Everyone worries or feels anxious at times. A reasonable amount of anxiety is adaptive and helps one respond well in times of real danger. It can also help a person to perform well at personal, social and professional levels. But when, anxiety becomes maladaptive and irrational, it can impair the normal functioning of your daily life and trigger off what is known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Individuals suffering from this disorder are in a constant state of tension and uneasiness and tend to worry endlessly over trivial matters.

Most of the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) revolve around the elementary development of anxious apprehension marked by the future acclimatization to a mood state in which the individual attempts to be constantly ready to deal with upcoming negative events or possible threats. This is typified by high levels of negativity, chronic over arousal and a sense of being out of control. The anxious apprehension in GAD is vague and irrational and is not anchored to any particular situation, person or circumstance. An individual with GAD might not be actually worried about anything, yet feels anxious. The reason for anxiety in this disorder is unknown.

Symptoms of Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD):

Individuals with this disorder worry endlessly about trivial day to day affairs and events.

Anxiety is not related to any particular object, person or situation and is often known as free floating anxiety.

The individual is constantly hounded by feelings of restlessness or being on the edge.

The individual has difficulty concentrating or the mind going blank

The individual has a sense of being easily fatigued.

A person with GAD may feel irritable at times.

Experiences muscular tension.

Shows signs of shortness of breath, rapid pulse rate, sweating, dizziness and nausea.

Individuals with this disorder often have difficulty making decisions on account of the worry that they may end up making a mistake. In case, they do take a decision, they worry endlessly about its consequences.

They tend to engage in various subtle avoidance activities such as postponing important events or affairs or constant checking.

They tend to show a marked vigilance for possible signs of threat in their environment.

They commonly complain of muscle tension, particularly in the neck and upper shoulder region.

They show disturbed sleep patterns including insomnia and nightmares.

Symptoms of GAD: Treating the disorder before it is too late

Despite the fact that things are going well, individuals with GAD appear to be apprehensive and anxious. Their consistent worries leave them continually upset, uneasy and discouraged. The most common realms of worry for these individuals are family, work, finances and personal illness. It is rather important to treat the symptoms of GAD before it overtakes one’s life completely as it can be rather difficult to live with this disorder. It may further lead to various complications such as depression, sleep disturbances, substance abuse, headache or bruxism.

Treatment involves administration of medications such as anti depressants and anti anxiety medications such as benzodiazepines and sedatives. Psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy are also used in the treatment of GAD.