What is The Difference Between Normal Worrying & Anxiety? Is it GAD?

Does this sound familiar?

“I can’t get my thoughts to stop going round and around”

“I wake up with a feeling of dread and I don’t know why”

“My husband is late home from work, he was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago but hasn’t called as he usually does. Oh God, he must have had an accident!”

We all have worries, fears and concerns. Most people spend time worrying about job concerns or relationship worries or maybe about a specific upcoming event i.e. a test or a month with higher bills than usual. What sets worry apart from anxiety is the inability to be able to switch the worries off and go on to enjoys other aspects of your life.

Sometimes people are anxious about a specific thing such as a phobia about dogs or certain situations can cause social anxiety but when you experience a constant and exaggerated sense of tension, an inability to relax and you can’t pinpoint a reason why you feel so stressed it could be you are experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder, as called GAD.

Not everyone with GAD experiences the same symptoms but most people have a combination of of the following emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms.

GAD Symptoms relating to your Emotions

Constant worries running through your head that you can’t switch off
Intrusive thoughts about things that make you anxious; you try to avoid thinking about them, but you can’t, they keep popping in to your head
An inability to tolerate uncertainty; you need to know what’s going to happen in the future
A pervasive feeling of apprehension or dread

GAD Symptoms that affect your Behavior

Inability to relax, enjoy quiet time, or be by yourself
Difficulty concentrating or focusing on things
Putting things off because you feel overwhelmed
Avoiding situations that make you anxious

GAD Symptoms that are Physical

Feeling tense; having muscle tightness or body aches
Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because your mind won’t quit
Feeling edgy, restless, or jumpy
Stomach problems, nausea, diarrhea

So why do people get generalized anxiety? Research is looking at how brain chemicals effect your emotions and how your genes may give you at a predisposition to getting GAD. I think, and many psychologists agree, that it is a mix of DNA, your environment and psychological factors that affect whether you get it or not. Anyone can develop GAD too, even children and when I talk to my clients who have GAD and ask them about their first memory of experiencing anxiety, they often trace it back to late childhood or teenage years. But it can first occur any time between childhood and middle age with women being twice as likely to experience it than men.

If you’ve struggled with anxiety and fears for a long time, it is very likely that you are experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder. But what if your symptoms are relatively short-term? Some medical conditions and/or medications can actually cause anxiety or perhaps you have recently experienced a traumatic event or situation? It is important to see a mental health professional to get an accurate diagnosis and also to assess whether you are experiencing other problems that often co-exist with GAD i.e. depression, substance abuse, phobias etc. The bottom line though is that all these problems are very treatable and you don’t need to be feeling like this. Reach out and get some help.

When clients first come in to see me, the main concerns that come up again and again are:

How can I feel less stressed, angry and overwhelmed?
What should I do if I feel panicky?
How can I stop worrying about everything: my children, partner, friends, work, my “to do” list….

So I put together a booklet with some strategies I am always giving to my clients to help them begin to feel less anxiety and to worry less.

I hope that you will find it helpful too.

Add your first name and email address in the box below and you will be sent the steps to download your FREE book.

I see clients in my Northbrook office or for your convenience, via telephone or internet sessions

If you have any questions about how to reduce anxiety

please phone me at 847 791-7722 or

email me below

Testimonials

When I had my first baby I had what I now know was postpartum depression but I didn’t get any help. It did go away after about 18mths but it was a miserable way to begin motherhood. When I was pregnant with my second child I started to become depressed again and this time told my OB/GYN how I was feeling and she referred me to Sarah. By starting to deal with how I felt and change the way I was handling the stresses in my life, I was in a much better place when my baby was born. The second time round my PPD was much less severe and didn’t last as long. Sarah was also really helpful in teaching me ways to make the transition of becoming a big sister easier for my oldest one too. My husband came with me for some sessions and that really helped our relationship and we started working on parenting issues together. Sarah’s counsel and support really helped our family transition to the good place we are all in today.

Sara D.

I began seeing Dr. Allen when my first child was around a year old. I had experienced a very traumatic birth, after a difficult pregnancy where I was on bed rest for a good portion of the time. The first year of my son’s life was spent worrying constantly. I also experienced flashbacks to the birth, which was an emergency C-section under general anesthesia. My son was in the NICU for several days following his birth, and I was not given very much information as to why. I remember thinking that he would die, or that something awful was going to happen.

I experienced a great deal of anxiety that first year, and I thought that it was due to being a new mom. I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating as normal, and I remember being worried about leaving the house or taking my baby with me anywhere. I worried constantly about illness, germs, etc.

The first day that I saw Dr. Allen, she gave me some questionnaires to fill out before we started talking. Then we sat down and talked about my experiences with my son’s birth and the early days of his life, and the year or so since then. I remember to this day the relief that I felt when she looked at me and said that I had PPD and PTSD, which was a result of the trauma I experienced during and immediately after the birth of my son. She explained how my brain had reacted to the stress of these events, and related it to why I was feeling the way that I felt. It made so much sense. Then, she described ways that I could get over the trauma, work through the feelings, and recover from PTSD and PPD. I felt so empowered, and so happy that the way I felt had a name, and that it was treatable. It also made me feel so validated in the ways that I had felt and reacted following my son’s birth. I wasn’t going crazy. My reaction was normal and natural. And with the help of Dr. Allen, and the type of therapy that she uses, I knew I could recover.

It is over five years since that first visit with Dr. Allen, and I still use the tools that she taught me today to deal with stress. I credit her with helping me to become a more empowered, happier person.

Elizabeth

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