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GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

“When I tried to fall asleep my mind would race. I would have thoughts about illness and death, and I wouldn’t be able to shut the thoughts off,” says Marcy Negri.

For Marcy Negri, who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, unrelenting anxiety paralyzed every aspect of her life.
“I’m scared a lot of the times. I watch a movie on airplanes and something bad happens and when I’m on the airplane, that’s when the thoughts come and flood my head.”

The incessant and excessive worry Marcy is battling is known as GAD, generalized anxiety disorder. This extreme obsessive worry is usually about events that are unlikely to occur.

“Let’s say their husband comes home late, and they’re waiting. Their reaction is not just ‘Oh, they’re a half hour late’, it’s ‘Oh my God! Where is he? He has probably had a heart attack and dropped dead. Every headache is a brain tumor, for instance would be an example of how someone with generalized anxiety disorder thinks,” explains Dr. Shelly Fox Aarons, psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Generalized anxiety disorder is believed to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain involving two neurotransmitters, chemical message carriers, called dopamine and serotonin, which help regulate mood and behavior. This imbalance results in an over-reaction to everyday activities that most people manage without sustained anxiety.

“A lot of times people with GAD can’t sleep at night because their worries keep them up. So they have insomnia and yet during the day they are exhausted because they don’t get a good night’s sleep,” says Dr. Aarons.

GAD often triggers physical symptoms that add to the difficulty of functioning and enjoying daily activities. Trembling, muscle aches and pains, sweating, difficulty concentrating, and irritability can all plague the GAD sufferer. “A lot of people really don’t understand what it is, and how difficult it is to go through it,” says Marcy.

The most common treatments for generalized anxiety disorder include medications that can help regulate the brain’s chemical imbalance and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Desperate to feel better, Marcy turned to medication to deal with her generalized anxiety disorder. She says medication is helping her get her life back. “I do have a little bit more freedom in what I’m doing. Being on medication has helped me a lot with not having the thoughts as often and when they do come, being able to control them more.”

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, research shows that generalized anxiety disorder often coexists with depression, substance abuse or other anxiety disorders. Other conditions associated with stress, such as irritable bowel syndrome, often accompany GAD.

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