Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Individuals struggling with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suffer excessive anxiety and worry, meaning that their worry or anxiety is much more frequent or intense than is appropriate given the circumstances. For instance, GAD may be present in someone who worries about money while having a stable financial situation. More frequently than not, people with GAD experience anxiety and worry about various things, including employment, money, health, performance in school, and interpersonal relationships. GAD sufferers struggle mightily to rein in or cease their anxieties. Depending on the individual, GAD symptoms may include one or more of the following:
- Inability to focus or pay attention
- Being worn out or quickly getting tired
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Issues with falling or staying asleep, or restless sleep
- Muscle tension or pains
- Stomach pain or sickness
- Feeling “on edge” or “keyed up.”
- Worry results in severe distress
- Worry and anxiety affect one’s job performance, class, or social situations.
Some patients with GAD may experience their condition with little or no known etiology. Others might think their anxiety is warranted or beneficial to maintaining safety or excellence at home, work, school, or other responsibilities. However, the majority of people concur that someone with GAD worries excessively. The attempts of people with GAD to reduce their anxiety, whether on their own or with support from loved ones, may fail or only temporarily be successful.
We at Connected Care Behavioral Health LLC are experts in treating this pervasive anxiety condition and are equipped with the knowledge and tools to provide evidence-based care to GAD patients of all ages. We treat GAD with exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the most successful therapy for various anxiety disorders. Through ERP, GAD sufferers can progressively reclaim their lives by learning to confront their anxiety triggers and reducing the reliance on worry as a coping mechanism. We also provide therapies that employ A.C.T. and other third-wave approaches, which effectively teach people with GAD to embrace anxiety as a normal part of life rather than battle it with excessive worry. Finally, please call us at (443)-219-9236 if you or someone you know could benefit from our specialized GAD treatment services.