Phobias Slideshow Pictures Take the Panic Attacks Quiz! Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Picture of the brain structures dealing with fear and stress

Picture of the brain structures dealing with fear and stress

Generalized anxiety disorder facts

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mood disorder that is characterized by multiple and/or nonspecific worries that interfere with the person's life in some way.
• The most common anxiety disorders are specific phobias. Other anxiety disorders include social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
• GAD is quite common, affecting millions of people.
• While there is no single cause of GAD, there are many factors that increase the risk of developing this disorder.
• Signs and symptoms of anxiety can include those that are emotional or behavioral and ways of thinking that are responses to feeling as if one is in danger.
• The similarities and differences in symptoms of anxiety in adults compared to children and adolescents depend on the diagnosis.
• There seem to be gender differences in the expression of anxiety.
• If a medical or mental health professional suspects that you have GAD, you will likely undergo an extensive medical interview and physical examination.
• Treatment of GAD usually involves some combination of lifestyle changes, psychotherapy, and/or medication.
• As anything that is ingested carries risk of side effects, it is important for the anxiety disorder sufferer to work closely with the prescribing doctor to decide whether treatment with medications is an appropriate intervention, and if so, which medication should be administered.
• There are many possible complications associated with anxiety.
• Various lifestyle choices and family interventions can help prevent anxiety.
• GAD usually requires treatment for it to resolve.
• There are many support groups for people who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder.

What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mood disorder that is characterized by multiple and/or nonspecific worries. The fear associated with GAD interferes with the person's ability to sleep, think, or function in some other way. Symptoms of anxiety are even described in the word itself. Specifically, the word anxiety comes from the Latin word anxietas, which means to choke or upset. The symptoms therefore include emotional or behavioral symptoms as well as ways of thinking that are responses to feeling as if one is in danger.