Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Recognizing the Causes of Anxiety Disorder

By Tiffany Hatton

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects over 4 million adult Americans every year, and is a condition where the person feels extremely worried or anxious on a regular basis. Exaggerated feelings of worry or anxiety are normal in some situations, but for people who have generalized anxiety disorder or related conditions, the feelings are out of proportion with the situation at hand.

GAD sufferers are unable to refrain from worrying about common situations and may be disturbed about work and school duties, money matters and family affairs. People afflicted with an anxiety disorder are normally stressed and depressed and may avoid social interactions.

There is no known root cause of generalized anxiety disorder, but doctors and researchers conjecture that there are several factors that contribute to the development of this anxiety problem. Family history often plays an important role in the development of generalized anxiety disorder. If a person's parent were constant "worriers", they probably grew up in an environment where fear and anxiety were part of everyday life.

Aside from genetics, generalized anxiety disorder may also have an environmental aspect. All people may feel fear and anxiety when they experience stressful events, such as losing a loved one, losing a job, being abused and dealing with divorce. People can overcome fear and anxiety but these feelings can remain in a person's psyche if they are unable to address it. Some may constantly relapse into a fear or anxious state whenever they experience stress. MedicineNet.com states that many people make the situation worse by resorting to eating food, and taking in nicotine or caffeine to handle their feelings.

Finally, brain chemistry may play a role in the development of generalized anxiety disorder. People who have anxiety problems typically have abnormal levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, which can effect the types of messages the brain is sending or receiving. This means the person may be experiencing a fear response from only a mildly stressful situation, and will start to link the mildly stressful situation to that negative experience. In reality, the brain is just sending the wrong type of message to the body, so the person perceives what is happening to them in the wrong way.

Correcting neurotransmitter imbalances is possible by eating certain foods and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In some extreme cases, medication or natural supplements may also be recommended. It's important to understand that generalized anxiety disorder is quite common, and more women experience the symptoms and effects of this disorder than men.

Genes and past experiences may not be altered but we can still control our lifestyle to lessen the effects of anxiety disorders. We can choose to have a nutritious diet, exercise regularly, get plenty of rest and deal with stress in a healthy way to prevent feelings of anxiety and worry. Lifestyle and behavior modification may be the most effective method to stop the symptoms of GAD from interfering with the daily live of millions of people. - 14130

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