Dealing with Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What it is, how it works, and what treatments are available
My mother is the only person who always understands how I’m feeling, and she knows just what to say to ease my suffering. As a kid it seemed like I was just a little more sensitive and cautious than the other kids, but either way I still would tend to feel like I didn’t belong some days. When I was fourteen I visited a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD); at the time I had no idea what the words she was saying to me even meant. That was the day that my mother revealed to me that she also suffers from GAD. It is difficult for people without anxiety disorders to understand how constant the anxious feelings really are and that they can escalate to become much more severe than any normal anxiety. I’ve been knowingly living with GAD for four years now and I have many questions about it that have yet to be answered. Considering my mother and I both suffer from this disorder, I want to know if it could possibly be genetic or if I was simple conditioned to it from observing her. I also am curious about what happens in the brain of someone who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder and how it causes the symptoms. Most importantly I want to find information on possible treatments that would not only allow me to deal with my anxiety in a way that will better my life, but also I need to know how I can help my mother because seeing her deal with this disorder and being able to relate to her pain inspires me to make some changes that will hopefully benefit both of us. I was surprised to discover how many different types of anxiety a person can experience; Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, an assistant professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, explains that anxiety can even be beneficial in cases such as that of performance anxiety which can actually heighten a person’s performance. Anxiety disorders such as GAD tend to be detrimental,
My mother is the only person who always understands how I’m feeling, and she knows just what to say to ease my suffering. As a kid it seemed like I was just a little more sensitive and cautious than the other kids, but either way I still would tend to feel like I didn’t belong some days. When I was fourteen I visited a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD); at the time I had no idea what the words she was saying to me even meant. That was the day that my mother revealed to me that she also suffers from GAD. It is difficult for people without anxiety disorders to understand how constant the anxious feelings really are and that they can escalate to become much more severe than any normal anxiety. I’ve been knowingly living with GAD for four years now and I have many questions about it that have yet to be answered. Considering my mother and I both suffer from this disorder, I want to know if it could possibly be genetic or if I was simple conditioned to it from observing her. I also am curious about what happens in the brain of someone who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder and how it causes the symptoms. Most importantly I want to find information on possible treatments that would not only allow me to deal with my anxiety in a way that will better my life, but also I need to know how I can help my mother because seeing her deal with this disorder and being able to relate to her pain inspires me to make some changes that will hopefully benefit both of us. I was surprised to discover how many different types of anxiety a person can experience; Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, an assistant professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, explains that anxiety can even be beneficial in cases such as that of performance anxiety which can actually heighten a person’s performance. Anxiety disorders such as GAD tend to be detrimental,
Cited: "At-Risk College Students Reduce HBP, Anxiety, Depression Through Transcendental Meditation." Medical News Today. N.p., 18 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Corliss, Julie. "Mindfulness meditation may ease anxiety, mental stress." Harvard Health Publications. N.p., 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Dryden-Edwards, Roxanne. "Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)." Medicine Net. Ed. Melissa Conrad Stöppler. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Gorman, Jack M. "Anxiety disorders: a pocket guide for primary care." Physicians Postgraduate Press Inc 2003 [Memphis, TN] . Web. 12 Apr. 2014. Henig, Robin M. "Understanding the Anxious Mind." The New York Times Magazine Sept. 2009. SC4 Library. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. Hockenbury, Don H., and Sandra E. Hockenbury. Psychology. Ed. Jessica Bayne. 6th ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2013. 567-68. Print. Martis, Brian. "Anxiety Disorder." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013. N. pag. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. Meek, William. "Genetic Vulnerability and Generalized Anxiety Disorder." About.com. Ed. Neil Vogel. N.p., 8 Jan. 2007. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Pappas, Stephanie. "Brain scans show distinctive patterns in people with generalized anxiety disorder in Stanford study." Stanford Medicine. Ed. Jessica Bayne. Stanford School of Medicine, 7 Dec. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Pomfrey, Elaine. "Eat, Meditate, Exercise - Treating Anxiety Naturally." Transcendental Meditation. Maharishi Foundation USA,, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Smith, Daniel B. "The Idiocy Of Anxiety." The New York Times 12 Aug. 2012: 8. SC4 Library. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. Tonks, Alison. "Treating generalised anxiety disorder." Clinical Review 326.7931 (2003). Web. 12 Apr. 2014. Vanin, John R., and James D. Helsley. Anxiety disorders: a pocket guide for primary care. Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press, 2008. Print.