GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

anxiety disorder

symptoms

• Anxiety associated with 3 or more of the following:

  • Restlessness

  • Pacing

  • Feeling on edge

  • Easily fatigued; worry and anxiety wears you out

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Irritability; doesn't take much for you to get angry and snap

  • Muscle tension; shoulders/back/neck sore all the time, constantly tense

  • Sleep disturbances

metacognitive theory

• Those with GAD hold both negative and positive beliefs about worrying

• Received good research support; need to be sure they know that positives out way the negatives

positive beliefs

• Superstitious avoidance of catastrophe

  • Worrying makes something less likely to happen

• Avoidance of deeper emotional topics

  • If you worry about everyday issues, then you avoid deeper issues that you should spend time thinking about

  • Similar to contrast avoidance model in text

• Coping and preparation

  • Worrying about negative event helps you prepare for the negative event happening, becomes excessive

• Believe worrying is a good way to cope with stress

negative beliefs

• Greater sense of danger

  • You are seeing catastrophe around every corner

• More negative intrusive thoughts than people who don't worry

• Worry about worrying so much 

intolerance of uncertainty theory

• Possibility of naive events leads to worry

• Focus on “correct” solutions for every situation in their life in order to reduce feelings on uncertainty

  • Because they are never sure, they continue to worry

• Research support

medications

• Problems with Benzos (ends with a pam)

  • “Need something to relax, calm my nerves”

  • Primary doctors throw them out but don't do anything to address worrying

  • Lead to physiological and psychological addiction

• Buspirone is more effective

  • Helps to decrease the worry

  • Not sedating, does not cause dependence

  • Takes about a month before it kicks in, while benzos work right way

• Antidepressants 

relaxation training/biofeedback

• Physical relaxation → psychological relaxation

  • Strategies, meditation, etc. 

• Description of ___:

  • Train people to control physiological responses such as muscle tension and heart rate with breathing exercises, etc. 

cognitive behavioral therapy

• Teaching clients to tolerate uncertainty

  • Leaning into learning how to tolerate uncertainty is more helpful than teaching relaxation

• Schedule “worry sessions”

  • Any time worry pops up, you say I will worry about that at 7pm

  • At 7pm focus on perry for 20 minutes

  • Realize this doesn't happen and they distract themselves and don't worry

• Mindfulness

  • Future things, bringing yourself back to the present to focus on things in the now and be happy about them