Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a severe anxiety affliction that affects up to 7 million Americans every day. It is a debilitating disorder that interferes with simple daily tasks, such as driving a car or grocery shopping. People suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder often don’t realize that they have it and suffer needlessly daily with panic/anxiety attacks, stress, and increasing fear of things “normal” people do every day.
People who have GAD often obsess over the possible outcome of daily activities to the point of being terrified to accomplish them. They feel they will get into a fatal car accident while driving, or they will lose their purse in the grocery store, they will get mugged when they go to their mailbox, they will fall down the stairs in their house. They suffer constant thoughts of “doom” that prevents them from doing many things most people take for granted.
GAD sufferers often have panic attacks, have trouble focusing on one task at a time, have intervals of rapid heart racing, suffer massive amounts of stress, and are often unable to enjoy daily life simply because they feel they have to “prevent” terrible things from happening to them on a 24/7 basis. They are constantly in “fight or flight” mode.
Many people who suffer from GAD don’t even realize they have it. They believe they are just “worry warts” or “over-protective.” They go through daily rituals to endure their days (memorizing the aisles of the grocery store before going in to prevent getting lost, avoiding going upstairs so they don’t tumble down them, checking and rechecking the locks on the door so they don’t get mugged, avoiding public situations to avoid panic, driving the exact same route home every day because it’s familiar and “safe”) and customize regular activities so they feel more in control. Often people with GAD are obsessive about a clean house, or their appearance or weight because they feel if they can control at least ONE THING in their life they can deal with everything else that they have no influence on.
GAD sufferers should understand the disorder so they can treat it. The main way to treat GAD is adopting the reality that NO ONE can control the inevitable, that feeling fear and panic over getting in the car will not prevent an accident, and at the same time, just GETTING in the car will not CAUSE one. GAD sufferers need to retrain their minds that no matter what they do, they have NO CONTROL over everything. Releasing control is crucial to treating GAD, yet it is one of the hardest tasks for an anxiety sufferer.
A simple way to help treat “triggers” of panic and that need to false control is to distract the mind from those fearful thoughts of doom. Many people will snap their fingers, chew gum, click their tongue, hum to themselves, or listen to the radio when they feel that panicky, out-of-control feeling approaching. These tactics help to distract the brain from those seemingly automatic “doom” thoughts and place the individual back to the reality of the task at hand. Whatever “trigger” treatment a GAD sufferer chooses is entirely up to them, and with a LOT of effort, a GAD sufferer can learn to almost ignore their “doom” thoughts and suffer a lot less anxiety.
Another method of treating GAD is with a journal to write their fears down in. Rationalizing their thoughts in the comfort of their own home allows a GAD sufferer to see in writing how “ridiculous” their fears seem even to them, and they can release their stress in knowing that once they write down their anxieties, they don’t seem so massive.
A great way to treat GAD is to “force” oneself to approach activities that normally trigger stress and anxiety and…SURVIVE it. If going into a laundromat is a panic attack-inducing ordeal, a person can bring along a trusted companion and simply sit in a laundromat, endure the impending anxiety, and use a mind-distracting method to calm it down. Realizing that a person CAN control their thoughts and anxiety helps to give them the confidence to go about daily life more easily.
Many health food stores provide anxiety relief herbs with little or no side effects that aim toward calming the body in stressful situations. A great one many anxiety sufferers enjoy is “Naturalcare” Anxiety Relief- a calming mental health aide that can be taken 3 times daily and during stressful situations can be taken every half hour until anxiety subsides. It has no side effects, begins working within just a moment or so, and helps to calm the mind and body so a person can deal with social and stress-inducing situations better.
It is important for GAD sufferers to know they are not alone in their anxiety. They need to realize that to treat their disorder they need to understand that they have one, and the best way to stop the “doom” thoughts is to just LET THEM GO. Many GAD sufferers find relief in the adage “What will be, will be” and realize that they still wake up in the morning when they aren’t trying to control and predict the outcome of absolutely everything. While it is absolutely easier said than done, a GAD sufferer CAN control their thoughts by combining curbing their “trigger” thoughts, managing their stress in writing, and realizing that their mental fears and legitimate and can be dealt with. It is massively hard work to let go and retrain the mind to not obsess over doom, but it definitely is a freedom everyone deserves to not be in constant fear. With hard work and persistence, anyone suffering from GAD can make their lives considerable more stress/anxiety free.
