Millions of people in this country suffer from generalized anxiety disorder.
This disorder is characterized by exaggerated feelings of anxiety and tension every day of their lives over real and perceived issues.
They imagine issues that cause them great amounts of stress and worry, which can range from health to money to family problems.
For some of them, just the thought of going to work causes them great anxiety.
If you worry excessively about everyday problems for 6 months or more, you probably have generalized anxiety disorder.
Even though you realize that the issue doesn't warrant the attention you are giving it in the amount of worry it is causing you, you can't shake the anxious feelings and it affects your overall health and wellness.
This makes it difficult for you to relax and even get a good night's sleep.
You may have difficulty concentrating on things that do need your attention and you startle easily.
There are also physical symptoms that accompany this anxiety disorder, which include: otiredness oheadaches omuscle aches and pains onausea otrembling ourinating frequently ofeeling out of breath osweating ohot flashes Those with mild cases of this generalized anxiety disorder can go about their daily lives and work with ease, even though on the outside it looks as if they are able to handle all kinds of situations effectively.
Some experts suggest that generalized anxiety disorder can be inherited, since it does tend to run in families.
The symptoms may not manifest themselves until later in life, but in the majority of these cases, people report that they have had some of the symptoms since their teenage years.
For those for whom the disorder is not inherited, it usually starts with a stressful trigger and then compounds from there with the person thinking the worst case scenario for every situation which arises in his/her life.
The good news is that with treatment, this disorder can become manageable, if not eliminated all together.
One form of treatment teaches people suffering from anxiety disorders how to manage the feelings of worry on their own.
If stress at work is the trigger, one can think about all the forms of stress that exist and work to find ways of reducing or eliminating these stressful problems.
A person that worries excessively about his/her financial situation can benefit greatly from financial planning.
Sometimes, this disorder is the result of drugs or medications and when they are stopped the anxious feelings go away.
Cognitive behavioral treatment has been found to be quite effective at helping people control their own generalized anxiety disorder.
In this treatment, a therapist works with the patient to change the negative thoughts that he/she has about normal situations in life that lead to the feelings of constant worry.
Some of the elements of this therapy involve exposing the patient to these situations and letting them confront their fears to see that they are groundless.
There are also medications one can take for relief of generalized anxiety disorder.
These drugs are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and there are several different drugs in this category.
They are antidepressants that help the brain block the reabsorption of serotonin and the possibility of anxiety attack symptoms.
Herbal remedies, too, are often used in treating this disorder, such as Kava, which helps to reduce feelings of anxiety.
This is effective if you are worried about some of the negative side effects of some of the medications.