No matter how calm most people may appear to be, almost everyone experiences worry and anxiety at some point in their lives. In fact, they are useful emotions.
For example, when driving in heavy rain or foggy conditions, the fact that we cannot see clearly makes us worry and, in turn, helps us to concentrate and reduce the chances of an accident. Past experiences guide us, reminding us when we injured ourselves using a sharp knife to slice vegetables or when operating a machine. Memory makes us risk averse most of the time. But, when something goes wrong with this built-in warning system, the level of worry or anxiety may not match the reality of the danger. The fear may become irrational and disrupt our lives. This is called Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) — a permanent, background sense that we are at risk from unseen threats.
While there is no doubt that this debilitating condition is very real for those who suffer from it, there is no real scientific explanation of its cause. There may be genetic predisposition and researchers are investigating the medical histories of family members to see whether there is a pattern. Perhaps one of your parents or a close relative had GAD and was a role model for you. Equally relevant is the possibility of a physiological basis, perhaps involving changes in the chemistry of the brain (particularly the three neurotransmitters norepinephrine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and serotonin). This may simply occur at random, or it may be triggered by specific events, perhaps those involving significant stress or other strong emotions. We should make it clear that stress itself does not induce GAD, but there seems to be an association in which people who already feel anxious are “pushed” into a less rational state by a traumatic event such as a death in the family, divorce or loss of a job.
Whatever the cause, it does seem clear that the mental processes underlying memory are disrupted so that we recall events wrongly. The “wrongness” may be as to time, i.e. memories surface at random and trigger anxiety. We should be able to recognise that the recall is not stimulated by real world events and therefore not worry, but we cannot stop the worry. Alternatively, we may wrongly remember the past outcomes as being bad. This predisposes us to fear the worst all the time.
Diagnosis
It can be difficult to distinguish between depression and an anxiety disorder since one of the obvious symptoms of a depression is anxiety. Yet the distinction is of critical importance because Xanax should not be used for the treatment of a longer term depressive illness. You should not attempt to diagnose yourself, but should always rely on a medical professional to review your medical history and make an objective evaluation of your condition.
The doctor or physician will be interested in whether you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- you feel sad and anxious, restless and irritable, guilty and worthless;
- there have been changes to your pattern of sleep, i.e. you are finding it difficult to get to sleep or do not stay asleep as long as usual;
- you feel tired a lot of the time;
- you find it difficult to maintain concentration, have lost your decisiveness and have become more absentminded;
- you have physical symptoms of discomfort or pain that do not seem to respond to the usual over-the-counter medications;
- there have been changes to your appetite so that either you now eat less and are losing weight, or you are eating significantly more than usual and are putting on weight;
- you have lost interest in sex; or
- you have recently been thinking about death, perhaps even considering suicide.
|
