General Anxiety Disorder - Research Paper Example

? General Anxiety Disorder General anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder which includes prolonged tension and worry about everyday things. Everyone gets worried but if the person continues to worry unnecessarily about everyday things to the extent that his performance gets affected and he is unable to properly function and relax then he is surely a patient of general anxiety disorder. This anxiety is less intense as compared to other types of anxiety disorders but is long lasting and makes relaxation almost impossible for the patient. The patient of General Anxiety disorder generally worries about the things that a normal person would worry about like money, health issues, family issues, work problems, etc. but they worry to an extreme extent. For any petty issue also the general anxiety disorder patient would terror the very worst like if a friend does not immediately respond to his text message or call then he will start thinking that his relationship is in danger and starts to think that something extremely deadly has happened. They do not worry about any specific or particular thing but worry in general about everyday things. It is actually a mood disorder. There is no particular cause of general anxiety disorder but due to certain factors there can be an increase in this disorder or increase the risk of its development (Beck, Emery & Greenberg, 1985). In a normal person’s life worries and tensions about life, money, work, studies, exams, health, etc. and different fears and phobias are common but they usually are not very extreme and last only for a short period of time. The major difference in a normal person’s worry and a general anxiety disorder patient is that his worry is more extensive, chronic, invasive and unbearable. The greatest difference in the worrying of a normal person and anxiety patient is that the former’s worrying won’t affect him in his daily routine work and job whereas the latter will not be able to do any work. The general anxiety disorder patient cannot control and limit his worrying habit; his worry and fear will only aggravate but not decrease. The patient becomes so tensed and so worried that he becomes extremely tired and stressed out and suffers from fatigue. The general anxiety disorder patient tends to worry about things that a normal person would never pay attention to. He takes unnecessary tension and worries. The greatest effect of general anxiety disorder is that it lasts for a long time and the patient remains worried and tensed for days about a petty issue and the patient always thinks that the worst is going to happen. People suffering from general anxiety disorder have fluctuations in moods that may vary from hours to days. They can remain in a particular condition for even days and this cycle breaks will not break until something strong breaks it up. Some patients can even suffer from this disorder for some hours or during a particular part of the day only like some may remain normal in the morning while suffer from this disorder at night. How strong the disorder is depends upon the circumstances in which a person is living and it also depends upon the person’s age. The symptoms of general anxiety disorder also fluctuate; and they also differ from person to person but generally a few emotional and physical behaviors are shared in common with all people suffering from general anxiety disorder. Emotional symptoms include that a person excessively gets tensed and worried and this effect is very long lasting. The person feels as if he cannot control over his extreme emotions although he try to keep himself calm but he cannot. Likewise he always thinks about the worst thing that can happen and is always in search of knowing the future and he cannot stop himself from doing so. Physical symptoms that are commonly shared are body aches and tiring of muscles (Heimberg, Turk & Mennin, 2004). The person feels fatigued, nausea and diarrhea. He cannot feel sleepy or if he falls into sleep he will have an extremely uncomfortable sleep. The person becomes very restless, jumpy, jittery and agitated. Other symptoms include the inability to relax and spend time alone by you. The person fails to concentrate and focus on any particular task and his mind quickly shifts from one task to other without properly completing and understanding any task. The person even gives up doing of a particular task because he becomes over-whelmed. The person tries to avoid situations and circumstances that make them feel anxious and worried. General anxiety disorder sometime even comes to a person in inheritance. It grows worse under stress and it usually starts from the childhood and becomes serious in adulthood. General anxiety disorder can be managed but it needs to be carefully treated because over dose of certain chemicals can lead to some other serious problems. For the treatment of general anxiety disorder it is very necessary that the doctor gets to know about the complete life of the patient. The doctor must know about his complete background and his history; in fact he must also get to know about the details of the grand-parents so that the doctor can know that whether this problem is heredity or it has arouse due to some other factors. Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and taking deep breaths are all practices that help to relax a person. Practicing relaxation techniques is a very good treatment for curing general anxiety disorder. The patient should be taught to calm down quickly and this can be done by keeping light scented candles and smell in the house which can create soothing effect to the brain. By going to an art museum or any other place where you can see beautiful sceneries all this gives a cooling and soothing effect to the brain and this helps to calm a person. Even by listening to calming and gentle music can create a feeling of relief and calm in the person. Cooking and eating something delicious can also relief you from tension and anxiety. Spending time with your pets and touching their soft fir can also help you to calm and relax yourself. The patient should know who to meet and who not to when he feels anxious and restless. He should develop a strong mutual relation with people living in his surrounding and with him so that the people can help him out in his state of anxiety and worries. Talking is a very good remedy to release tension and anxiety and if you have developed strong and good relations with others then they will be there with you when you need them; talking your heart out is in fact the most beneficial remedy to release tension. You should understand that which people and what things develop or increase the feeling of anxiety in you and you should the company of such people (Foa, Andrews & Annenberg Public Policy Center, 2006). Having a healthy and balanced lifestyle is also very necessary to keep all the symptoms of general anxiety disorder at bay. Healthy lifestyle includes eating a very healthy diet like including fruits and vegetables in your diet. Including sugar and caffeine in the diet also helps release tension and also helps to avoid the development of tension. Exercising on regular basis also helps to reduce and release away all the tension and anxiety in a person. Exercises include aerobic exercises which prove very beneficial to release the tension of the patient. Avoiding alcohol and nicotine in the diet also helps to avoid the development of tension. Getting enough sleep is the best remedy to avoid developing tension in the person. Following this all can help a patient to get rid of general anxiety disorder and even decreasing the chances of developing this disorder (Stein & Hollander, 2003). References Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. New York: Basic Books. Heimberg, R. G., Turk, C. L., & Mennin, D. S. (2004). Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice. New York: Guilford Press. Foa, E. B., Andrews, L. W., & Annenberg Public Policy Center. (2006). If your adolescent has an anxiety disorder: An essential resource for parents. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stein, D. J., & Hollander, E. (2003). Anxiety disorders comorbid with depression: Social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. London: Martin Dunitz. Read More