Generalised anxiety and worry

We all get worried sometimes. It’s natural to be anxious about your finances after you receive unexpected bills or to be concerned when taking your driving test. However, people with generalised anxiety worry about the same type of things as everyone else but they worry more about them and it’s hard to stop the worry once it has started.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common anxiety disorder, thought to affect 5-6% of the population. It is characterised by excessive and often unrealistic worry. People with generalised anxiety don’t just worry about major events, which most people will have concerns about, but they also worry about minor events. As minor events happen more frequently, this means their worry is more constant. It can very often spiral out of control and once it starts, sufferers feel unable to stop it escalating. It interferes with their ability to function and makes it very difficult for them to relax.

Common symptoms

If you have generalised anxiety you will usually have some of the following symptoms:

• Feeling restless, on edge, irritable, muscle tension, or 'keyed up' a lot of the time
• Tiring easily
• Difficulty concentrating and your mind 'goes blank' quite often
• Poor sleep. Usually it is difficulty in getting off to sleep, or in staying asleep

The good news is that generalised anxiety disorder is treatable.

CBT is the most effective treatment for generalised anxiety and worry.