Do you normally worry about everything in an exaggerated way and feel that you cannot help it? Do catastrophic thoughts come to mind that you They generate a lot of stress and worry for apparently no reason? Would you rather think that the worst is going to happen to prepare for any type of situation negative? If you have answered positively to all these questions, you are probably suffering from a generalized anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder is an irrational, exaggerated and constant fear that causes great discomfort in the person due to to that he presents an excessive worry that does not allow him to carry out his daily activities and every time it affects him in more areas of his lifetime. These people live all or most of the time worried that things will go wrong for various reasons, for example, they may fear having an accident when they go out with the car or on foot, suffer a serious illness and / or that a loved one suffers from it, become bankrupt and without work, among others situations.
In this Psychology-Online article about Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment, we are going to know in more detail about this disorder.
Index
- Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder
- Generalized anxiety disorder: causes
- Generalized anxiety disorder: psychological treatment
- Generalized anxiety: drug treatment
- Mindfulness or meditation
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
A person with generalized anxiety disorder can present a series of symptoms that vary depending on the individual situation and personality of her, however, the most common symptoms are as follows:
- Constantly feeling irritated
- Fatigue very easily.
- Have great difficulty concentrating.
- Excessive worry about the future and stop living fully in the present.
- Muscle tension or pain.
- Sleeping problems.
- Being constantly anxious and on the alert.
- Constant catastrophic thoughts about what could happen to oneself and / or loved ones.
- Tachycardia.
- Fear of making wrong decisions.
Generalized anxiety disorder: causes.
Anyone can suffer from generalized anxiety disorder regardless of age or gender, however, it is more common in women than in men. The exact causes for this disorder are unknown, but it has been found that it may be due to different factors in constant interaction such as, for example, physical and / or mental, psychological and environmental health factors.
Causes of physical health
Some of the most common causes of physical health, which are related to anxiety, are the following:
- Cardiovascular diseases.
- Premenstrual syndrome.
- Menopause.
- Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
- Muscle pains.
- Gastrointestinal diseases.
Psychological causes
It is common for people with generalized anxiety disorder to report that they have been very anxious for as long as they can remember. Some personality types have been shown to be more prone to developing this type of disease, among the most common personality traits are the following:
- Shyness.
- High degree of perfectionism.
- Low self-esteem.
- Little assertiveness: they find it difficult to express to others what they feel for fear of doing it in an inappropriate way).
- Indecision: It is difficult for them to make their own decisions for fear of being wrong since they are very anxious to know that they have to take responsibility for them.
- Negative temperament. most of the time they have negative thoughts about everything or almost everything that happens to them.
- Constant sadness: they have a rather sad temperament due to the negative perception they have about their life.
- Low tolerance for uncertainty.
Environmental causes
There are some environmental factors that can contribute so that combined with others a person is more prone to develop this disorder. Some of these factors are as follows:
- It is frequent that it appears in people without work.
- Traumas in childhood (sexual abuse, physical and / or psychological abuse, abandonment or death of one or both parents, bullying, among others).
- Having anxious parents, so they have learned from childhood to have this type of behavior.
- Have lived or continuously live stressful situations.
Mental health causes
It has been found that people who have a chemical imbalance in brain activity can have this type of disorder. For example, not enough neurotransmitters such as norepinephride, dopamine and serotonin and / or that some areas of the brain responsible for controlling emotions and behavior are too active.
Generalized anxiety disorder: psychological treatment.
Generalized anxiety disorder should be treated primarily with psychotherapyHowever, on some occasions, depending on the individual situation, it can also be combined with a pharmacological treatment.
Psychological treatment is aimed at reduce anxiety symptoms and to reduce the disability caused by it. Depending on the difficulties of the patient, they will work on one or more areas of their life that have been affected by suffering from this disorder. What is generally worked on in therapy is to provide the person with all the information related to the disorder they suffer from, since most Sometimes they do not know what it is or that they are suffering from this disorder and the factors that originate and maintain the levels of anxiety.
The person is also taught relaxation exercises To decrease anxiety, you work with your own thoughts to help prevent behaviors from concern, assertiveness and problem-solving techniques are taught, as well as some skills social. Finally, the person is exposed in the imagination and live to face the feared situations.
Generalized anxiety: drug treatment.
Pharmacological treatment is aimed at relieve symptoms of anxiety and / or depression that the person may present, as well as to prevent relapses. Typically, the medications that are administered are anxiolytics, such as bromazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, among others that help the person feel calmer and not be exaggerated in any situation. They are also often used antidepressants, since it is common for people with this type of condition to have some type of depression.
It is important to take into account that the professional indicated to prescribe the medications must be a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is the one who will evaluate in detail the individual situation of each person, because it will not be for everyone Likewise, it may be that for some the consumption of certain drugs has the desired effect and for others it may be all contrary. It must also be remembered that drugs alone will not eliminate the problem and must always be combined with psychological treatment.
Mindfulness or meditation.
People with generalized anxiety disorder often stop experiencing the present, what they are living in the here and now to focus solely on the future. They live worried about what may or may not pass and ignore what is really happening, which causes their anxiety levels to increase significantly. This is why mindfulness or meditation techniques They are very beneficial for this type of condition, since they help us focus on the present moment and put aside those concerns about what has not happened. It helps us learn to enjoy every moment we are experiencing and improves our relationship with our environment and the people around us.
In the following Psychology-Online article, we talk about the different types of meditation and their benefits.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Generalized anxiety disorder: causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
