Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Fear of Anxiety May Lead to Depression
TUESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Fear of anxiety may push "above-average" worriers into depression, a new study suggests.
"Anxiety sensitivity has been called a fear of fear," study author Andres Viana, a graduate student in psychology at Penn State, said in a news release. "Those with anxiety sensitivity are afraid of their anxiety because their interpretation is that something catastrophic is going to happen when their anxious sensations arise."
Learn more about how fear is linked to depression »
Introduction to Anxiety
Generalized anxiety disorder (or GAD) is characterized
by excessive, exaggerated
anxiety and worry about everyday life events with no obvious reasons for
worry. People with
symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder tend to always expect disaster and
can't stop worrying about health, money, family, work, or school. In people
with GAD, the worry often is unrealistic or out of proportion for the
situation. Daily life becomes a constant state of worry, fear, and dread.
Eventually, the anxiety so dominates the person's thinking that it interferes
with daily functioning, including work, school, social activities, and
relationships.
What Are the Symptoms of GAD?
GAD affects the way a person thinks, but the anxiety can lead to physical
symptoms, as well. Symptoms of GAD can include:
- Excessive, ongoing worry and tension
- An unrealistic view of problems
- Restlessness or a feeling of being "edgy"
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Headaches
- Sweating
- Difficulty concentrating
- Nausea
- The need to go to the bathroom frequently
- Tiredness
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Trembling
- Being easily startled
In addition, people with GAD often have other anxiety disorders (such as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias), suffer from depression, and/or abuse drugs or alcohol.
What Causes GAD?
The exact cause of GAD is not fully known, but a number of factors --
including genetics, brain chemistry and environmental stresses -- appear to
contribute to its development.
-
Genetics: Some research suggests that family history plays
a part in increasing the likelihood that a person will develop GAD. This means
that the tendency to develop GAD may be passed on in families.
-
Brain chemistry: GAD has been associated with abnormal
levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are special
chemical messengers that help move information from nerve cell to nerve cell.
If the neurotransmitters are out of balance, messages cannot get through the
brain properly. This can alter the way the brain reacts in certain situations,
leading to anxiety.
-
Environmental factors: Trauma and stressful events, such
as abuse, the death of a loved one, divorce, changing jobs or schools, may lead to GAD. GAD
also may become worse during periods of stress. The use of
and withdrawal from addictive substances, including alcohol, caffeine, and
nicotine, can also worsen anxiety.
How Common Is GAD?
About 4 million adult Americans suffer from GAD during the course of a year.
It most often begins in childhood or adolescence, but can begin in adulthood.
It is more common in women than in men.
Next: How is anxiety diagnosed? »
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Anxiety
Phobias »
What is a phobia? What are the different kinds of phobias?
A phobia is defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or
thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The three kinds of phobias are
social phobia (fear of public speaking, meeting new people or other social
situations), agoraphobia (fear of being outside), and specific phobias (fear of
particular items or situations).
Phobias are largely underreported, probably because many phobia sufferers
find ways to avoid the situations to which they are phobic. Therefore,
statistics that estimate how many people suffer from phobias vary widely, but at
minimum, phobias afflict more than 6 million people in the United States. Other
facts about phobias include that these illnesses have been thought to affect up
to 28 out of every 100 people, and in all western countries, phobias strike 7%-13% of the population. Women tend to be twice as likely to suffer from a phobia
compared to men. ...
Read the Phobias article »
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