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General Anxiety Disorder

Medically Recommended Psychologist Supported

For people that struggle with anxiety attacks, sometimes trying to identify the cause can be tough. Of course, people deal with stress every day but this is different from anxiety, which can be completely disruptive to a person’s lives. Typically, the intensity of the stress would be much greater, which would then affect daily activities even more. Known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this involves two primary symptoms. With this nervous disorder, a person would face both physiological and psychological problems of varying intensity levels.

In the physiological category, things such as muscular tension, aches and pains, stomach problems, insomnia, fatigue, and nervousness would all be a part of the general anxiety disorder. Often, these people are restless and have trouble with extreme fatigue. The interesting thing about this is that the reason for the fatigue has nothing to do with physical exertion but an imbalance within the brain. For general anxiety disorder symptoms in the psychological category, symptoms involve irritability, mood swings, problems with focus and concentration, problems relaxing, and even a sense of fear and rejection.

This is why for children and teenagers that have some type of general anxiety disorder, trying to recognize the symptoms with the disorder is hard, not knowing if the child is simply stressed or actually dealing with anxiety. For people in this age group, certain symptoms are seen most often, usually being a lot of self-criticism, fear of failure, self-blaming, and an ongoing need to hear approval. If parents can identify these behaviors, they might realize the problem has to do with stress but of course, only a doctor could provide a firm diagnosis.

After a doctor identifies and confirms a general anxiety disorder then the appropriate treatment can be determined. Typically, people who are having a hard time coping with fear and worry or those dealing with intense symptoms would be placed on medication. However, it is also important that the individual use several self-help tools to help relax. Even psychotherapy can be highly beneficial. The thing is that a general anxiety disorder is not fun but also with the right treatment, not only can intensity be controlled but also future attacks are eliminated.

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