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Anxiety Disorder

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General Anxiety Disorder
Aloha Galimba
HCA/240
June 30, 2013

General Anxiety Disorder can happen to anyone. It affects about 3.1 percent of Americans adults that are age 18 and older in a year (2013, National Institute of Mental Health). General Anxiety Disorder is diagnosed by its certain characteristics that is spanning for more than six months. Characteristics are as follows; worry about every day life, expect disaster at any given moment, can’t stop worrying about health, money, family, and work. Most people who think about GAD have come to think they are just always worried, however with several testing it is proven that they are experiencing the General Anxiety Disorder. There are several myths in regards to GAD that seem over the top. For instance there is a myth that if you are experiencing GAD, you must always avoid stress and situations that may you feel stressful. While this statement is true, everyone is bound to come to a stressful situation one way or another. This myth was debunked by stating, it all depends on how you handle the stressful situation. GAD can be diverted as long as you know how to handle certain situations. Another myth or misconception that has been brought up was the cause of anxiety disorder is rooted in childhood; therapy would be needed to focus more on this time period. There have been studies where anxiety does not root from childhood. In fact, anxiety can happen to anyone at any time. Another myth that has been presented in movie theatres is that someone who is going through GAD must always carry a paper bag when an attack starts to happen to help them breathe. This is a huge misconception; although breathing in and out in a paper bag may help it does little to help someone when an anxiety attack is happening. The signs and symptoms for General Anxiety Disorder are as follows; on going worry, tension, irritability, headaches, restlessness, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep throughout the night, nausea, muscle aches, and suffering from depression. If any of these symptoms happen for more than six months, it is more than likely General Anxiety Disorder is happening. When experiencing General Anxiety Disorder, the symptom of worry can vary in range. For instance, they will worry about finance, family, and always thinking of negative outcomes in any moment. Although worrying about finance and family is normal, someone going through GAD will take it a step further. They will start to worry about how their family is doing throughout the day, they also worry about how they will pay for one thing and another, they will then think of the most negative outcomes. For instance, while driving across a bridge, they may begin to think of the bridge collapsing, or someone hitting them and the car goes over the bridge. Someone with GAD can think of scenarios that will worry themselves and worry everyone else around them. Someone experiencing GAD can feel like the whole world is on his or her shoulders. They will then feel very anxious and they will not be able to close their mind or tell their mind to shut down. It also may be hard for someone to fall asleep because they are constantly worrying about someone or something. They will try to shut their brain off, but having General Anxiety Disorder is harder to fall asleep. Especially staying asleep, they will wake up constantly worrying. They will never get a full night’s rest. The neurotransmitters that are associated to the signs and symptoms are the serotonin, gamma-amino butyric acid, nor epinephrine, and corticotrophin (2010, Fraser-Tinhill, R.) The serotonin inhibits the stress response. The Gamma-Amino butyric acid releases a calming neurotransmitter, which is not released during an anxiety attack. Nor epinephrine releases the excitatory neurotransmitter, which too much is released. And the corticotrophin releases the stress hormone, which is released frequently in a patient who has general anxiety disorder. In order for determine if someone is experiencing the general anxiety disorder, they must seek professional help. They can go to their general doctor and the doctor will ask a series of questions. For instance, they will ask how they were feeling when a certain event happened, what symptoms they have been experiencing, and for how long. When diagnosing a patient with general anxiety disorder, the doctor will also ask questions about their health and medical history and if the symptoms they are experiencing is causing the patient to not attend work, school, or any social functions. If the doctor feels the patient’s symptom is causing delay in their life, they will then refer the patient to a psychiatrist. With the psychiatrist, they will ask various questions in order to find out the main reason for the anxiety that is happening. They will determine how long the disorder has been happening and how they can work on how to remove the disorder. In the past, a way to find out if someone is suffering from general anxiety disorder is the same procedures and protocols that they are going through today. In the past, the illness was not as bad. In the past, someone would worry about finances and family. Due to economic situations worrying about finances is always going to be around. Although the past and present share similar characteristics, the treatment was relatively different. In the past, there was only one method to try to rid of the disorder and that was through therapy. Now a day, there is medication to help with the anxiety disorder that can coincide with seeing a psychiatrist. Treatments can be either successful or it may fail, it all depends on the patient’s environment. If a patient places themselves in stressful situations and cannot grasp on how to control their stress, it can cause for a failed treatment. They must know how to control that stress and know when it is a correct time to get into a place that is highly stressful to them. Another way to have a failed treatment is if the patient becomes dependent on the medication that is prescribed to them. Once they become dependent, they would like a higher dosage. One main way a patient can fail treatment is if they surround themselves by those who are not supportive and who are not willing to help. They must have people around them who will help them when an attack happens and to encourage them that they are doing great throughout their treatment.

References;
WebMd (2013) Retrieved from: www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/generalized-anxiety-disorder
Livestrong (2010) Retrieved from: www.livestrong.com/article/94954-neurotransmitters-involved-anxiety-disorder/

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