Generalized Anxiety Disorders In America

“Anxiety is the signal of danger which mobilizes the human organism’s resources at all levels of functioning in the interests of conservation, defense, and self- preservation.” (Anxiety 1) If a person suffers from anxiety there is a major loss of control and then an attempt to regain that control because of a fear that they have. Anxiety disorders are one of the most frequently occurring mental disorders in the United States. However, anxiety disorders are not only found in the United States. They are found throughout the world. They just happen to be most predominating in the United States. In this paper, I will be discussing the generalized anxiety disorder and how if effects society today.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about everyday things that is disproportionate to the actual source of worry. This excessive worry often interferes with daily functioning, as individuals suffering GAD typically anticipate disaster, and are overly concerned about everyday matters such as health issues, money, death, family problems, friend problems, relationship problems or work difficulties.[1] They often exhibit a variety of physical symptoms, including fatigue, fidgeting, headaches, nausea, numbness in hands and feet, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, bouts of difficulty breathing, trembling, twitching, irritability,

To a normal human, one might think that they can experience anxiety any day. An example is that some people think watching someone scale a building, or someone walk on a tightrope across two high buildings gives them anxiety. Although this is somewhat true, true anxiety is completely different. Anxiety is a serious mental illness that some people unfortunately suffer from. “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the US” (“Facts & Statistics”) . People who have anxiety disorder are constantly worrying or stressful from normal everyday events. These patients have troubles operating in day to day operations, such as driving. There are different types of anxiety disorders including phobias,

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry that is not limited to one subject, situation or activity (Nevid, Rathus & Greene, 2017). People with GAD are known to worry about many things in their lives; their health, their finances, their well-being and that of their children. It is a worry that can be describe as excess and one that impairs one from functioning (Nevid, Rathus & Greene, 2017).

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most diagnosed mental disorders today, and can often be closely linked to concurrent symptoms or disorders including physiological, behavioral, other anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse. (Merino, Senra & Ferreiro, 2016) (Cacioppo & Fregberg, 2013, p. 688). GAD most notably produces symptoms of excessive worry and anxiety related to non-specific risks, which often leads to functional decline both socially and professionally (Roberge et al., 2015). GAD reveals instances of links to biological origins such as heredity and biochemistry, as well as, ties to an individual’s cognitive development and socioeconomic environment (Cacioppo & Fregberg, 2013).

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorder in the United States. Between 15 - 19% of the population suffers from this disorder, which impairs the quality of life and functioning (Stuart 218). What is anxiety? Abnormal Psychology describes anxiety as “an adaptive emotion that helps us plan and prepare for a possible theat.” The text book further states, “worrying about many different aspects of life becomes chronic, excessive, and unreasonable.” This is also known as generalized anxiety disorder or GAD (Butcher 201). DSM IV-TR specifies that GAD is a worry that occurs more days then not for at least 6 months, and that it must be experienced as difficult to control (Butcher 201). 25% of those that suffer from this

The patient, a thirty-three year old female singer, is having difficulty sleeping, simple activities like getting groceries tire the patient easy, complains of neck pain, and cannot concentrate. The patient experiences worry and anxiety. However, when asked about what specifically, many things were brought up but none were more important than the other.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent, excessive, and unrealistic worry about everyday things. People with the disorder often experience exaggerated fear and expect the worst, even when there is no apparent reason for concern. They anticipate disaster and are overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues. This disorder affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, in any given year (Van der Heiden, 2011). GAD comes on gradually and can endure across the life cycle, though the risk is highest between childhood and middle age. Women are twice as likely to be affected.

Even though there are no specific statistics showing geographically how many people in each country are affected, it is estimated that “5% - 6% of teens ages 13-18 are affected by this troubling disorder, not including the teens that receive no treatment,” (“Generalized”). Youth that receive no treatment could be considered are under privileged. Meaning that they do not have the resources or are very limited to resources that could help them get the proper treatment for their disorder. Many of those adolescents are children that come from low income families, single family homes, or foster care to name a few. Foster care children however, “Find themselves in a system that is ill-equipped to provide the services they need, and that can further impede their progress towards emotional well-being,” States Lisette Austin, author of “UNLOCKING: Mental Health Services for Youth in Care.” “According to the World Health Organization, nearly 20% of children and adolescents worldwide suffer from some type of emotional or behavioral problem. . .” (“Austin”) (“Mental”). “U.S. Surgeon General reports that roughly 1 in 10 American children experience a mental illness severe enough to cause significant impairment,” (“Austin”) (“Mental”). In her article she also states from another source, Steve Hornberger, Director of Behavioral Health for CWLA, “That anywhere ranging from 40% to 85% of kids in foster care have mental health disorders, depending on what reports you read,” (“Austin”)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder first became an individual disorder in 1980. Woodman stated in her article, “The American Psychiatric Association separated anxiety neurosis into (1) panic disorder, characterized by spontaneous episodes of intense anxiety, and (2) Generalized Anxiety Disorder, a residual category for patients who have chronic, sustained anxiety without panic attacks” (Woodman, 1997). The separation of the two disorders was made at the time because of the responses people had with different medications. According to Woodman, Generalized Anxiety Disorder was finally given an independent status and a set of defined criteria of symptoms in DSM-11-R, with the main symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder being excessive worry. It is now known that it is differentiated by more than just different reactions to medicines, but with more systematical studies done, the symptom checklist has been edited to best discriminate between normal and pathological anxiety (Woodman, 1997).

Anxiety plagues millions of Americans every day. There are so many people who go about their daily lives struggling with an untreated anxiety disorder. Contrary to popular assumption, anxiety is not something that goes away on its own. Each anxiety disorder is unique, and finding a way to treat your own type of anxiety can be a very emotionally taxing experience.

Generalized Anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder consisting of excessive worrying, tension and nervousness. This condition can occur over and over again and if left untreated can lead to suicidal and violent thoughts in the patient. Even though there are certain triggers to the condition, the person eventually becomes so used to worrying and taking stress that they can't control the feeling. These dreadful feelings and excessive thinking eventually overtakes them and leads them into more and more depression. Consequently, the stress and anxiety interferes with the patient's ability to lead a normal life. The major symptoms of this order are motor tension, violence, autonomic hyperactivity, apprehension, and vigilance. GAD has been defined as a state of worry and anxiety that lasts for at least six months and is accompanied by any of the associative symptoms. Associative symptoms included irritability, insomnia, and fatigability.

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.

One of the most common mental illnesses in the United States is anxiety disorders. It affects 18% of the population (ADAA). "Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure"(Encyclopedia of Psychology). There are numerous kinds of anxiety, ranging from generalized anxiety disorder to obsessive-compulsive disorder. The utmost common forms of anxiety consist of generalized, social, and panic,(ADAA). As for myself, I suffer from all three major forms.

Anxiety disorders are the most common disorder in the united states. There are six different types of anxiety disorders. There is generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety attack(panic disorder), obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.