“I was worried all the time about everything. It didn't matter that there were no signs of problems, I just got upset. I was having trouble falling asleep at night, and I couldn't keep my mind focused at work. I felt angry at my family all the time.”
All of us worry about things like health, money, or family problems. But people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are extremely worried about these and many other things, even when there is little or no reason to worry about them.
People with GAD can’t seem to get rid of their concerns, even though they usually realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants. They can’t relax, startle easily, and have difficulty concentrating. Often they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Physical symptoms that often accompany the anxiety include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, having to go to the bathroom frequently, feeling out of breath, and hot flashes.
When their anxiety level is mild, people with GAD can function socially and hold down a job. Although they don’t avoid certain situations as a result of their disorder, people with GAD can have difficulty carrying out the simplest daily activities if their anxiety is severe.
GAD develops slowly. It often starts during the teen years or young adulthood. Symptoms may get better or worse at different times, and often are worse during times of stress. The disorder develops gradually and can begin at any point in the life cycle, although the years of highest risk are between childhood and middle age. The average age of onset is 31 years old.
GAD is generally treated with psychotheraphy, medication, or a combination of the two. At the CCEP, we are investigating how these different treatments work. By increasing our knowledge about how the treatments function, we can identify patients who are more likely to benefit from some treatments rather than others.
"Causes, symptoms and cures for anxiety disorders are still not fully understood by clinicians, and it is estimated that only 20 – 30% of sufferers receive the correct diagnosis and adequate treatment. At the CCEP we aim to identify mechanisms by which some treatments can be more effective than others for particular individuals"