More and more people are being diagnosed as having Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The growing number can make an average person wonder about what this disease is all about. Well, GAD is a disorder that involves anxiety being at an uncontrollable level for a normal person. Approximately five percent of the population are suspected to have this disorder. People with generalized anxiety disorder worry too much over things that are not worth the amount of worry. Pretty much everything makes them worried. Numerous everyday matters can easily make them overwhelmed with worries. If people become anxious of general things and it continues for about six months, then it is quite possible that they have GAD.
Anxiety can take different forms and complications in men and women from different socio-economic backgrounds. One of them is GAD. People with GAD are worried too much almost all the time about things that are generally inevitable or out of one’s control. While being worried about something generally does some good, people with GAD have an anxiety level that is higher than normal. This makes living their lives very hard for them. It also means that their environment and the people they live or stay with are affected by their abnormal behaviors.
Being worried is the common sign of GAD but not the definitive one. People with GAD are often found to have some other symptoms too. In addition to excessive amount of worry and anxiety that is beyond the patient’s control, they also exhibit restlessness, lack of concentration or loosing focus, being tired too easily, insomnia or oversleeping etc. The anxiety is not limited and can overwhelm the person. It even interferes with the way a person with GAD communicates or connects with another person. Their behaviors affect their co-workers and a lot of people around them.
While it is already established that alcohol and the sedative benzodiazepine have direct effects on GAD, it can not be said that a person has GAD only based on the fact that they are drug abusers. Alcohol fuels anxiety which can be reduced just by abstaining from it. But again, it can not be mixed with a cause. Benzodiazepine can have quite an adverse effect on people with GAD. It can worsen the situation by developing a tolerance in a patient rather than treating them. Best thing to do is to stop taking these as soon as doctors advise or the symptoms are prevailing for over six months in a row.
Most of us are familiar with medicines like Prozac and Zoloft. These are widely used for treating GAD. But studies have proven severe side-effects like sexual dysfunction, nausea, memory impairment etc. Benzodiazepines are also used for short periods of times for treating GAD. However, long term usage is strongly discouraged. Pregabalin is so far the most effective medicine that has very little side-effects. Though it works like benzodiazepines, pregabalin has no effect on sleeping habit. The effects on memory are also significantly lower than benzodiazepines. Biggest benefit of using pregabalin is that there is very little chance for abuse and tolerance as well as dependence. On the other hand, benzodiazepines are notorious for both abuse and tolerance.