Category: Mental Health

If you have GAD, especially if you have a high level of worry, you may notice memory and attention problems. If so, this is an especially good reason to seek treatment for your GAD. Intervention can be a huge help, particularly if you find your symptoms are interfering with your job, education, or personal life.

Look for a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders. They can help you manage your anxiety in a way that is healthy and sustainable. From coping skills for calming yourself to memory tricks to help you remember important details, therapy can be a major tool in helping you get back to your daily routine.

In some cases, medication may be needed in order to control your anxiety appropriately. This can be a huge help in handling your symptoms. Learning to control and minimize worrying can make a large difference in your working memory.

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There are several different memory systems in the brain. The long-term memory system helps us remember information and events from the distant past, whereas working memory helps us keep information in mind as we actively use it.

Working memory is critical for solving problems effectively and managing chunks of information in the present. When this system is not operating normally, it can lead to mistakes, difficulty completing tasks properly, difficulty concentrating, and problems multitasking. Working memory is strongly influenced by worry and anxiety.1

This can be a major problem in your work and personal life. Worry can hinder your working memory, causing you to forget important tasks or appointments. You may make more mistakes at work or have trouble juggling everything you need to do at home. You might experience lapses such as:

• Not remembering where you parked your car in a parking lot

• Frequently losing things, like your keys or your phone
• Repeating things in conversation because you can’t remember if you already said something
• Difficulty recalling directions or information someone gives you
• Trouble remembering items you want to purchase in the store

Research dating back to the 1970s has shown working memory and anxiety to be related. Studies have consistently shown that when people experience anxiety, particularly when worry is at high levels—a trademark of GAD—working memory capacity suffers.2 School/work performance, the ability to use complex problem-solving strategies, and decision-making skills may be compromised.

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If you experience generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), you have chronic and persistent anxiety. Your friends and loved ones may describe you as “nervous” or as “a worrier.” You may feel anxious about daily situations and your worry is likely out of proportion or irrational. Anxiety can alter your everyday routines, and it can also have an impact on your memories.

Memories can be affected when you are under periods of stress or experience some sort of disturbance in mood. Having a significant anxiety disorder like GAD can create some of these problems routinely, leaving you operating below your normal level of memory functioning.

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Several different types of medications are used to treat generalized anxiety disorder.

For some people, medication alone may be enough to relieve your symptoms and help you keep anxiety under control. For others, treatment may involve a combination of medication and therapy.

Currently, the most common medications used to treat generalized anxiety disorder include the following:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These medications are designed to treat depression, but also work for anxiety disorders. They work by changing the levels of certain neurotransmitters inside your brain.

  Common SSRIs used to treat generalized anxiety disorder include paroxetine (Paxil®) and escitalopram (Lexapro®). These medications don’t work immediately — instead, it usually takes a few weeks before you’ll notice an improvement.

  While SSRIs can cause side effects, they’re relatively safe for long-term use and aren’t addictive. Because of this, they’re often used as long-term and first-line treatments for generalized anxiety disorder.

  You can learn more about how SSRIs work, their effects, side effects and more in our complete guide to SSRIs.

• Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs). Like SSRIs, medications of this type work by changing the levels of certain neurotransmitters in your brain. SNRIs are also often prescribed to treat depression.

  Common SNRIs used to treat generalized anxiety disorder include duloxetine (Cymbalta®) and venlafaxine (Effexor®). Like SSRIs, it can take several weeks for SNRIs to produce a noticeable reduction in anxiety symptoms.

• Benzodiazepines. These medications work by reducing the speed at which your central nervous system works. They can help you feel relaxed and reduce the severity of many anxiety symptoms.

  Common benzodiazepines used to treat generalized anxiety disorder include alprazolam (sold as Xanax®), diazepam (Valium®) and others. These medications generally work quickly and help to limit anxiety symptoms in about 30 minutes to one hour — but also aren’t long-lasting.

  Although benzodiazepines are effective, they can cause side effects and dependence if used too often. Because of this, medications of this type are typically only prescribed to treat generalized anxiety disorder in the short term.

  They’re also not typically prescribed to people with severe and persistent suicidal thoughts, or people with a history of addiction.

• Buspirone. This is an anxiolytic, or anti-anxiety medication, that’s prescribed to treat generalized anxiety disorder. It has relatively few side effects and is often prescribed after other medications aren’t effective. It may also be used with SSRIs.

  Buspirone (Buspar®) isn’t addictive and doesn’t cause physical dependence, meaning it’s often a good option for people prone to substance abuse.Although effective, it can take several weeks to start working as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

No two individuals or cases of generalized anxiety disorder are exactly the same.

As such, your healthcare provider will work with you to choose a combination of medication and therapy that’s best suited to your needs.

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Generalized anxiety disorder is often treated through psychotherapy. Many people affected by GAD experience improvements through a form of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talk therapy. It often involves identifying and changing the unhelpful, learned behavioral patterns that can contribute to problems such as anxiety.

As part of cognitive behavioral therapy, you may work with your healthcare provider to focus on recognizing the aspects of your thinking that contribute to anxiety and use problem-solving skills to better deal with situations that cause you to experience symptoms.

Sometimes, other forms of therapy are used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. These include mindfulness-based approaches, which often incorporate meditative practices, and options such as acceptance and commitment therapy.

In some cases, you may undergo psychotherapy while also using medication to control and limit your anxiety symptoms.

If you’re worried that you may have generalized anxiety disorder and want to explore therapy as a way to receive support and make progress, you can take part in group or one-on-one therapy online with a licensed therapist.

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Like other anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety disorder can have a significant negative impact on your life. However, it is treatable. A variety of different treatments are available for GAD, from therapy to the use of certain medications.

In some cases, the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder can also be improved by making certain changes to your lifestyle.

If you think that you might be affected by generalized anxiety disorder, it’s important to talk to a mental health professional. You can talk to a licensed psychiatry provider online and learn more about the options that are available to help you.

We’ve listed all of the treatment options for generalized anxiety disorder below, along with more information on each treatment.

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Right now, experts aren’t completely sure about what causes generalized anxiety disorder. The current research points toward a possible combination of biological factors and environmental factors that may contribute to anxiety disorders such as GAD.

While the exact cause of GAD isn’t known, certain factors may increase your risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder. These include:

• Being female. Women are twice as likely to be affected by generalized anxiety disorder as men. In fact, many anxiety disorders appear to be more prevalent in women than in men, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
• Stressful or traumatic experiences. Going through a traumatic or negative experience, or dealing with significant life changes, may increase your risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder.
• Personality traits. Some personality traits (such as a negative temperament or general avoidance of risk), as well as things like race, traumatic life experiences, family environments and sex may be correlated with generalized anxiety disorder. However, it’s worth noting that this is a symptom of all anxiety disorders; not just GAD.
• Family history of anxiety disorders. Generalized anxiety disorder may have a genetic component, causing it to run in families.
• History of chronic physical or mental health disorders. Other chronic illnesses, such as physical illnesses and mental health disorders, may also be linked to an elevated risk of developing generalized anxiety disorder.

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As mentioned above, it’s normal to experience anxiety from time to time, and feeling anxious or worried in certain situations doesn’t mean that you have an anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder is when your worrying is persistent, intrusive, out of proportion to the specific event and disruptive to your life. For example:

• You may feel worried about certain things. If you have GAD, this worrying may disrupt your ability to maintain your normal work or educational performance, spend time with your friends and family, or take part in normal activities.
• Normally, you only worry about certain, specific things, such as an exam score or work assignment. If you have GAD, you may worry about a large variety of unrelated topics and assume negative outcomes.
• Normally, you can control your worrying to some extent, preventing it from causing you to experience distress. If you have GAD, you may be unable to effectively control your worrying, resulting in significant personal distress and unhappiness.

Another key difference between “normal” anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder is the total amount of time that symptoms occur.

It’s normal to worry for short, reasonable periods of time. However, if you have GAD, you may worry about certain things every day for a period of six months or longer.

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The precise symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder can vary from person to person, both in type and severity. They can also vary based on a person’s age. For example, younger people may feel anxiety regarding different things than older people affected by GAD.

Generalized anxiety disorder can cause symptoms that affect your emotions, your behavior and your physical health. Emotional symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder can include:

• Worrying excessively about common, everyday events, tasks and occurrences
• Finding it difficult to control feelings of nervousness, anxiety and worry
• Intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety and are difficult to get out of your mind
• Persistent, ubiquitous thoughts of apprehension and worry
• Needing to know what’s going on in any situation, or in the future
• Difficulty dealing with uncertainty and unpredictability

Behavioral symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder can include:

• Finding it difficult to relax, even in quiet, peaceful situations
• Planning excessively for certain situations
• Difficulty concentrating on specific tasks
• Struggling to make decisions, or worrying about making the wrong decision
• Avoiding certain situations due to worry and anxiety
• Delaying or avoiding certain tasks

Physical symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include:

• Fatigue or a general, ongoing lack of energy
• Feelings of light-headedness
• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• Headaches and other unexplained pains
• Trembling, twitching and generally feeling jumpy
• Diarrhea, nausea and irritable bowel syndrome
• Needing to use the bathroom more than normal
• Muscle aches and tension
• Difficulty swallowing

In younger people, generalized anxiety symptoms may include excessive anxiety about school or college, their performance in sports, relationships or other factors. Some young people may experience significant anxiety regarding catastrophic events.

Younger people with generalized anxiety disorder, such as children and teens, may exhibit the following symptoms and behaviors:

• Lacking confidence and requiring reassurance about themselves
• Striving for approval from other people
• Feelings of perfectionism, or a need to repeatedly redo tasks until they’re perfect
• Excessively doing homework and other school-related tasks
• Avoiding school and other situations that require them to socialize

In adults, symptoms often revolve around everyday events and concerns, such as physical and mental health, careers, finances, household tasks, relationships and their families.

The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder may vary in severity from one specific moment to another.

Some people with GAD may experience worse symptoms in stressful periods, such as during a personal conflict, or during an education or career-related crunch time.

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Generalized anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that can cause people to experience excessive, persistent anxiety about a variety of things, including everyday events.

It’s absolutely normal to experience anxiety from time to time. You may feel anxious when you prepare for a speech, exam, presentation or any other situation that requires you to perform in front of others.

Or, you may feel worry and anxiety during a stressful situation involving family members, money or your physical or mental health.

Experiencing occasional anxiety doesn’t mean that you have generalized anxiety disorder. It’s a very normal, routine part of life that occurs for everyone.

People with generalized anxiety disorder feel excessively nervous and worried in situations that wouldn’t normally cause these feelings. They often experience anxiety when there’s no reason to feel stressed or nervous.

For example, people with generalized anxiety disorder may anticipate disaster after a relatively small, inconsequential event. They might expect the worst in certain situations and worry about a certain, negative outcome more than seems reasonable.

For some people, this ongoing anxiety can interfere with everyday activities and make it difficult to live a normal life.

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