Anxiety disorderAnxiety disorders, AnxietyWorry or fear that is stronger than the situation calls for, lasts for weeks or months, and gets in the way of daily life. Anxiety disorders are common and treatable.
Generalised anxiety disorder
Also known as GAD, Generalized anxiety disorder
A long-term condition in which you worry about many different things, most days, for months, and find the worry very hard to control.
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is worry that has no single focus. It moves from health to money to children to what relatives will say, and it goes on for months — doctors usually look for at least six — rather than attaching to one event.
Typical features
- Worry that feels impossible to stop, often with
- Restlessness, irritability and feeling on edge
- Tiredness, poor concentration and trouble sleeping
- Muscle tension, headaches, stomach upset or
First-line treatment is guided self-help or ; if that is not enough, an such as sertraline or escitalopram may be added. It sits within the wider group of anxiety disorders covered in the anxiety article.
Related terms
- RuminationOverthinking, BroodingGoing over the same upsetting thoughts again and again — why something happened, what it means, what is wrong with you — without reaching a solution. It deepens low mood.
- CatastrophisingCatastrophizing, Catastrophic thinkingJumping to the worst possible outcome and treating it as likely, or treating an uncomfortable situation as unbearable. A common thinking habit in anxiety.
- Cognitive behavioural therapyCBT, Cognitive behavioral therapyA structured, time-limited talking therapy that helps you notice and change the thoughts and behaviours that keep a problem going. It is a first-line treatment for depression and most anxiety problems.
- SSRISelective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRIsSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitor: the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant, used for depression and many anxiety conditions. Examples are sertraline, fluoxetine, escitalopram, citalopram and paroxetine.