Anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can drain energy out of your life and undermine your self-confidence and well-being.

You may have fearful thoughts and might be worried due to uncertainty about the future.

Despite doing your best, you still worry about so many things.

You may have repeatedly tried to shake off your anxious feelings and worries, but just can’t relax.

Feeling anxious from time to time is normal. However, living with anxiety can be exhausting, overwhelming, and make it difficult to enjoy life.

You might be trying to cope with your anxiety by avoiding situations or experiences that you are anxious about. However, avoidance strategies can often prove ineffective, and can actually end up feeding your anxiety.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) outlines the following criterion to make a diagnosis of GAD.

A. Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).

B. The individual finds it difficult to control the worry.

C. The anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms having been present for more days than not for the past 6 months). Note: Only one item is required in children.

1. 1. Restlessness, feeling keyed up or on edge.
   2. Being easily fatigued.
   3. Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.
   4. Irritability.
   5. Muscle tension.
   6. Sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep).

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D. The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

E. The disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).

F. Another medical disorder does not better explain the disturbance (e.g., anxiety or worry about having panic attacks in panic disorder, negative evaluation in social anxiety disorder [social phobia], contamination or other obsessions in obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation from attachment figures in separation anxiety disorder, reminders of traumatic events in posttraumatic stress disorder, gaining weight in anorexia nervosa, physical complaints in somatic symptom disorder, perceived appearance flaws in body dysmorphic disorder, having a serious illness in illness anxiety disorder, or the content of delusional beliefs in schizophrenia or delusional disorder).