Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent, excessive, and unrealistic worry about everyday things. People with the disorder experience excessive anxiety and worry, often expecting the worst even when there is no apparent reason for concern. They anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues. GAD is diagnosed when a person finds it difficult to control worry on more days than not for at least six months and has three or more symptoms. People with GAD have significant difficulty stopping the worry cycle and feel as if it is beyond their control. GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, in any given year. Women are twice as likely to be affected.
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Symptoms
People with GAD have many of the following symptoms:
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Restlessness or feeling wound-up or on edge
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Being easily fatigued
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Difficulty concentrating or having their minds go blank
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Irritability
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Muscle tension
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Difficulty controlling the worry
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Sleep problems (difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless, unsatisfying sleep)
Treatment
GAD is treated with psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of the two. We use a variety of evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which are empirically supported treatments that focuses on modifying problematic thoughts and behaviors that contribute to and/or maintain excessive worry.
Learn More
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder Brochure - a free educational brochure from the National Institutes of Mental Health that offers basic information on signs and symptoms, as well as treatment options.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder Statistics among Adults - This webpage from the National Institutes of Mental Health provides information on trends in prevalence of and use of treatments/services among adults with GAD.
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The Anxiety and Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioral Solution. Clark, DA & Beck, AT
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The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Anxiety: A Step-By-Step Program. Knaus, WJ, Carlson, J
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The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Fosyth, JP & Eifert, GH
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Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life. McKay, M, Davis, M, Fanning, P
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Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks: A Workbook for Managing Depression and Anxiety. Gillihan, SJ
