What is generalised anxiety disorder?

Everyone feels anxious at times; it’s our body’s way of keeping us alert. But it becomes an issue when worry or fear starts to interfere with your day-to-day life. This is when we as psychologists may term it an anxiety disorder.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a specific type of anxiety disorder that involves excessive worry about anything and everything, including worrying about worrying.

To help identify if you are suffering GAD as to oppose general worries, there are specific criteria to help identify this disorder.

The DSM-5 have stated that you may have GAD when:

1. The presence of excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of topics, events, or activities. Worry occurs more often than not for at least six months and is clearly excessive.
2. The worry is experienced as very challenging to control. The worry in both adults and children may easily shift from one topic to another.
3. The anxiety and worry are accompanied by at least three of the following physical or cognitive symptoms (In children, only one of these symptoms is necessary for a diagnosis of GAD):

• • Edginess or restlessness
  • Tiring easily; more fatigued than usual
  • Impaired concentration or feeling as though the mind goes blank
  • Irritability (which may or may not be observable to others)
  • Increased muscle aches or soreness

Excessive worry means worrying even when there is no specific threat present or in a manner that is disproportionate to the actual risk. In adults, the worry can be about job responsibilities or performance, one’s own health or the health of family members, financial matters, and other everyday, typical life circumstances. In children, the worry is more likely to be about their abilities or the quality of their performance (for example, in school).

There is no singular cause of GAD that has been identified. Evidence has shown that multiple factors that influence the development of GAD. Some of the common factors include things like genetic predisposition, brain chemistry, family background, social influence, and life experiences.

Genetics. Some research suggests that family history plays a part in making it more likely that a person will have GAD. This means that the tendency to develop GAD may be passed on in families. But no anxiety genes have been identified, and families may also pass down the tendency through lifestyle or environment.

Brain chemistry. This is complex. GAD has been linked to problems with certain nerve cell pathways that connect particular brain regions involved in thinking and emotion. These nerve cell connections depend on chemicals called neurotransmitters that send information from one nerve cell to the next. If the pathways that connect particular brain regions don’t work well, problems related to mood or anxiety may result.

Environmental factors. Trauma and stressful events such as abuse, the death of a loved one, divorce, and changing jobs or schools may contribute to GAD. Particularly if there are many of these stressful events happening at once. The condition can also worsen when the stress feels out of hand.

So if you or someone you know appear to be impacted by ongoing and overwhelming worry that is impacting your functioning, professional help is available. Encourage those impacted to seek that help so they may live a calmer less stressful life.