Generalized anxiety disorder

Synonyms

Anxiety disorder, phobia, aversion

definition

Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by diffuse anxiety with tension, apprehension and apprehension about everyday events and problems over a period of at least six months, accompanied by many other psychological and physical symptoms.

Epidemiology

Approx. 4% of the general population suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. Women get sick slightly more often than men.

The diagnosis should be made by a psychologist, a psychiatrist or a therapist experienced in the subject. In general, one can say that one has to suffer from the above symptoms on almost every day for at least a period of 6 months in order to meet the criteria for a diagnosis of "generalized anxiety disorder".

Summary

In the generalized anxiety disorder, there is usually no specific cause for undue concern for the patient. Nevertheless, the clinical picture is very often due to a permanent "To worry”Marked. These concerns are clearly exaggerated and beyond the control of the person, i.e. even if she tries to push these thoughts away and think of something else, they keep pushing themselves on. In addition to the circling thoughts, the stressful here are the physical symptoms that haunt the patient again and again and can persist for hours in varying degrees and severity. In addition, a feeling of restlessness or constant "being on the go", easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, increased muscle tension (Back pain, Neck pain or Tension headache) and sleep disorders occur.

Example: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Imagine that every time your significant other leaves the house to go to work, you worry all the time that he is in a car accident. You try to distract yourself with other thoughts, but these keep coming back. Even if the partner later returns home unharmed, a new little thing such as a dripping faucet will provide for the next worried and sleepless night. Enduring these symptoms over a period of hours is very, very stressful. It can even lead to the fear to the extent of a Panic attack shows.

therapy

Basically, as with many other psychiatric illnesses, there is a drug and a non-drug therapy approach for the generalized Anxiety disorder gives.

The non-drug approach includes that psychotherapy. In particular, the so-called Behavior therapy Proven to be very helpful. One tries to show the patient the exaggerated thoughts that torment him so much (so-called dysfunctional cognitions). If he succeeds in this, this is a first step in ultimately regaining control over his own thoughts. Another therapeutic component in behavior therapy is the so-called "Confrontation of worriesThe approach here is that patients typically do not think their worries through to the end, but rather make mental leaps between different worries. In the worry confrontation, only one concern is thought through and expressed and thus loses its fright in the course of the therapy. Another important one Part of the psychotherapeutic treatment is learning and performing a relaxation process (autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.) The aim here is that relaxation is used to reduce general tension and also the particular, situational tension.

Medicinal approaches there are different. An important group here are above all the Benzodiazepines. This group is so important because it is both a curse and a blessing in therapy for anxiety disorder. Benzodiazepines are able to make the symptoms of anxiety go away in a very short period of time. Benzodiazepines, however, lead to a so-called habituation effect within a few weeks, even when used appropriately, or subsequently to dependence. The dynamic behind it is very simple. The patient suffers severely from certain symptoms and a drug promises an improvement in symptoms within minutes. So why should you trust another drug that may take weeks to work? It should be trusted as benzodiazepine withdrawal is not an easy matter. Benzodiazepines have their place in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, but they belong in the hands of a responsible therapist and should only be used to relieve very severe symptoms.

A patient should therefore never create a benzodiazepine supply himself and certainly not go to several doctors to get and collect new ones!

Another group of drugs used to treat generalized anxiety disorder are the Antidepressants. Here are the so-called SSRIs in particular, SNRIas well as the tricyclical. (see also Therapy for depression). Unlike the benzodiazepines, a noticeable improvement in symptoms can usually only be expected after 2-4 weeks.
Furthermore will Lyrica used in anxiety disorders.
Also read our topic Insidon.