Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety is the central nervous system's physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger. People with generalized anxiety disorder experience excessive anxiety under most circumstances and worry about everything all the times. This problem is sometimes described as free-floating anxiety. These individuals usually have the following characteristics:

Symptoms:

• feel restless
• keyed up
• on edge
• tire easily
• have difficulty concentrating
• suffer from muscle tension
• have sleep problems

These symptoms must last for at least six months. Many individuals with this disorder experience depression as well. Nevertheless, most people with generalized anxiety disorder are able, with some difficulty, to carry on social relationships and job activities.

Age of disorder emergence:

The disorder may emerge at any age, but usually it first appears in childhood or adolescence.

Gender Differences in Diagnosis:

Women diagnosed with the disorder out number men 2to 1.

A variety of factors have been cited to explain the development of generalized anxiety disroder, such as, sociocultural, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, and biological models.

Treatment:

Sociocultural View:

According to this view, increases in social dangers and pressures create a climate in which cases of generalized anxiety disorder are more likely to develop. Hence, avoiding or learning to deal with pressures such as low income, race and gender can decrease the insidents of this disorder.

Psychodynamic View:

Freud said that generalized anxiety disorder may develop when anxiety is excessive and defense mechanisms break down and function poorly. Psychodynamic therapists use free association, interpretation, and related psychodynamic techniques to help people overcome this problem.

Humanistic View:

Carl Rogers, the leading humanistic theorist, believed that people with generalized anxiety disorder fail to receive unconditional positive regard from significant others during their childhood and so become overly critical of themselves. He treated such individuals with client- centered therapy.

Cognitive View:

Cognitive theorists believe that generalized anxiety disorder is caused by maladaptive assumptions and beliefs that lead people to view most life situations as dangerous. Cognitive therapist help their clients change such thinking, and they teach them how to cope during stressful situations.

Biological View:

Biological theorists hold that generalized anxiety disorder results from low activity of the neurotransmitter GABA. The most common biological treatment is antianxiety drugs, particularly benzodiazpines. Relaxation training and biofeedback are also applied in many cases.