Stress and College Students
ASSESSMENT
Public Health Problem:
Generalized anxiety is a problem that the United States faces nationwide. As we grow older and move into educational settings that are more taxing, anxiety becomes more prevalent. Today, college students are facing more stress than ever before. They are constantly pushed to be the best they can be, to be in the most extracurricular activities they can be in, and to attend the best schools possible. All of these goals and high expectations lead students to be harder on themselves, which makes other aspects of their life fall by the wayside, leading to high levels of stress and pressure. Generalized anxiety disorder is expressing worry or having high levels of stress for an extended period of time due to something happening in one’s life. For college students, this can be due to homework, trying to make high grades, or just by trying to be more involved
…show more content…
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “18.1% of the United States adult population” has an anxiety disorder (Any Anxiety Disorder Among Adults). This percentage would equate to about 40 million adults in the United States, making anxiety the most common mental illness in our country (Facts and Statistics, 2016). Furthermore, “… only about 17% of United States adults are considered to be in a state of optimal mental health.” Approximately, 26% of adults are living with a mental health disorder in any year (Mental Health, 2014). Even with these high statistics, not all who have this condition seek treatment. In a twelve-month treatment period, only 33 to 35% of people are obtaining minimally adequate treatment for help with the disorder (Any Anxiety Disorder Among Adults). It is important that those who are experiencing this disorder are able to find the necessary treatment to alleviate anxiety issues. Similarly, Virginia shows high mental health disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder characterized by persistent excessive anxiety and worry that is usually accompanied with other symptoms such as restlessness or feeling keyed up, easy fatigability, difficulty concentration, irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbance. Generalized anxiety disorders are common anxiety disorders in Canada, it affects 3% of general population in a given year.(1) It is twice common in women compared to men. GAD often begins in childhood or adolescence. Usually, anxiety symptoms of GAD become less with age, however, it depends on pre-morbid personality functioning, the stability of the relationship, work, and severity
Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects millions of Americans each year. Typically, those who struggle with anxiety on such a regular basis struggle with fatigue and poor concentration. Although the effects of anxiety are easier to define, the causes, unfortunately, are not. Often, figuring out the exact causes for anxiety proves difficult, as it varies from person to person. There are, however, some major commonalities between individuals with anxiety, such as workload, social situations, or other disorders. In today’s hectic society, people’s schedules are busier than ever. Adults are expected to balance multiple areas of their lives, including work, school, and family. If an individual becomes sick, he or she may fall behind in one area, which
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder of shared self-reported symptoms. It goes with tension, uncontrollable worrying, sometimes muscle pain, trouble sleeping, and irritability that all together impair work ability, relations, and leisure activities. It is a common condition and there are psychological and pharmacological treatment options are available for anxiety disorders but not all patients respond to the same treatment as others. Finding a good treatment can take many months or sometimes longer. Patients just have to go through the adequate treatment trials for the right amount of time. There are six major forms of anxiety disorders, each with their own distinct symptom: panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobias, and the most common generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Most anxiety disorders are treated with behavioral therapy, medication, or some combination of the two. Sometimes complementary or alternative treatments may also be helpful.
About three percent of men and women in the U.S. suffer from Generalized anxiety disorder (APAA). It is one of the most common forms of anxiety and seems to be the most left untreated because people don’t know that it can be treated. GAD, although it affects many, is a disorder that can be detrimental to the quality of life of an individual. With the regard to the quality of life, the level of severity that a person experiences is a great factor in determining more information. The accumulated information is a defining feature in figuring the dissimilarity of the normal fight or flight response and the diagnoses of GAD. The disorder itself is that of excessive worry (AnxietyBC) about everyday things like, financial situations, school, family, or health (APAA). Having three or more symptoms such as nausea, shaking, sweating, hot flashes, headaches, and many others, is what contributes to the diagnosis (Patel).
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can be identified as the condition that demonstrates "persistent, high levels of anxiety and excessive worry" about one's daily life. These anxious feelings tend to reveal physical symptoms that can interfere with the patient's optimal functioning since they are constantly feeling restless or tense. According to the DSM-5, in order to properly diagnosis a patient with GAD, the patient must demonstrate the symptoms "majority of days for at least six months" and experience "significant distress or impairment in life activities." GAD is developed during one's childhood and adolescent year, gradually becoming more apparent as they mature. In the United States, GAD affects approximately 1.2 percent to 2.9 percent
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a DSM-V anxiety disorder characterized by excessive worry and apprehensiveness about a variety of present and future activities and events. 48
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive anxiety and a feeling of being out of control. In addition, individuals with this disorder often experience a lack of concentration, disturbances in sleep, restlessness, and irritability. This disorder differs from panic attacks in that the anxiety is future based, instead of present based. Due to this difference individuals with generalized anxiety disorder, have anxiety about a situation in which they are not currently in, while people who experience panic attacks initially react to a perceived threat in the environment. Also, generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks or panic disorder are associated with dissimilar physiological reactions. With panic disorder, there is arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, which results in symptoms such as increased heart rate, trembling and sweating. Physical symptoms of part of generalized anxiety disorder include muscle tension, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty sleeping. For generalized anxiety disorder, there is are biological and psychological vulnerabilities, this is true of panic disorder as well, however there is also learned component; this difference is found in specific phobias in that it often results from learned experiences. In comparison with specific phobias, generalized anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder “is characterized by excessive, exaggerated anxiety and worry about everyday life events with no obvious reasons for worry”(Generalized Anxiety Disorder par. 1). For example, you could be spending your whole day worrying about a pop quiz that you know is not going to happen or afraid that your how is going to get robbed while you are at school. These constant crazy worries really can put a toll on your everyday life. Some of the main symptoms include headaches, sweating, nausea, muscle tension, concentration problems, ongoing worry, and unrealistic view on problems, and tiredness.
When an individual is diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) there are various symptoms that the individual will experience for at least 3 months. Some symptoms may include sleep disturbances, eating disturbances like loss of appetite or overeating, lack of concentration, shaking, an increasing heart rate, and possibly vomiting or nausea. Although some may experience these symptoms, but the core symptoms are fatigue or tiredness, muscle tension, headaches, and being moody or irritable. The number one core symptom is excessive worrying, which can be about anything and everything without having a significant reason.
To the general public, anxiety tends to be known simply as the feeling of being overly nervous. However, in the sense of this paper, anxiety is an umbrella term for a group of psychological disorders that, while similar in many ways, can vary greatly in their symptomology. For the sake of simplicity, this paper will focus mainly on Generalized Anxiety Disorder; however, the National Institute of Mental Health (2016) states that the three most common forms of anxiety disorders are Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). In fact, these disorders are much more common than many think: according to the NIMH, the lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder in U.S. adults
In the United States, almost one- third of individuals will meet criteria for at least one anxiety disorder in their life time (Beidel et. al). Anxiety is defined as a state of uneasiness and apprehension about future uncertainties. To receive a diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) a person must report experiencing at least three of the following six symptoms: restlessness, feeling keyed or on the edge; being easily fatigued; mind going blank or difficulty concentrating; irritability; muscle tension and sleep disturbance; which leads to impairment.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) occurs when a person worries about a variety of events and activities, including: work, family, finances, and health. While many people may worry about these topics, the anxiety and worry of GAD becomes chronic, excessive, unreasonable, and interferes with an individual's daily functioning (American Psychological Association, 2013; Hooley, Butcher, Nock, & Mineka, 2017). Furthermore, this worry is typically future oriented, age appropriate, and can interfere with the individual's ability to make decisions or be satisfied with the decisions once they are made. Additionally, those suffering from GAD often experience physical symptoms, such as, twitching, soreness, sweating, exaggerated startle response, and
People with generalized anxiety disorder show anxiousness or worry for long periods of time and face several related symptoms. Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms include: the inability to focus or feeling on edge, getting easily exhausted, finding it difficult to concentrate or having a blank mind, Irritability, tense muscles, feeling worried constantly, and insomnia.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is when somebody has persistent, unrealistic and excessive worry about everyday tasks/things. People with GAD will experience anxiety and worry; they’ll usually expect the worst of things to happen. People with GAD don’t know how to stop the worry and they feel as if things are out of control and beyond their control. This disorder is diagnosed when the feelings of worry and anxiety persist for several months. GAD affects 6.8 million adults, which is about 3.1 % of the US population. The Illness can occur at any age, it is most commonly found in Women, and about 50 % - 90 % of people with GAD have at least one other mental problem (Such as depression, a phobia, panic disorder, alcoholism or other drug abuse).
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder in which an individual may feel persistent, excessive, and worry about everyday things that may not even happen. Individuals with this disorder may feel worry, excessive anxiety, and have thoughts of the worst even when there is no need for concern. A person experiencing GAD may expect a disaster. They may worry about their finances, money, health, family, work, or any issue that may come to mind. This disorder may be present when a person worrying increases on more days than one for at least six months. GAD can interfere with work, school, family, and even social activities. GAD can be diagnosed in adults when they experience at least three of the symptoms. These symptoms include restlessness or feeling on the edge, fatigue, difficulty focusing or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, pain in back or headaches, and sleep disturbance (ADAA, n.d.).