckless things that we would be doing.
But with anxiety were only really meant to feel it in short bursts and appropriate to
the situation. For example, we have an exam coming up, could be a very important exam,
so we're going to feel an anxiety around that. It might even be an intense anxiety, but that
anxiety is going to ease after we set the exam, or indeed after we get the results.
Generalised anxiety disorder, however, is characterised by excessive and persistent
worry about many different things. Things like money, health, family, relationships,
jobs, social situations, pretty much anything. Even just getting through the day. And this
worry is difficult to control and is often out of proportion to the situation or situations
that someone with generalised anxiety worries about.
They expect the worst case scenario and tend to catastrophize many situations, regardless
of any lack of evidence. With generalised anxiety disorder we don't see a particular
issue or long term issue causing distress, such as say a phobia or social situations
like, like social anxiety.
There might not be a specific trigger. It could be anything and it jumps from one thing
to the other. Now some can manage to level where they can hold down a job, hold a relationship.
For others it's a nightmare which has been described like being trapped in their own
head and this can lead to people to avoid situations, avoid choices for fear that they
may end up in disaster. Some when the anxiety severe can find it hard to manage, even the
simplest of tasks.
And when it comes to a disorder, I often think of it as the impact it has on a person's day
to day functioning, the impact it has on their relationship with themselves, as well as with
others.
With generalised anxiety disorder, doors are pervasive fear around a wide range of situations
and events. Any reassurance or relief is very short lived, and even if something has been
resolved that anxiety quickly moves to something else. Again, it's been described as like feeling
an intense dread, which can sometimes lead to panic and anxiety attacks. Now according
to DSM five the diagnostic criteria for generalised anxiety disorder includes excessive anxiety
and worry. An apprehensive expectation that occurs more days than not for at least six
months about a number of events or activities.
Now this could be work, school relationships, or health, whatever. Secondly, the person
finds it hard to control their worry. They find it hard to separate fact from feeling,
to regulate their feelings, to problem solve to, to even just be in the moment.
Thirdly, the anxiety and worry are associated with three or more of the following six symptoms.
These are physical symptoms and these have to be present more days than not over the
past six months.
First of all, there's restlessness and being keyed up or being constantly on edge. There's
been easily fatigued, there's difficulty concentrating. The mind goes blank. There's irritability,
there's muscle tension. There s sleep disturbance, difficulty either falling asleep or staying
asleep, or perhaps awakening in the morning feeling as if they haven't had any sleep at
all.
Criteria number 4, the disturbance is not better explained by another mental disorder.
For example, a social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, health anxiety, or, or maybe the
content of delusional beliefs such as might be present in delusional disorder, or schizophrenia
Fifthly the anxiety, worry or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment
in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Again, can cause a lot
of avoidance, safety, seeking behaviours
And the last criteria, the disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects
of a substance or other medical condition, for example, hypothyroidism or the side effects
of medication or maybe drug or alcohol misuse.
So that's the diagnostic criteria for generalised anxiety disorder. Some of the common characteristics
and behaviours can include over analytical thinking, either ruminating over past events,
conversations, situations. Looking for something they may have done or said for which they
may face terrible consequences for later on.
There s catastrophic thinking, expecting the worst case scenario. So it's almost like risk
assessing kind of thinking. There's mind reading ,through jumping to conclusions based on feelings
around something. There can be this kind of thinking can as I said earlier, lead to panic
or anxiety attacks. And these unhelpful thinking hardwoods can quite often lead to watch referred
to his emotional reasoning.
It is true because I think it, it s true because I feel it, it s true because I've worked it
out in my head, it s true because it could happen. And again this can lead to avoidance,
safety, seeking behaviours.
The exact causes of generalised anxiety disorder are not fully understood. However, it is believed
it could be biological. An inbalance of serotonin and your adrenaline chemicals in the brain
which help regulate and control mood. Or it could be environmental. There could be a history
of abuse, bullying, or having experienced long term stressful traumatic experiences
such as say, domestic violence.
There could be a long term painful health condition or, or a history of drug or alcohol
misuse. It could even be a combination of many of these things. Treatment for generalised
anxiety disorder can include medication, talking therapies such as counselling, psychotherapy,
a change in diet,a more healthy diet limiting or cutting out caffeine.
Taking regular exercise or again could be a combination of these things. However, sometimes
with generalised anxiety disorder, people who suffer with that condition, they believe
that worrying about situations actually keeps in safe and the thought of not worrying might
be too much of a risk. I often when I posted a video on subjects like this, there are questions
in the comment section, things like. How do I manage this? How do I recover from this?
How do I get better from this? I think a good place to start is to maybe either talk to
your GP or perhaps talk to a mental health professional like a counsellor orpsychotherapist.
So that's a brief outline of generalised anxiety disorder. Now if you like this video if you
find it helpful please click like and please consider subscribing to my channel for future
updates on mental health related topics and until next time thanks for watching