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How is generalized anxiety disorder treated?

What is generalized anxiety disorder?


People with generalized anxiety disorder have persistent feelings of anxiety and stress from everyday events and problems.

So these obsessions are related to various areas - which also concern others - such as the expectation that they or their family members suffer from a serious illness or that they may be exposed to an accident.

However, these fears are much more serious in people with a generalized anxiety disorder than in other people, to the point that daily life is severely affected.

How is generalized anxiety disorder treated 2022
 generalized anxiety disorder

For a person to feel anxious in certain cases, it is still normal: for example, a person who works in a company that is going through a crisis may feel anxious for fear of losing her job; However, people with generalized anxiety disorder are so anxious, even when there is no particular danger, that they can barely control their obsessions or releases.


The diagnosis of "generalized anxiety disorder" can be spoken in cases in which anxiety and tension persist due to daily events for at least 6 months, and are accompanied by the appearance of various physical and psychological signs, such as:

  1. blinking
  2. ethnic spells
  3. tremors at stomach level
  4. Vertigo
  5. Fear of going crazy or dying
  6. Feeling hot or chills
  7. muscle tension
  8. Difficult to focus
  9. Emotionality
  10. Sleeping problems
 

Victims often try to avoid fears (for example, news of accidents) or try to reassure themselves, for example by ensuring that their family members are safe and that they will not be harmed.

Since these concerns often constitute a psychological burden for family members, this can lead to the outbreak of conflict.

 

What is the frequency of generalized anxiety disorder?

 


About 5 out of 100 people will develop a generalized anxiety disorder in their lifetime. So the rate of infected women is almost twice that of men. Other anxiety disorders generally occur in adolescence or early adulthood, while generalized anxiety disorders rarely occur. So the latter usually occurs for the first time between the ages of 35 and 45.

Are there different forms and pathways of the disease?

Also, most people with generalized anxiety disorder develop other mental disorders. Emotional disorders (such as depression), other anxiety disorders, and somatoform disorders are the most common of the latter.


In the case of infection timing disorder, generalized anxiety, the onset of other disorders, many times a chronic path is interrupted more often if the disorder is not being addressed, there is a possibility that it lasts for a long time, knowing that there are frequent fluctuations that occur concerning the degree of severity: 

many are sick from periods when they have no signs of illness, but about half of people know that symptoms return at a later time. It also takes several years for the injured person to seek help.

 


How does generalized anxiety disorder occur?

There are several reasons and explanations of how and why an anxiety disorder can appear:

 

Hereditary factors (genetic factors) can influence the appearance of obsessions.

 

In people with generalized anxiety disorder, it turns out that some areas of the brain experience more activity compared to other people. In people with anxiety disorders, the chemical mediators responsible for providing relaxation may be fewer in number or may have a weaker effect.

 

Some people who develop an anxiety disorder did not have a strong bond in their childhood, for example, with their parents or other close people. Since at times they have suffered from the behavior of their relatives towards them and have considered it an unexpected behavior.

 

It is often more difficult for people with generalized anxiety disorders, compared to others, to bear that one is not "absolutely safe" (eg, in traffic). Ambiguous stimuli (that is, events that may be harmless or threatening). ) are considered moderately dangerous.


Many sufferers think that obsessions allow them to protect themselves from disappointment or help them avoid an accident. The idea behind these positive propositions about obsessions is the following: Whoever fears in advance and as a precaution that something will happen if it happens to you, will not be affected.

 

How do you determine whether or not you have a generalized anxiety disorder?


If the symptoms and signs described below are present, the cause may be a generalized anxiety disorder. In this case, it is highly recommended to consult a doctor or psychiatrist. An anxiety disorder rarely goes away "on its own."

 

In the context of a counseling interview, the doctor or psychiatrist asks questions about the symptoms separately, about the patient's general health, family history, and other physical ailments, and determines if it is related to a case of generalized anxiety disorder.


The therapist uses questionnaires to assess the severity of the illness and determine if there are other mental problems behind the injury. A physical examination can allow the patient to conclude if the appearance of symptoms, especially physical ones, has physical causes.

 

How is generalized anxiety disorder treated?

 

Psychotherapy or medications, especially so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), or SNRIs, are eligible for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

The goal of both treatments is to reduce anxiety to a tolerable level.


The so-called benzodiazepines (drugs that calm down quickly) can help the patient in the short term, but they should not be prescribed to the patient except in absolutely exceptional cases, since, unlike other drugs, they can cause addiction.


Through psychotherapy, patients can learn to deal with their obsessions and reduce the physical and psychological symptoms that accompany them (for example, by mastering the psychological burdens of relaxation). Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best-studied treatment modality that is effective in the long term.


It is also possible to resort to psychodynamic therapy if the patient prefers it or if behavioral therapy does not work. However, this method of treatment, compared to behavioral therapy, has not yet been adequately studied in its treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.


What can close friends and family do?

 

Close people (such as relatives and a life partner) are also often concerned about the matter, because often those affected involve them in their obsessions, as this is often done, for example, by contacting them with the purpose of not knowing. for the reason that they do not know, you are about to be the victim of an accident.


It is helpful for family members to know the topic of generalized anxiety disorder well; They should work as hard as possible to avoid reassuring the victim over and over again because this is often beneficial in the short term, but in the long term it can keep worries alive.


It is also important to maintain good health that family members do not restrict themselves too much. For example, they should not give up activities that please them, for fear that the affected person will become anxious as a result.


Relatives can also, if a partner, a family member, or a friend suffers from a mental anxiety disorder, it has become a serious psychological burden for them, they can obtain the support of self-help groups, centers of counseling, doctors, and psychotherapists.

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