- In mild cases of generalized anxiety disorder, lifestyle changes can be significantly helpful. Perhaps the most important would be to start exercising, practicing yoga, relaxation techniques, or meditation.
- Treatment for more serious generalized anxiety disorder involves psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both.
- Therapeutically, the focus is on developing coping strategies, restructuring thought and behavior patterns, and managing anxiety and stress.
Generalized anxiety disorder
Do you ever find yourself feeling a tightness in your stomach and difficulty breathing, with your heart racing, and these situations repeating themselves over and over? Do these states interfere with your concentration, seemingly coming out of nowhere, such as during a routine phone conversation? Do you systematically struggle to sleep because you keep rethinking everyday situations? If left unaddressed, these conditions can significantly alter your life and daily functioning, leading to job loss, isolation, and a substantial decline in your quality of life.
Of course, not every instance of anxiety is a diagnosis. Everyone has moments of worry about various situations, doubts about managing daily challenges, or fears about the future. Anxiety tends to increase, especially during periods of significant change—such as changes in relationship status, major career shifts, taking on parental responsibilities, or dealing with serious life situations without adequate support. Everyday stress also brings its moments of anxiety.
However, "normal" anxiety generally has a reason and subsides once the problem is resolved or the anxiety-inducing situation has passed.
We talk about generalized anxiety disorder when you are excessively anxious and this state is persistent—you remain anxious even when there is no specific reason to worry. Along with this, you attempt to foresee and plan for every possible outcome of various situations. This is exhausting for your mind and can negatively impact your physical health, leading to sleep problems, irritability, and difficulty maintaining concentration due to heightened arousal and worry.
Symptoms:
At the core of anxiety lies a fundamental survival mechanism known as the "fight or flight" response, which is activated when you feel threatened. Anxiety acts as an alarm system that can be triggered by real danger, but also by something that is perceived as dangerous solely on a subjective level.
People with generalized anxiety disorder constantly develop thoughts along the lines of "what if..." which leads to the provocation and escalation of more and more anxiety. Once it begins, anxiety becomes difficult to manage. Advice such as "Just calm down," "Don't take things so seriously," or "Don't do that, or you'll make yourself sick" often proves unhelpful.
