This Condition Guide provides information about anxiety disorders and will help you learn more about stress, anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by a feeling of apprehension or fear that lingers, with symptoms lasting at least 6 months. The source of this uneasiness is not always known. Anxiety is an emotion accompanied by a variety of physical symptoms that can be triggered by stress.
Stress is a normal part of life and can come from just about any situation. It can be a positive motivator for modifying one's lifestyle. However, some people are more sensitive to stress than are others. For these people, stress can cause anger, frustration, and nervousness. Persistent stress can develop into anxiety, which is an occasionally disabling feeling of nervousness, apprehension, or fear.
Anxiety develops as a normal response to a threat or to stress; it initiates the fight-or-flight response that can prompt physical changes in the body, such as increased blood flow and respiration. Persistent anxiety, however, may be diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. Included among the anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and phobias. The cause of anxiety disorders is unknown, but biologic and physiologic factors are believed to play a role. Careful research studies have shown that women are twice as likely as men to have anxiety disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder (often referred to as GAD) is characterized by a pattern of frequent, persistent worry about any number of activities or events such that it interferes with a person's normal activities. The excessive worry associated with generalized anxiety disorder is out of proportion to the actual impact a situation may typically have on a person without the disorder. Symptoms usually worsen at times of stress. Generalized anxiety disorder can trigger unhealthy behaviors, such as overeating, social withdrawal, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Explore this Anxiety Disorders Condition Guide now to take a stress assessment or to learn more about anxiety disorders. Talk to your doctor or mental health provider if you have GAD or other anxiety disorders.
