Generalized Anxiety Disorder Facts

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Facts

Generalized anxiety disorder facts: Medications

Antidepressants are often used to treat generalized anxiety
disorder, in fact they are used frequently to treat all anxiety disorders.

Benzodiazepines or sedatives, tranquilizers and sleeping
pills can also be used to treat generalized anxiety disorder.

Benzodiazepines can:

• have side effects of memory loss and foggy thinking
• produce tolerance and dependence
• interfere in normal sleep patterns
• produce withdrawal symptoms

It is difficult to treat anxiety in
therapy if you are taking Benzos.

Generalized anxiety disorder facts about prevalence and
treatment

• Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety
  disorder
• It is three times more likely to occur in women that men
• People typically have symptoms ten years before seeking
  medical treatment
• Only one fifth of people with generalized anxiety disorder receive
  treatment
• Only 35 percent of people with generalized anxiety disorder will
  be correctly diagnosed due to overlapping physical symptoms and major depressive disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder facts about physical illness

• Generalized anxiety disorder is frequently associated with
  diabetes, hypertension, Irritable Bowel Syndrome ,and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
  Disease
• Generalized anxiety disorder is associated with worse asthma
  morbidity
• There is a relationship between generalized anxiety disorder
  and peptic ulcers
• Anxiety is the most common psychiatric illness associated
  with cardiovascular disease.

Generalized anxiety disorder and beliefs about
worrying

People with anxiety have these false
beliefs:

·

• Worrying keeps bad things from happening
• Worrying shows that one is a responsible and caring person
• Worrying helps find solutions
• Worrying increases motivation
• Worry keeps them prepared

People who worry before bed time seem to believe the false
belief that worry helps them sort through difficult things

Random facts about generalized anxiety disorder

• Chronic worriers often worry to avoid dealing with bigger
  issues in their lives
• People with gad use more sick days
  than those who are healthy and frequently miss work due to avoidance or
  secondary physical symptoms
• Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have a generalized anxiety disorder rate of 14-15
  percent
• Insomnia, gad and major depressive
  disorder commonly co-occur
• People with gad often have binge
  eating disorder
• People with gad often have irritability
  and poor concentration as symptoms of their anxiety
• People with gad are often restless
• People with general anxiety often have muscle
  tension and insomnia 

Medical information obtained from this website is not intended as a substitute for professional care. If you have
or suspect you have a problem, you should consult a healthcare provider.